weird issues with bacteria need help

[micanopy-chick]

i have been hatching eggs for monthes now and never had a problem with ''smells or exploding eggs '' untill i was out of town and asked my family to look over the eggs and remove eggs that would be over due ....... well they did not when i got home i had lost everysingle egg in the bator all had gone bad

adn now all of my eggs go bad when i put them in to hatch i have bleached out the bator every time

first the water films over
then drops the % of hum. even when i add fresh water

i have even ''bleached the bator durring the 21 days '' to try and get on top of the issue


any ideas because im at a loss i have lost 150 eggs now and have not been able to hatch 1

 

[LilyD]

Quote:
Instead of bleach I would try hydrogen peroxide since it's less caustic than bleach. Bleach can cause fumes that could kill the eggs if you're putting it in there during a hatch. You can wash it with a mild detergent and a wash cloth. Then I would put peroxide in it and wash it again with that. Then and probably most important I would sit it outside in the sun for a day to dry it out completely and kill any buggers that remain.

Hope it helps,
Good luck

 

[Bat Cave Silkies]

My first suggestion is---STOP using the bleach. A dear friend was using bleach to clean her bator & hatcher; the bleach penetrated the plastic components and continued to emit gases during use...the fumes killed ALL of the embryos.

My second suggestion is to use Oxine (non-activated) to clean EVERYTHING in the bator. Add a couple of drops of Oxine to the water used to humidify the bator. I also "spritz" all of the eggs going into the bator with Oxine too.

Hope this helps...

 

[Flawedatdesign]

I have to agree with Lily . What about a short stay in a freezer also?

 

[LilyD]

Quote:
Not sure if the freezer would be effective I have never used this method. I know after my last hatch I used peroxide which would be an oxine and cleaned out the bottom tray and the grating on top. I also put them outside in the sun for a day when it was good and hot. I have 27 out of 41 growing presently and I lost the other 14 due to not being fertile so they don't count. All the rest are doing well and growing fine.

 

[yinepu]

I use a 5 step process when I clean an incubator..
1) clean out all the loose gunk
2) wash with a mild dish detergent to get the rest of the gunk and then rinse
3) when it LOOKS clean I wash it again with vinegar and rinse
4) wash again with baking soda mixed with water and rinse
5) wash a final time with hydrogen peroxide and rinse, dry and then let air dry to remove any excess dampness

may sound like a lot of cleaning.. but this way i KNOW it's clean and no harsh chemicals that will harm the next batch of eggs have been used
I have a 90 - 100% hatch rate and have never had a problem with nasty bacteria killing my eggs or any funky smells from using chemicals

 

[ChooksChick]

I want to add one more step: Let it spend an afternoon drying/baking in the sun. Sun will kill many bacteria, plus it will hasten the fumes' (if any) escape. I always find this makes my styro incubators whiter and they just end up much cleaner for a longer duration.

I'm a big fan of Oxine, too.

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
lol.. it's so dusty here if I left mine out in the sun I would have to wash it all over again.. limestone dust coats everything!

 

[Gypsy07]

What kind of bator do you have?

I've found that the only way to clean a fan assisted bator thoroughly is to disassemble it completely and reduce it to a pile of components. Chick dander and hatching debris (and therefore bacteria) builds up on the fan blades and hides in the corners behind the fan cover and it's really difficult to clean it out properly.

I recently took delivery of a well used second hand Brinsea Octagon and the first thing I did was to strip it down completely, removing the fan cover, the heating elements, the fan, the control panel, everything. I was in a mild state of panic the whole time as I'd just paid out a wedge of money and now all I had was a pile of bits, but the amount of yucky fluff I managed to clean off all the parts was unbelievable.

Maybe that's something to think about...