Is it true...?

[Huntmaster]

When you put eggs first in the bator and one has a crack those are the eggs that explode not an infertile egg.thats why you candle eggs before putting them in to advoid cracked or hairline cracked eggs

Cracked eggs have a much higher chance of getting contaminants inside egg but is not the only way eggs get contaminated so yes, a non cracked egg can still go bad and explode.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Any egg that gets bacteria in them has ability to rot form gasses inside and can explode nasty stinky bacteria all over your eggs and incubator. Not a good idea to wash your eggs in water before hatching. They have an egg bloom that protects them from bacteria and should not be washed off. It does take a long period of time for this to happen usually longer than the incubation period, but it does happen.

Bloom is removed if washed too hard, or with a cleaner. Gently washing leaves the bloom intact.

Heck, I've even hatched eggs with cracks in them. Unintentionally though, didn't notice the crack until near day 7, or 10 of incubation despite candling.

Only had one rotten egg, which came from some hatching eggs I ordered. There were no faults, except maybe it was very old, & accidentally added to the carton.

 

[Bella the Chicken Lover]

Okay, so I've heard that eggs that have not developed in in incubator and if you left them in they will stink up the incubator, and blow up?? It sounds a bit.... far fetched. Does anybody know if it's fact or fiction?
Some people think it's best to just leave them all until day 21, but during candling I can see on day 7 that nothings in there, nothing will ever be coming out of that egg. And even if it is true.... I really don't want to clean that up!!!

Thanks for your help and input.

Yes, it is very likely, as I have had it happen before.

 

[BDutch]

Thank you! I cleaned them with 3% hydrogen peroxide to clean the poop off but I still don't want to take any chances.

Do not clean eggs that go into the incubator. And definitely not eggs that are cleaned with soap or chemicals. It ‘kills’ the bloom. The shell becomes more permeable if you clean the eggs and bacteria wil pass through the shell more easily.

Use clean eggs with a good size, form and colour, and normally nothing bad will happen with your eggs. Not in 3 or even 4 weeks.

I only had broodies, no incubator. The eggs that didn’t hatch, never exploded.

 

[Huntmaster]

Bloom is removed if washed too hard, or with a cleaner. Gently washing leaves the bloom intact.

Heck, I've even hatched eggs with cracks in them. Unintentionally though, didn't notice the crack until near day 7, or 10 of incubation despite candling.

Only had one rotten egg, which came from some hatching eggs I ordered. There were no faults, except maybe it was very old, & accidentally added to the carton.

Water will wash off bloom and is never suggested for hatching eggs it doesn't make it a death sentence but increases % greatly of contaminating the egg. And same for cracked egg it is not a death sentence in some cases but also greatly increases % of things going wrong with that cracked egg and also risks all eggs in incubator if egg gets contaminated and explodes. So, I would tell anyone that wants to have the greatest % of eggs hatching with least number of troubles to learn the facts and to do what is best for them and their eggs.

 

[Shadrach]

I would throw the eggs you've cleaned with hydrogen peroxide in the bin. Egg shells are porous and any chemicals used for cleaning are likely to get drawn into the egg.

 

[Huntmaster]

I'm hard headed about change but I can say one time will surely make most change how they do things. I actually seriously considered just tossing an incubator that had that mess.

I've only had a few in all the eggs I have hatched, they were from different turkey hens' nests that when I was tossing old unhatched eggs from their nests, they literally blew like grenades. Glad it was a good toss, but you could smell it from a long way off but haven't had any from incubators, but I only add good clean eggs and do candle. Have had leakers in incubator but always caught them before any real harm/cleaning. From the ones that have exploded on me if they would have been in a tabletop incubator I would have tossed it just like I did those rotten eggs.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Water will wash off bloom and is never suggested for hatching eggs it doesn't make it a death sentence but increases % greatly of contaminating the egg. And same for cracked egg it is not a death sentence in some cases but also greatly increases % of things going wrong with that cracked egg and also risks all eggs in incubator if egg gets contaminated and explodes. So, I would tell anyone that wants to have the greatest % of eggs hatching with least number of troubles to learn the facts and to do what is best for them and their eggs.

I guess all my pink eggs(Due to bloom coating), won't be pink anymore from just a water rinse .

Joking, they're still pink from their bloom.

But anyhow I don't wanna argue, but anyone can experiment with this, & see how it actually compares with unwashed eggs. I have, & death rates haven't increased over the years of hatching both.

 

[MysteryChicken]

My first, & second broody hatch was from eggs I washed, & refrigerated actually.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I generally avoid messy eggs when I pick the ones I plan to hatch from my own flock, but if I'm not getting many eggs to choose from out of one of my coops and the ones I am getting are dirty, or if there are dirty eggs among ones I bought where the hatch rate is already impacted by shipping and each egg makes a big difference in getting a decent number of chicks to hatch, yeah, I'll wash them gently. Yes, with soap. Always with warm water. Only if there's dirt or poo visible on them and not a massive amount of it or anything.

I keep a very clean incubator. I clean my incubators meticulously before I start them up every time. I avoid actually touching the eggs except for on days 7, 14, and 18 for candling and marking the air cells, and I wash my hands before I touch them in any capacity, even if it's just to shift them aside to add more eggs to the incubator. Heck, I'll wash my hands in the middle of handling the eggs if I feel like it's been too long since I started! I have never had a rotten egg in my incubator, even cracked or porous eggs, even if I leave them in there for the full 21 days without any development.

However, I have had lots of eggs hatch despite being washed with soap.