Lessons Learned

[bobbi-j]

As I stated in an earlier thread, my siamese-broody experiment didn't end well. There were 4 unhatched eggs in the nest when I went to clean it out. The stench of rotten eggs permeates the air several yards from the coop. The dog crate I was using has straw and... stuff stuck to the bottom of it. I dumped it out and was going to crack the eggs open to see if there had been any development. The first one I tried to crack, exploded as it made contact with the ground. Uffda! After several washings with different scented soaps, my hand still smells like rotten egg! (The inside of the egg was green slime). So, I have learned two lessons. First, I will most likely candle at 5 days in next time I set a broody. I've always taken a hands-off approach, but I'm thinking my poor old rooster just isn't able to keep up with all the hens (I have 16 of them. My rooster is about 4 years old), so I need to get rid of any non-fertile eggs to begin with, just to avoid rotten ones. Second, it may not be all that important to crack open an unhatched egg to see what I can find. I have hatched eggs for years, and always crack them open afterward just to see where they may have stopped development. This is the first time ever that I have had a rotten one.

I will still just leave my broodies alone as far as them getting off the nest to eat, drink, stretch, or whatever. But I will candle eggs from now on. I will be setting a broody on Wed.of this week. I'm leaving for a 2-week vacation the following week, so she should be hatching the day I get home. I'm going to candle on Mon. before I leave. My two grown sons will be sharing house-sitting and chicken-sitting duties, so they can make sure she has food and water available.

Now, to go wash my hands with toothpaste. A tried and true EMT trick to get unpleasant odors off one's hands. If that doesn't work, it's Vicks under the nose for awhile. Yep, that masks things, too.

 

[Louise-C]

As I stated in an earlier thread, my siamese-broody experiment didn't end well. There were 4 unhatched eggs in the nest when I went to clean it out. The stench of rotten eggs permeates the air several yards from the coop. The dog crate I was using has straw and... stuff stuck to the bottom of it. I dumped it out and was going to crack the eggs open to see if there had been any development. The first one I tried to crack, exploded as it made contact with the ground. Uffda! After several washings with different scented soaps, my hand still smells like rotten egg! (The inside of the egg was green slime). So, I have learned two lessons. First, I will most likely candle at 5 days in next time I set a broody. I've always taken a hands-off approach, but I'm thinking my poor old rooster just isn't able to keep up with all the hens (I have 16 of them. My rooster is about 4 years old), so I need to get rid of any non-fertile eggs to begin with, just to avoid rotten ones. Second, it may not be all that important to crack open an unhatched egg to see what I can find. I have hatched eggs for years, and always crack them open afterward just to see where they may have stopped development. This is the first time ever that I have had a rotten one.

I will still just leave my broodies alone as far as them getting off the nest to eat, drink, stretch, or whatever. But I will candle eggs from now on. I will be setting a broody on Wed.of this week. I'm leaving for a 2-week vacation the following week, so she should be hatching the day I get home. I'm going to candle on Mon. before I leave. My two grown sons will be sharing house-sitting and chicken-sitting duties, so they can make sure she has food and water available.

Now, to go wash my hands with toothpaste. A tried and true EMT trick to get unpleasant odors off one's hands. If that doesn't work, it's Vicks under the nose for awhile. Yep, that masks things, too.

I wish I'd read this earlier today.... I won't be opening unhatched eggs again I'm now going to go and cover my hands in toothpaste

 

[Molly Mojo]

As I stated in an earlier thread, my siamese-broody experiment didn't end well. There were 4 unhatched eggs in the nest when I went to clean it out. The stench of rotten eggs permeates the air several yards from the coop. The dog crate I was using has straw and... stuff stuck to the bottom of it. I dumped it out and was going to crack the eggs open to see if there had been any development. The first one I tried to crack, exploded as it made contact with the ground. Uffda! After several washings with different scented soaps, my hand still smells like rotten egg! (The inside of the egg was green slime). So, I have learned two lessons. First, I will most likely candle at 5 days in next time I set a broody. I've always taken a hands-off approach, but I'm thinking my poor old rooster just isn't able to keep up with all the hens (I have 16 of them. My rooster is about 4 years old), so I need to get rid of any non-fertile eggs to begin with, just to avoid rotten ones. Second, it may not be all that important to crack open an unhatched egg to see what I can find. I have hatched eggs for years, and always crack them open afterward just to see where they may have stopped development. This is the first time ever that I have had a rotten one.

I will still just leave my broodies alone as far as them getting off the nest to eat, drink, stretch, or whatever. But I will candle eggs from now on. I will be setting a broody on Wed.of this week. I'm leaving for a 2-week vacation the following week, so she should be hatching the day I get home. I'm going to candle on Mon. before I leave. My two grown sons will be sharing house-sitting and chicken-sitting duties, so they can make sure she has food and water available.

Now, to go wash my hands with toothpaste. A tried and true EMT trick to get unpleasant odors off one's hands. If that doesn't work, it's Vicks under the nose for awhile. Yep, that masks things, too.

make a paste with baking soda. Scrub. Do it again and add a drop of dish soap.

I use this method to get rid of yuck smells.

 

[LaFleche]

Now, to go wash my hands with toothpaste. A tried and true EMT trick to get unpleasant odors off one's hands. If that doesn't work, it's Vicks under the nose for awhile. Yep, that masks things, too.

Use apple cider vinegar and the stench will disappear.

 

[LaFleche]

here were 4 unhatched eggs in the nest when I went to clean it out. The stench of rotten eggs permeates the air several yards from the coop. The dog crate I was using has straw and... stuff stuck to the bottom of it.

I would rather use wood shavings and some fresh hay to form a nice nest for the broody. Mites, fleas and other critters love to live in the hollow stems of straw.

Any time there is an accidental egg cracking and spilling into the bedding, the bedding should be changed completely so it will not start festering and infecting the other eggs. Sometimes even the broody needs a washing depending on the kind of accident: rotten egg or just infertile.

Years ago, I had one rotten egg explode under my broody RIR on day 19...

 

[bobbi-j]

Years ago, I had one rotten egg explode under my broody RIR on day 19...

Ewww!