To wash eggs or not to wash eggs that is the question ^_^

[floridachickhatcher]

I have seen online that some people wash the eggs before they put them in the incubator to take any bacteria off the egg and my mom said that there is a film on the egg to protect it but seeing as how our hens use the nest boxes as bathrooms i thought it would be wise if i start washing them i mean they aren't growing any embryos yet so it shouldn't hurt them right? I was just going to wash them in plain water but my mom started thinking maybe we should use an all natural egg wash on them any suggestions would be helpful

 

[Rachel's Hobby Hatchery]

IDK, when hens incubate eggs naturally they dont wash there eggs and the babies are just fine. I have never washed incubating eggs...

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Whereas on the other hand I do wash all of my hatching eggs.

An incubator is a warm and humid place. Which makes for a great environment for growing all sorts of microbial life as well as producing chicks. I like to keep the microbial load in my box as low as possible so I wash and sanitize all of my hatching eggs.

 

[bargain]

We probably all do things differently and that's good because I'd be scared if everyone was alike For me, I don't wash the egg because I would be afraid of ruining the bloom on the egg. I am a farmer and farmers have strong hands, so I have to really be careful around eggs! Our hatch rates have been great! I do clean the incubators before reloading though....This is an important step! Have a blessed day. Nancy