Onion and Incubation...I know sounds weird

[champer]

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X2

 

[SmokinChick]

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I have no problem trying things on friemds and family advice. and I'll try many things once.
but I don't try stuff because "it wouldn't hurt". That is the worst reason to try something. If there appears any semblance of common sense or scientific theory, its worth a shot.
But really onion fumes killing viruses?

 

[Chemguy]

There are many things that kill viruses, like fire, for example. Even if I thought that a candle in the incubator could be used to kill viruses, there are additional reasons why I should not put a candle in the incubator. Some of these I could anticipate (heat, oxygen consumption) and others I could not (does soot affect egg viability...if a candle is safe to use near humans, is it also safe for developing chicks?). In other words, being the cautious sciency-guy that I am, I would think about the possible problems that could arise from using a candle, try to realize my assumptions and also recognize that there are factors that cannot be easily anticipated. If I wanted to be double-sure that a candle were safe to use, I would make sure that I didn't have all my eggs in one incubator the first time I tried it. In other words, I would go slow and experiment first so as not to risk a whole batch of eggs (aka trial and error).

 

[duckdad]

Just a couple quick comments after seeing this thread...

Onions likely CAN kill some germs and virus because they contain chemicals that turn to acids when they encounter certain things. Thats why/how your eyes water when a fresh cut onion is nearby. The fumes interact with the saline in the tears and it becomes acidic.

For the same reason and more, I would not place a cut onion anywhere near incubating eggs.. Knowing that the shell & membrane carry o2 and h2o between them, and knowing ( having read in many places) that onions and garlic (anybulb from that plant family) are toxic to ducks and most birds. Even though many birds do not have a great sense of smell they are still very sensitive to things in the air....Teflon for example. No true bird person has teflon cookware. In theory it has to be 500 degrees to be released into the air and circulate, it is still toxic and many bird deaths have been linked to someone cooking on a teflon skillet.
Canaries were (still in some places) used to test air quality in mines and other enviroments where fresh air is unable to circulate. The bird dies and the miners get out immediately. Thats because the bird is more sensitive to toxic gasses, long before a human can smell them.

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

I think it's more important to have healthy chickens laying good sized eggs than to go the snake-oil route with a piece of onion in your incubator. Unless you're worried about Count Chickula haunting your hatchery, of course. Then pile on those garlic and onions.

Besides, wouldn't the embryos have to ingest the onion somehow to reap the benefits? Setting a bottle of ibuprofen by my forehead doesn't make a headache go away so I don't see why proximity to an onion would help.

 

[Pele]

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Thank you thank you thank you thank you for posting this! Where it may be possible that the acids in an onion could kill a virus, so could fire or pure alcohol. That's because these substances are caustic to life in large amounts. Just because a nurse uses rubbing alcohol on your arm before a shot to kill germs, doesn't mean you should go home and bathe in alcohol. Biology is so diverse that it's silly to try to use a 'one item cures all' approach to life. And you certainly shouldn't be using acids on newborns or developing embryos.

But... to be honest, the first few batches of dead chicks will be the proof that the OP needs. Just don't spend a lot of money on the eggs you try to hatch enclosed with acids in the air.

 

[MamaMarcy]

Lots of remedies. medicines, etc are stemmed from natural things...I say give it a try!

Thanks for posting htis. I may try onion for some stuff from now on. What can it hurt? Plus, onions are soooooo yummy.

 

[PeeperKeeper]

Just as human mothers should not be exposed o certain chemicals in early pregnancy...I'd be afraid the onion WOULD be effective and destroy the zygote form inn the egg. Just saying....... .

 

[stargazingmommy]

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After seeing the filter on a child's ventilator when there was a single candle burned in a room 20 ft away I am hesitant to burn a candle at all in my house.

 

[duckdad]

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what can it hurt?

onions are toxic to birds.