Sanitizing eggs before hatching?

[Nicole01]

I just bought myself an awesome incubator! Yay me! It says to sanitize the eggs before setting in there to hatch.

Won't that be disastrous and let bacteria enter by washing off the bloom?

I did buy a liner for the bottom of my incubator to keep it clean. I'd like to keep it as nice as possible.

Here's my awesome bator! It has a fan an egg turner too!

 

[yo burrill]

You are correct you shouldnt wash eggs you are going to hatch. It can force the bacteria into the eggs. And removes the wax coating which is their natural protection. Momma hens dont wash their eggs before setting on them. Just dont put poopy eggs in the bator.

 

[cochins1088]

I know they say not to wash the eggs, and I understand the reasoning, and I don't know about you, but many of our eggs are covered in poop. So I always wash my hatching eggs and usually great hatch rates. The water should be warmer then the internal tempature of the egg and wipe gently never pressing too hard, but to get all the crap off, and don't submerge for longer than 2 minutes. My hatch rates are usually around 95% so I can't find any harm. I would think rotting poo would be worse.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

So far as I've been able to determine it is the universal practice among commercial hatcheries the world over to sanitize the eggs they are going to hatch. I do it with all of mine.

Two tablespoons of plain laundry bleach in a gallon of water at least twenty degrees (but not hot) warmer than the eggs. Soak the eggs for one minute then remove. Allow to drain freely and air dry. Put into the incubator immediately afterwards.

Sanitizing the egg does not so much protect the individual egg, but rather it helps protect your incubator. If an egg is going to go bad chances are the microbes were already inside the shell by the time you set it. An incubator is an ideal environment for promoting microbial growth (warm, humid, usually dark). Sanitizing eggs before they are set helps to protect the incubator and the other eggs you are hatching.

Whether you should do the same is up to you. This is a long running debate and folks on every side have achieved good hatches.