Smelly egg?

[ponygal]

I just candled the eggs under our broody and one of them had a 'boiled egg' kind of smell. I assume that means it's rotten? It wasn't an awful smell or anything, but none of the other four eggs had any odor at all. Should I assume it has gone bad and discard it?

Thanks!

 

[CSisley]

I wouldn't assume it has gone bad. I'm not sure you can smell a no good egg unless it is really really bad. I've had eggs go bad without any noticeable smell and I have a pretty keen sense of smell. What day are you on? Usually I compare questionable eggs against eggs I know are developing for sure. On day eight the air cells should be pretty defined and you may even see the embryos moving unless your eggs are really dark.

 

[mortie]

You said you had them out to candle them. What did you find on that one when you candled it?

 

[ponygal]

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to candling and I'm not sure how old the egg is because other hens kept laying in the broody's nest for the first week (until I realized that I needed to move her and her eggs out from the main coop), so it could be anywhere from about 7 days to 14 days old. The egg was quite dark all over, and I could just slightly see an air sac on the fat end.

 

[GraceBeth]

i have a bantam that's broody too. She has 8 eggs under her and I candled one and it smells. Is it bad?

 

[AmericanMom]

Eggs that are about to hatch take on a smell, almost like a boiled egg smell to me, that being said, if its early on in incubation I wouldn't personally trust it to leave it be.. I have come across two rotten eggs in my almost year of incubation, both times without question I removed the eggs. A rotten egg should not be left to possibly explode and harm the other eggs, also a broody may chip at the egg causing it to seep or leak out.. Nope, nada, no way, egg gets tossed ASAP.

 

[Nadiia]

I bought 6 eggs and two of them hatched in the 19th day.. It's day 23 now and the others haven't hatched. What shall I do? Also, what hay is good to out in the brooder??

 

[ponygal]

AmericanMom - thanks! The egg could be as far along as 14 days - would you still toss it?

Anyways, I went out this morning when the broody was out having a quick dust bath and added some new hay to her nest. While I was out there I did a quick sniff test again and didn't notice the boiled egg smell anymore - weird. I'll check it again in a few days... After that point (when the oldest one is 17 days), should I just leave them be? I'm really annoyed at myself for not either marking the first couple eggs or moving Maisy/broody out by herself as soon as she started sitting on eggs. Now I'm dealing with a staggered hatch....next time I'll know better!

 

[bobbi-j]

AmericanMom - thanks! The egg could be as far along as 14 days - would you still toss it?

Anyways, I went out this morning when the broody was out having a quick dust bath and added some new hay to her nest. While I was out there I did a quick sniff test again and didn't notice the boiled egg smell anymore - weird. I'll check it again in a few days... After that point (when the oldest one is 17 days), should I just leave them be? I'm really annoyed at myself for not either marking the first couple eggs or moving Maisy/broody out by herself as soon as she started sitting on eggs. Now I'm dealing with a staggered hatch....next time I'll know better!

Honestly, I would suggest leaving them be even now. Let the broody do her job. Go out on Day 21 or 22 and see if there are any chicks from the farthest-along ones. If so, you might want to remove them so she keeps sitting until the others hatch, then slip the first ones back under her at night after the rest have all hatched.

 

[ponygal]

Thanks Bobbi-J - will do I'm all set up for chicks - brooder and heat-plate ready-to go from the chicks we had earlier this summer, so that won't be a problem.