Why dont we wash the eggs???

[blackbelt]

Good question! I do have an answer for that in detail on my site. You can find it here. http://simple-living-life.com Short answer don't wash the eggs.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Same here...

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

If my eggs are dirty I was them with hot water, the hottest water I can stand. This year I was collecting eggs from the layers to hatch some more mixed breeds for layers, and some of the eggs were super dirty from them stepping on the eggs with muddy feet. I soaked them for a min. or two in some hot water with a splash of bleach, all the eggs ended up hatching.

Never had problems hatching washed eggs.

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
x 1000!!!

I use a very similar method to wash all my hatching eggs, whether they are visibly dirty or not. I have kept detailed records of every hatch I've ever done, and these records give me solid proof that my hatch rate went up significantly after I started washing everything. I didn't change anything else, just started washing all my hatching eggs.

Every commercial hatchery washes their eggs, and they wouldn't be doing that if it wasn't making them more money, i.e. hatching them more chicks! All that stuff about protective blooms, well, I think most people are told it and repeat it without ever experimenting a bit and washing some eggs to see for themselves. I'm sure I repeated it it to a few people (probably even here on BYC too!) till I decided to run a couple of experiments and figure out the truth.

 

[bikerchic]

Quote:
x 1000!!!

I use a very similar method to wash all my hatching eggs, whether they are visibly dirty or not. I have kept detailed records of every hatch I've ever done, and these records give me solid proof that my hatch rate went up significantly after I started washing everything. I didn't change anything else, just started washing all my hatching eggs.

Every commercial hatchery washes their eggs, and they wouldn't be doing that if it wasn't making them more money, i.e. hatching them more chicks! All that stuff about protective blooms, well, I think most people are told it and repeat it without ever experimenting a bit and washing some eggs to see for themselves. I'm sure I repeated it it to a few people (probably even here on BYC too!) till I decided to run a couple of experiments and figure out the truth.

Will you explain your procedure for your washing. Do you completely submerge the eggs? Etc. Do you also put in bleach? How much?

Thanks!

 

[wpalmisano]

I would never wash a HATCHING EGG, but it is a must for EATING EGGS.

 

[Gypsy07]

Haha. That's funny, cause I don't usually bother to wash the ones I'm going to eat.

My washing procedure is as follows:

I get my kitchen tap running till the water's nice and hot. Hot enough that it hurts on my bare skin - I always wear rubber gloves so I don't burn myself! I get a one litre ice cream tub and squirt some plain household bleach in it - I don't use any specific amount or concentration, just a good sized squirt - then fill the rest of the tub with hot water and also leave the tap running. If eggs have visible dirt and/or poo crusts, I rinse them off under the tap first before bleaching them, just so the tub of water stays clean for longer. If they look clean, they just go straight into the bleach solution. These ones I usually just dip once or twice, swirl them about a bit, then rinse them off thoroughly under the hot running water. But if they're filthy or if the shells are badly stained, I'll plop them in the hot bleach and let them sit for 30 seconds or so, then give them a good scrub all over with a kitchen scourer that's also been dipped in the bleach. Then I rinse under the tap. I try not to leave them in the water for too long, but a minute or two doesn't seem to do them any harm. It takes a lot longer than that for any heat to reach the inside of the egg and the delicate blastoderm or blastocyte (whatever!) that is the tiny collection of cells that will transform into a chick.

When I rinse them off, I place them on fresh kitchen towel, and either let them dry on their own (if I've got lots of eggs to wash) or get some more kitchen towel and dry them off myself (if I'm only washing a couple of eggs). Once I've washed them, I don't touch them again with my bare skin. I either keep the rubber gloves on or I handle them by using a bit of clean kitchen towel. Don't want any bacteria or grease from my hands getting on them after I've spent my time washing them! If I'm saving up my own eggs, I wash them as soon as I've collected them and store them in a brand new egg carton. If I'm using shipped eggs, I wash them all at once, place them in the incubator and switch it on immediately, but don't switch the turner on for the first day to give them a chance to settle after the shipping.

Then when I candle them on days 6, 12 and 18, I scrub off my hands and arms with antibacterial soap before touching them.

This isn't any carefully thought out and measured procedure, it's just how I do it and how it works for me.

 

[bikerchic]

Quote:
I will be trying this on my next hatch. I have some egg cleaner that has citric acid in it that says its recommended for incubation but I have been afraid to use it.

 

[cmom]

I have washed my eggs and not wash my eggs and have had 95% to 100% hatches both ways. I do dry incubate and I think that made a difference for me.

 

[chickened]

More effort to keep them clean is a better solution than deciding to wash or not to wash. I try to create a path to the nest box that cleans the birds feet, hopping from one point to another as an example coupled with fresh bedding.