My silkie girl was broody (as usual, so I put some of my friend's fertile eggs under her. After 21 days, they were nothing but rotten eggs! I found out that she had washed the eggs prior to giving them to me. Would this have ruined their fertility? Thanks!
Washing eggs before incubation is a really controversial topic. I would definitely not do that if I was letting a broody hen do the hatching. You are right, if she washed off the bloom "an invisible protective coating", then she very well could have caused those eggs to become contaminated with some type of germs, causing them to go rotten. Some friends of mine wash their eggs before incubating in an incubator, and some swear that you should never do that.
