mold on a shipped egg?

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Got a batch of eggs in this morning. One looked like it had a little barnyard debris on it, no biggie, but when I went to write the weight on it after weighing, the point felt somewhat soft and not fully calcified. I assumed it was a young layer, and the egg was intact, but closer inspection of that end revealed the "debris" to be mold.

I'm afraid to put this bad boy in the incubator for a variety of reasons - not enough calcium could cause the rupture of a fragile egg in my incubator, and of course, that mold... I did, however, pay a lot for the eggs, and am now a bit anxious over potential spread of mold. I'm assuming this egg will be a cull... I don't wash my eggs, but should I do anything because they spent the last few days in an egg carton next to their moldy friend? I have never seen this before. Right now the whole batch is sitting in the coolest room in the house resting in anticipation of going into the incubator tomorrow, funky egg and all...
Has anyone had any experience with this?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I have never seen this before and curious so I had to google and I found this: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/27/fungus-or-mildew-on-shells

I would be very concerned and contact the seller.

I also found this on another page:
Although it is more likely for bacteria to cause spoilage during storage, mold growth can occur under very humid storage conditions or if eggs are washed in dirty water. Molds such as Penicillium, Alternaria and Rhizopus may be visible as spots on the shell and can penetrate the shell to reach the egg.
Discard any eggs with shells – or, for hard-boiled eggs, egg white surfaces – that don’t look or feel clean, normally colored and dry. A slimy feel can indicate bacterial growth and, regardless of color, powdery spots that come off on your hand may indicate mold.

 

[1muttsfan]

Absolutely discard that egg. As far as washing the others, it may decrease their hatchability - if they appear clean I would consider incubating them without washing.

And contact the seller. Yuck.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

That mold tipped little bugger is now in the trash. The other eggs look perfect, so I am opting to just leave them with their natural antibacterial layer intact. It was the extra egg from the group, so I have the number I paid for. The seller really too a ton of time making sure that they were really well packed and the box was well marked, so I suspect the mold bloomed fully on the decalcified spot during transit. I would have assumed it was dirt had the shell in that area not been soft and discolored!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

That mold tipped little bugger is now in the trash. The other eggs look perfect, so I am opting to just leave them with their natural antibacterial layer intact. It was the extra egg from the group, so I have the number I paid for. The seller really too a ton of time making sure that they were really well packed and the box was well marked, so I suspect the mold bloomed fully on the decalcified spot during transit. I would have assumed it was dirt had the shell in that area not been soft and discolored!

I'd still slip the seller a note, just so they know. You can thank them for the wonderful job packing and shipping but just make them aware that there was that one, so that they can be on the lookout or double check their process.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

I'd still slip  the seller a note, just so they know. You can thank them for the wonderful job packing and shipping but just make them aware that there was that one, so that they can be on the lookout or double check their process.

That's exactly what I did. I told him all the other eggs were fine, the whole batch was packed really, really, well, but that one egg was de calcified at one end and mold had taken hold. I explained that I didn't notice until I weighed the eggs and the end flexed when I went to write the weight on the egg. I had assumed the spotting was dirt, but once you got some light behind the egg the discoloration in the infected area was apparent. I couched it simply as an FYI so that he could check his ladies.
I would totally buy from him again - his customer service was nothing short of amazing. Hopefully his hen was just young. I suspect the fungus took hold because without the shell, the membrane was vulnerable, especially as the temperature changed from southern to northern weather during the trip.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

That's exactly what I did. I told him all the other eggs were fine, the whole batch was packed really, really, well, but that one egg was de calcified at one end and mold had taken hold. I explained that I didn't notice until I weighed the eggs and the end flexed when I went to write the weight on the egg. I had assumed the spotting was dirt, but once you got some light behind the egg the discoloration in the infected area was apparent. I couched it simply as an FYI so that he could check his ladies.
I would totally buy from him again - his customer service was nothing short of amazing. Hopefully his hen was just young. I suspect the fungus took hold because without the shell, the membrane was vulnerable, especially as the temperature changed from southern to northern weather during the trip.

That's great.
It's hard to find trustworthy sellers!

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

That's great.
It's hard to find trustworthy sellers!

The seller sent an awesome email back too - it was obvious he felt bad since he is very quality oriented. Totally getting more eggs from him!