poop on eggs?

[SaltyPaws]

Should I still set eggs with chicken pool smears on them? Any personal successes hatching chicks from eggs with poop?

Thank you!

 

[gabrielle1976]

I have set some slightly soiled eggs befor and had them hatch , as long as its just a teeny bit its ok I think , You can wash eggs if you have too say they were super expnsive or the last eggs from prize bird that died but though some think washing is fine I try to avoid it if I can as it washes off the bloom.

 

[SaltyPaws]

I'll use a q tip and spot clean the the ones that aren't so bad. These are cheap, local eggs that I can always get more of.

Thanks!

 

[LukensFarms]

I leave them and just hatch them. Trying to clean can clog their pores worse or force bacteria inside the egg. They are fine the way they are.

 

[SaltyPaws]

Well, I did spot clean and I just set them. I didn't see the last post in time. I'll add back the three I decided were too poopy and see what happens with them...

 

[LukensFarms]

Have you candled any yet?

 

[SaltyPaws]

Yes I have.

13 definitely good
12 maybes
4 probable duds

Some of the maybes are rather thick shelled Olive eggs and Marans. The duds are white shelled and all shaped the same. No veining, no embryo, very clear.

Two of my Silkie eggs are definitely viable so I'm happy!

 

[LukensFarms]

Good for you. I never get tired of hatching chicks. I have been hatching for over 20 years and I still grin from ear to ear when a prized egg becomes a chick. All the best.

 

[vaversa]

I have the same problem.
Just so you don't think I am abusing my chickens, we have built the chickens a Palace. 3 chickens, 2 guineas, and they have a 5x4x10 coop, and free range during the day. These are all rescue chickens, too. I love them all, even the one with the big callous on her breast.

They won't lay in their nice boxes. I've accepted this

.
They poop heavily all over their eggs, and still sit on them.
This kicks in my OCD, especially when I need to clean the coop.

One chicken is laying thin shelled eggs. That's another issue, for another thread. I've given her all kinds of calcium supplements.
When I am continuous about feeding her the oyster shells and spinach, her eggs toughen up. But, so do the others.
So, I live with the thin shell syndrome.

All the chickens lay together.
When the brooder gets off the eggs, she cracks my other chicken's egg. Which, in turn, gets on the eggs I am trying to hatch.

So, In an Eggshell, here's my problem
Now, I have poop and broken egg on my eggs.
Should I wash them?
HELP!