Should I clean off dirty eggs before I start incubating?

[1muttsfan]

There seems to be a misconception concerning cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting.

-Sanitizing is a general term that generally means cleaning, disinfecting or sterilizing
-Disinfecting is the destruction of harmful organisms
-Sterilization is the complete destruction of all living organisms (achievable only by autoclaving (steam sterilization) or certain chemical treatments)

First, nothing that is not clean can be disinfected - all organic debris (think poop, feathers, food, dust, straw, etc) has to be cleaned off, or it will harbor organisms that the disinfectant cannot reach.

Second, you must use a disinfectant at the correct concentration and for the correct amount of time for it to be effective - for example, a 1 part bleach to 9 parts water solution will disinfect for most viruses and bacteria, IF it is left on for 10 minutes. Weaker solutions may decrease bacteria numbers but not kill all the organisms.

(Bleach, by the way, is very toxic if left on surfaces due to the way it is made now - always rinse it off after using it to disinfect surfaces)

It is not nescessary in all circumstances to kill all organisms, reducing the number may be enough to prevent infections from thriving.

If you wash your eggs to remove debris, and the bloom is also removed, you should be very careful that your hands are clean when handling the eggs.

Accel-TB is a newer peroxide-based cleaner and disinfectant that is much less toxic, and will kill even fungal organisms and tuberculosis after 10 minute contact time - these are very hard organisms to kill. Should work very well to disinfect incubators.

 

[jtwaterfowl]

I'm having a hard time with this dilemma as well...except for me it's a little more complicated because I raise rare and exotic gamebirds and waterfowl and some of them only lay 5 - 30 eggs per year so the stakes are pretty high when making the decision of what to do with the dirty eggs prior to incubation.

I've read many reports and online debates about this and none seem to agree; some say DO NOT clean the eggs for any reason using any method, others say clean only the dirtiest ones (using various methods), others say to clean *all* the eggs regardless of how dirty they look and others say to just throw away any dirty eggs.

My birds are all raised outside on the ground in large enclosures and I provide nest boxes and covered areas for nesting that are protected from the weather, but when there's a lot of rain everything gets pretty muddy and they track around that dirt and mud and it gets on the eggs even if the nests themselves are dry and protected. I collect the eggs 3 - 5 times a day and still have this problem. This has been a really rainy week so the eggs I've been collecting recently all have dirt and mud on them to some degree (it's definitely dirt, not poo) and I've been struggling with the decision to either clean them or leave them untouched. There's a bit more pressure involved because this year I'll be selling my eggs instead of just hatching them myself so I've got potentially angry customers if I make the wrong choice about cleaning vs. leaving them as is.

Can anyone weigh in on what I should do in this situation? So far if there's a drop or two of rain on the eggs and they're dirty/muddy I'll gently wipe and dry them with my shirt as I collect them but that's as much as I've done in terms of cleaning and I'm afraid that even that may be too much.
According to an article:

Quote:
Ack! Any advice for what I should do with these eggs would be lovely.

 

[DaveOmak]

Good morning...... Well, I'm thinking about this egg cleaning stuff.... I don't have my chickens yet....
Just trying to learn before the BIG investment... I'm definitely leaning toward cleaning......

My thoughts on egg cleaning.... With the incubator temps and humidity all sorts of pathogens can grow... The egg shells, being porous, is a delivery route for those nasties to infect the unborn chick.... Also, after hatching, those pathogens are still on the surface of the egg shells.... Another route for infecting newly born chicks... and soil, being a harbinger of botulism, is not something that would be good to place in an incubator.......
So, I'm leaning toward cleaning...... I've read about bleach, soap and water, and Tek-Trol..... then there's hydrogen peroxide and betadine... and soaking/contact times...
I agree with the temperature of such "cleanings" to be at 100 + ish degrees and thorough rinsing and drying of the shell after such a process....

Since this thread was started, has there been consensus on an acceptable method of cleaning..... If you read the MSDS of bleach or Tek-Trol etc,,,, they have some negative attributes that need to be heeded....

Newby Dave

.PS.... If you know of a thread or article, that this has been addressed, lead me to it.... I'm overwhelmed with some 2 million threads to go through...

 

[ayschmidt]

I only wash the dirty ones and I leave the clean alone and both always hatch at the same rate.

 

[DaveOmak]

I only wash the dirty ones and I leave the clean alone and both always hatch at the same rate.

Thank you for the response....

Do you use any additives to the water.... paper tower or brush... and do you have the water temp above that of the eggs... I keep reading where 5 deg above the egg temp to keep from "sucking" stuff into the egg through the pores.....

Dave

 

[jvls1942]

Quote: just plain running water from the faucet.. I use warm water because our water is so cold, I don't like putting my hands into it.. no other reason.. maybe I am doing something right, accidentally ?

I do not think that the egg is going to suck much through the shell..
and besides, air pushes from warm toward cold.. so if you use warmer water than the egg, won't that suck more than if you use cold water ? just asking ..

...........jiminwisc...........

 

[mbleily]

Wow this has given me so much to think about. I got shipped eggs that are sitting to settle right now. Some are quite dirty. I was and am still worried about setting them like that. How ever because they are shipped eggs and I can't see an air sac in most of them, I worry about the damage it might do them to wash them. Now after reading this thread I am leaning over to washing. I think I will try with dawn and them a rinse. I worry about anything else getting into the egg. I have read about them sucking in the water or what ever although have never seen real documentation of that. If it happens surely someone could document it. Ok it is settled clean them off!

 

[jvls1942]

Wow this has given me so much to think about. I got shipped eggs that are sitting to settle right now. Some are quite dirty. I was and am still worried about setting them like that. How ever because they are shipped eggs and I can't see an air sac in most of them, I worry about the damage it might do them to wash them. Now after reading this thread I am leaning over to washing. I think I will try with dawn and them a rinse. I worry about anything else getting into the egg. I have read about them sucking in the water or what ever although have never seen real documentation of that. If it happens surely someone could document it. Ok it is settled clean them off!

You do not have to get them squeaky clean.. I would not use dawn on them,,
You do not have to get all of the stain off,, just get the globs off until the shell feels smooth ..

just how much water can get sucked in ? I am having a hard time buying that concept ..

the eggs are covered with poop,, how much of that gets sucked in ??

remember, there is a membrane just inside the shell, I think that would stop any real deep penetration,,

we hatch a couple of thousand eggs each year.. we do wash them.. I do not believe I want to incubate whatever contamination that is on the outside of the shell..

 

[mbleily]

You do not have to get them squeaky clean.. I would not use dawn on them,,
You do not have to get all of the stain off,, just get the globs off until the shell feels smooth ..

just how much water can get sucked in ? I am having a hard time buying that concept ..

the eggs are covered with poop,, how much of that gets sucked in ??

remember, there is a membrane just inside the shell, I think that would stop any real deep penetration,,

we hatch a couple of thousand eggs each year.. we do wash them.. I do not believe I want to incubate whatever contamination that is on the outside of the shell..

These eggs have it just scattered all over them. It is hard for me to figure how they got that way. It is small bumps of poop. I could probably just use the scotch brite pad to get them mostly off then damp paper towel. I wipe mine to sell with a damp paper towel to get any little stuff on them. I don't usually get anything that looks like these. When it is rainy I get mud that the chickens track in on them. I just have a hard time wanting to put them in water. I know my SIL soaks hers for a while to get them clean but I have never done that. I just get them clean with a quick wipe. I only had one customer complain one time when it was raining and the eggs she got must have been stained. She told me I needed to clean my nests. LOL I told her it was the chickens feet that needed to be cleaned and I had a hard time getting them to wipe their feet before they got in the nest. She never bought from me again. LOL Didn't bother me. I only sell because I get so many and have enough people that love them that I didn't need her. I wasn't rude to her. I felt that she was rather rude to me in her tone and attitude. Never raised chickens I guess.

But I am off the subject. I will try cleaning them without heavy water and see what happens. Thanks for your input.

 

[jvls1942]

I thought we were discussing hatching eggs..

for eating eggs, we give them a good cleaning,, I don't want to push anything I don't want to eat into the egg when I crack it, and I don't think my egg eating customers do either..

.........jiminwisc..........