I have. Broody hen with many of the eggs covered in poop. Can I clean the eggs? If so how?

[magentaraven]

Wondering if I can or should clean poopy eggs my broody hen is sitting on?

 

[nuthatched]

Warm Wet rag, is it wet or dry poop?

 

[magentaraven]

Warm Wet rag, is it wet or dry poop?

It’s kinda dry. I heard not to use a wet cloth as it takes the anti bacteria coating off the egg?

 

[nuthatched]

It’s kinda dry. I heard not to use a wet cloth as it takes the anti bacteria coating off the egg?

Well, yes, a little but the poop can't stay there. A little Peroxide might bubble it off.

 

[myaprilchooks]

do not use water, as it may destroy the bloomb

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

How much poop is on the eggs, and how far along are the eggs in incubation? If they are only a few days from hatching and not disgustingly covered in poop, I would leave them be. If they are early in incubation, you could try gently using sand paper to remove the dried poop. However, you won't be able to remove contamination that has invaded the egg shell.

I base the above suggestions on my personal experience, where if late in incubation, the chicks hatched sucessfully. Unfortunately, with eggs that became severely poop-covered (or if a broken egg coated the other eggs) early in incubation, the embryos usually died before hatching, whether I tried to clean the eggs or not. I do my best to make sure nest boxes remain perfectly clean whether a broody hen is sitting on eggs or not, but sometimes poop (and broken eggs) happens. If within the first several days of incubation and several eggs are affected, I now remove all eggs and give the hen a brand new clutch to incubate.

 

[Henora]

How much poop is on the eggs, and how far along are the eggs in incubation? If they are only a few days from hatching and not disgustingly covered in poop, I would leave them be. If they are early in incubation, you could try gently using sand paper to remove the dried poop. However, you won't be able to remove contamination that has invaded the egg shell.

I base the above suggestions on my personal experience, where if late in incubation, the chicks hatched sucessfully. Unfortunately, with eggs that became severely poop-covered (or if a broken egg coated the other eggs) early in incubation, the embryos usually died before hatching, whether I tried to clean the eggs or not. I do my best to make sure nest boxes remain perfectly clean whether a broody hen is sitting on eggs or not, but sometimes poop (and broken eggs) happens. If within the first several days of incubation and several eggs are affected, I now remove all eggs and give the hen a brand new clutch to incubate.

Hi,

I had 2 eggs break in a nest today and the nest and broody hen were sticky and smelly this evening. I moved her to a clean nest, with the remaining eggs. She's still laying, so should I just take the eggs away and see if she lays and continues to sit? Should I give her eggs from the other coop to hatch? Or mark some eggs from the fridge and let her sit on those while she hopefully continues to lay? It's in the high 60s here during the day and much cooler at night. I want to avoid her sitting on rotten eggs, and I don't mind if she stops being broody, but I also want to keep her from being broody for longer than 3 wks which has happened with another hen when she was on an empty nest. Any suggestions you can offer are appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Normally a hen doesn't begin to set on eggs while she is still laying, so that all eggs in the clutch begin to develop at the same time instead of in a staggered hatch. How many days has she been sitting, and are you certain all the eggs are hers, and not another hen(s) adding eggs to her clutch? Depending on how soiled/contaminated the remaining eggs are, and how many days she has been sitting, I would probably give her a brand new clutch to incubate. But that's because I've personally had very low hatch rates with eggs that were contaminated early in incubation. (Bacteria that penetrates the egg shell has more time to multiply and kill the embryo during the early stages.) If you don't want her to stay broody much past 3 weeks, but do want her to hatch chicks, and if the remaining eggs are excessively soiled, I would give her a new clutch of fertilized eggs asap from your other coop, and allow her to begin again. If you decide to let her continue with her current eggs, candle them in a few days to make sure the embryos are alive and developing.