Rotten Eggs

[bubra007]

Now I'm down to 7 eggs in my incubator, from an original 18. Why do they keep getting rotten? Were they old eggs? Never fertilized? I am getting sick walking into the spare bedroom to check on the bater temperature only to smell *THAT* smell. What gives?

 

[bubra007]

Another question...I've got some leakage from the rotten eggs in the bottom of the bator. Should I try to clean it/disinfect it? Will this affect the other eggs?

Ugh.

 

[vfem]

I am not sure about cleaning... I wouldn't want any chemical in there or have the incubator open for long periods of time.

From I am gathering if they are rotting and exploding, chances are they were never fertile to begin with... OR if they were shipped to you they were shaken up really badly. Those are the 2 most common reasons for not starting development. ESPECIALLY in such large numbers of none developing eggs. (If it was 1 or 2 there would be LOTS of other factors.)

Umm... have you candled the rest of them?! Are you sure the others are developing or could they explode too?!

 

[bubra007]

I am BRAND new to this...I have candled them, but because of my inexperience and/or dark colored shells, I'm not 100% if the eggs are good or not. I've definitely seen movement in a few of the eggs.. but in others they just look dark (maybe because of the dark shell and my primitive candling methods).

Should I just keep the eggs that I'm sure are alive and growing and throw out the rest? I don't want to risk losing them all because of the possible bad eggs. I'm so confused!

 

[vfem]

If you are unsure... don't throw them out!

You'll just have to play a wait and see game I suppose. I hope all the rest hatch for you though!

 

[Dirt Road]

I'm sure you'll get plenty of suggestions on how to deal with the eggs you now have in the machine, so I will limit my suggestion to after this batch. I STRONGLY suggest you thoroughly disinfect your incubator as soon as it is empty! It sounds to me like you have a bacteria at work in there. If so, it doesn't matter whether the eggs were fertile or not, it will continue to attack them until they either hatch or perish. Good luck with the rest of your eggs.

Jim

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

That sounds like a bacterial issue rather than a fertility issue. Although sometimes eggs that don't develop can go bad and ooze. Depending on how much water you are putting in the bottom of the incubator, use 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon of bleach to control the bacteria. Just mix the bleach in with the water.

 

[bubra007]

Thanks for all the responses....my heart is just sinking. And I've got another dozen due to come in on Wednesday..now I am thinking maybe I should cut my losses, disinfect the bator and prepare it for the ones about to arrive.

 

[vfem]

Quote:
If you were planning on adding more, I definitely wouldn't until the incubator is clean!!!