The way I understand it, commercial hatcheries wash their eggs. I don't know what chemicals or what concentration of those chemicals they use. Yes that can remove some of the bloom which nature relies on to protect the eggs but they are not having a broody hen hatch them. It is a controlled environment.
Washing the eggs is only a part of their sanitation/sterilization protocol. Before the eggs go in the room, the entire room and all of the equipment is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Access to the incubation and hatching rooms is controlled. Biosecurity measures are high, such as changing clothing before anyone goes in. Fumigation is part of the protocols.
I don't hatch like that. I clean my incubator before I start with a bleach solution to sterilize it. I keep my hands clean when I handle the eggs or equipment. I use tap water and a clean container when adding water. I do not set dirty eggs. A light dusting isn't bad but I avoid eggs with globs of dried poop or mud.
A poultry science professor that works with commercial hatcheries said they get about a 90% hatch rate of eggs set. About 5% never start developing. Another 5% quit before they hatch. I don't do that well. I get about an 80% hatch rate of eggs set from my flock. I candle just before they go into lockdown. My hatch rate of the eggs that go into lockdown is much better but that's not the important one for me.
@Project Blue I'm glad you are getting good healthier hatches. It is my opinion (and only an opinion) that deformities are caused by other things than washing or not washing eggs (heredity, nutrition of the breeding/laying flock, or incubation temperatures for example). Washing the eggs is more about the bloom which is there to keep bacteria out. If bacteria gets inside the shell it kills the embryo and turns the egg rotten. I have never had a rotten egg in my incubator. I have under a broody, horrible. These correlations can be hard to make. These things can be complicated, You may not always know why some hatches are better than others. I hope your success continues.
Washing the eggs is only a part of their sanitation/sterilization protocol. Before the eggs go in the room, the entire room and all of the equipment is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Access to the incubation and hatching rooms is controlled. Biosecurity measures are high, such as changing clothing before anyone goes in. Fumigation is part of the protocols.
I don't hatch like that. I clean my incubator before I start with a bleach solution to sterilize it. I keep my hands clean when I handle the eggs or equipment. I use tap water and a clean container when adding water. I do not set dirty eggs. A light dusting isn't bad but I avoid eggs with globs of dried poop or mud.
A poultry science professor that works with commercial hatcheries said they get about a 90% hatch rate of eggs set. About 5% never start developing. Another 5% quit before they hatch. I don't do that well. I get about an 80% hatch rate of eggs set from my flock. I candle just before they go into lockdown. My hatch rate of the eggs that go into lockdown is much better but that's not the important one for me.
@Project Blue I'm glad you are getting good healthier hatches. It is my opinion (and only an opinion) that deformities are caused by other things than washing or not washing eggs (heredity, nutrition of the breeding/laying flock, or incubation temperatures for example). Washing the eggs is more about the bloom which is there to keep bacteria out. If bacteria gets inside the shell it kills the embryo and turns the egg rotten. I have never had a rotten egg in my incubator. I have under a broody, horrible. These correlations can be hard to make. These things can be complicated, You may not always know why some hatches are better than others. I hope your success continues.
