Which eggs to hatch?

[NorthwoodsChick]

If you like it, I would incubate it. If it's actually damaged, that should show up within a few days to a week. Just keep an eye on the smell and development. I have incubated eggs which I'd scrubbed in H2O2, which I'm sure has removed much of the bloom, and had excellent hatch rates. If you track weight loss over time, and make sure you meet your targets by adjusting your incubator settings as necessary, and keep everything as clean as possible in the incubator and when touching/checking eggs, your chances of success with this egg, or with eggs having damaged bloom, are very good, IMO.

Thank you-

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Good question. I probably would not. My concern would be that by scratching it like that she has probably removed the bloom, that protective coating. The bloom goes on just as the egg is laid, that's why an egg coming out looks damp. That liquid quickly dries and forms that protective barrier but it is put on on top of the pigment. So by removing some of the pigment like that she has removed some bloom.

I certainly would not put it under a broody hen. I don't check those that often. I'd consider putting it in an incubator where I could check it every day by sniffing it. If I ever smelled the rotten egg smell I'd toss it but if it doesn't smell I'd let it hatch.

That is a pretty egg.

Thanks for the advice. I put it in the incubator. Pretty- indeed. The hen lays a beautiful deep russet egg consistently. All of her daughters lay heavy bloom with some appearing purple. Because of this I am going with a RH around 30-35%. I had great hatch rates with Marans in that range.

 

[LuciferRoo]

I will just add this with regard to hatch rates and age, with a caviat that I only hatched a handful of times.

When I hatched eggs that were under 2 weeks old, I got a hatched rate of 100%.
Late last year, I did a desperation hatch and used eggs which were over a month old. Result - 3 out of 12 (25%).

In case someone is wondering why - my favorite rooster died and I wanted a son from him as a replacement.
That hatch had 2 males and 1 female.
Normally I would not be happy about that ratio but considering my goal, I was ecstatic.