Incubator Smell... Normal?

[Kedreeva]

So with this hatch and the last hatch, I've noticed a certain increase in the smell of my incubator. In the last hatch, about a week before the eggs actually hatched, the smell drastically increased- to where I could smell it down the hall from where it was in my room. Now, it's definitely not a rotten egg smell, and last time there were no incubator bombs forming, the chicks were fine. It's not even a BAD smell, it's just a very strong chickeny smell. I removed clears and questionables on day 10, and there was no smell then.

The incubator was brand new last time and I cleaned it between that hatch and this one. This batch is a week from hatching and it's starting to get that smell again. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it possibly just the smell of warm chick in the eggs? It's very odd- not bad, just curious.

 

[SarahFair]

My hatches all have smells. Not bad just a distintive smell with every hatch.
If you are smelling it down the hall I would think something was up..
Unless its by a recieving vent or something

 

[Kedreeva]

It was in a more central location last time. Now that I've moved it to the closet, I can't smell it till I get much closer, like just outside the closet. But it's the same smell, so funny. I was afraid that it was something gone bad the first time, but there was nothing bad at the end. This time I thought maybe it was not cleaned well enough, but it's the same smell and it was brand new last time. But maybe that's just how it will smell nearing hatches!

 

[Redcatcher]

Yes, there is an odor. I would almost compare it to the smell of a loaf of fresh white bread.

 

[SweetMotherOfMars]

I'm guessing you are spot on about the "smell of warm chick in the eggs" or some warm & humid effect from the 'bator. When I use egg cartons it 'almost' smells like the hot, humid, cardboard boxes when I was a pizza delivery driver. (Almost, because it's missing that cheesy pizza scent.)

 

[georgialee]

I usually don't notice an odor until the chicks start hatching. I did an egg carton hatch this last time and it really helped on the smell factor.

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

A possiblility for you.....
I was noticing an odor from ours on the last couple hatches that just smelled a bit off....faintly.
I had been adding warm water from the tap and, as my DH explained, there can be bacteria in using warm tap water. So now I use the cold and just let it sit to reach room temp before adding it. Takes a bit longer to adjust after adding but I don`t have the odor at all now. I know some people use distilled water for their bators but I have not tried that.

 

[darkmatter]

Mrs. Feathers :

A possiblility for you.....
I was noticing an odor from ours on the last couple hatches that just smelled a bit off....faintly.
I had been adding warm water from the tap and, as my DH explained, there can be bacteria in using warm tap water. So now I use the cold and just let it sit to reach room temp before adding it. Takes a bit longer to adjust after adding but I don`t have the odor at all now. I know some people use distilled water for their bators but I have not tried that.

I smell just the warm egg smell, not the hydrogen sulfide smell of rotten eggs or the methane smell of bacterial bloom. But then, I use the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide instead of water to prevent a bacterial bloom. Been doing that for years now,​

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

Interesting...do you dilute the hydrogen peroxide or use it as it comes from the bottle? Our tap water is pretty good but sitting in a warm bator can certainly encourage stuff to grow if it is there. I might just give that a try next hatch. I have heard of people using diluted bleach but I personally don`t want to have the fumes with my eggs...

 

[cluckcluck42]

I have well water and found the bator was smelling musty. Switched to distilled water at the advice of a forum member and this hatch has less of a smell, but not completely gone.