when should you worry that a bad egg will explode?

[Lisa202]

There are 2 eggs under my broody for 14 days. I definitely see one is good, but it took me 2 times on the same day to see it. I don't know how I missed it on the 1st try, but I saw some candling photos, tried again, and then saw it.

The second egg is still a mystery. While it has been under her for 14 days, it looks more like a 12 day photo instead of a 14 day photo, so I don't want to throw it out yet. I did find it out in the middle of the coop one day, so maybe the cold stunted it and it's not as far along??? They're bantam eggs, so maybe they're generally smaller in the egg? I see the air sac clearly, there's a small red thing surrounded by darkness/redness that moves around as you move the egg. Sometimes it looks darker, and sometimes it doesn't...and the more I stare at it in the dark closet, the more my eyes play tricks on me. Like I said, the other egg I thought for sure was a quitter until I tried again and then saw the moving blob, so I don't trust myself on this one. Maybe the embryo is a little smaller for it's "in the egg" age?

So...do I wait and risk it exploding?

 

[secuono]

I've never had an egg explode in my incubators, let alone under a hen. Hens will usually kick out bad eggs on their own.
Different age, maybe the egg was added 2 days later.
I place eggs I think are bad in the back row if my incubator, then cover them with a tiny hand towel so if they do pop, they won't splatter over the others, but...never have popped.

 

[Stacykins]

You'll know when you smell it?

 

[Lisa202]

Quote:
Do you mean smelling it after it explodes or should I smell the egg to tell if it will explode?

 

[Stacykins]

Eggs gone back will have an odor even before exploding, though that is certainly multiplied once it does explode. Rotten, sulfurous smell.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Your egg is probably perfectly fine... it has a baby in it! Don't throw it out! I had 4 clear eggs in my incubator for like 16 days and they were not rotting yet when I threw them out... I don't think you need to worry!

 

[SallyF]

I had a broody who had an egg explode. I had noticed the day before when I took her off the nest for her broody poop that one of the eggs had droplets of liquid on it. Couldn't smell anything at that point. The next day, when I took her off, the egg wasn't there. I started looking for it, thinking she had kicked it out, then I heard the "pop" and smelled it. It had stuck to her feathers and as she walked around, it popped. I had to clean up the residue and clean her breast feathers off before I let her back on the nest.