The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[WallyG74]

Cleaning slightly dirty eggs

My timing was horrible. I should have refreshed before trying to be cute.
But to answer your question, wipe them off as best you can with a dry cloth. I’ve hatched some pretty disgusting eggs in the past.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Thanks! Waiting to get a couple Buckeye eggs tomorrow then I will fire up the incubator.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I think 55° or 60° is good.

I will be hatching in my can house which sits at about 50°. Which might not be great for actual incubation but I do have a space heater and a thermometer out there if this hatch doesn’t go well.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Can house?

 

[The Moonshiner]

I got a couple Leghorn eggs but they’re a bit dirty. Not wet dirty but definitely some flecks of poop. I was just going to use a dry cloth to clean them because the last time I had dirty eggs (egg yolk mess from two broody hens squabbling over eggs) I went to town on them with a baby wipe and had a horrible hatch rate. Is a dry cloth ok even if it doesn’t get every little fleck off?

I use these things to wash dishes.

If an egg is bad I just toss it but if it just needs a little cleaning I keep one of these for just eggs. That hard-core side does pretty good and no water needed.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I will be hatching in my can house which sits at about 50°. Which might not be great for actual incubation but I do have a space heater and a thermometer out there if this hatch doesn’t go well.

If the incubator has enough heating wattage to get it to temp. it shouldn't be a problem. I used to hatch year around and hatched in some cooler rooms.
I think it was 2 years ago I put my PepsiBater in the mudroom that had no heat or AC. It was a hot summer and that area was staying quite warm. I had horrible luck keeping it from overheating. I blame the temps in the room and the heat 6 turners were putting out.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Can house?

It’s kind of like a root cellar but above ground. It’s very old. My husband’s family used to put their canned food in there so we call it the can house. It’s made of river stones as far as I can tell.

 

[The Moonshiner]

What if you stick them the next day under a broody hen? Just to see, I put a couple of the leghorn eggs from after the game stag had had access to them under a buff orpington who would prefer to live her life in a nesting box.

A what now? Broody hen? What's that?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

A what now? Broody hen? What's that?

Not a Leghorn

 

[BigBlueHen53]

A what now? Broody hen? What's that?

Hunh. Get you an Orfingtun, you'll see. Buffly ones are purty good but lavenders can be pretty determined too. IME.