# Contaminated incubating eggs - Yippee! They are hatching!



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

We had a hen setting on 15 eggs. Today is day 18 and I found that one of the eggs broke and the chick died. By the amount of smell and the appearance of the dead chick, I'd say it happened no more than a couple days ago.
Some of the other eggs were contaminated, but I candled them and I could see obvious living movement in some of them. Some of the eggs smell, but it might just be the stuff that got on them from the broken egg.
I cleaned out the nest and put in fresh bedding. What should I do with the eggs? Should I wash them or leave them alone? :help:


----------



## 2 lil-does (Apr 7, 2010)

*Re: Urgent - Contaminated incubating eggs - Should I wash?*

I would leave them be. moving them around will most likely do more harm then good... i have a few broody hens & they sometimes rot about half the eggs they sit on. Rotten eggs is the most offal smell! 
I'd wait 3 to 4 days till all the chicks hatch then remove the rest of the eggs that didn't & use them for **** bait if you have a **** problem.

good luck with your broody hen! :stars: i love to watch the momma hen teach all her little chicks how to scratch & stuff!


----------



## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

*Re: Urgent - Contaminated incubating eggs - Should I wash?*

hm... we used to raise emus and hatched our own eggs.. quite different they are from other eggs. I would just leave the egg be. It has a special sealant on it that can protect it from these sorts of things and to wash it off might make allow the bacteria to enter through the pores of the egg. 
Our emus laid the eggs in mud. Other ranchers would dip their eggs in bleach water to rinse off that mud. I never did and did not have problems hatching my eggs like other ranchers did because I believed that the bleach interfered with the protective egg barrier to keep bacteria out.


----------



## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

*Re: Urgent - Contaminated incubating eggs - Should I wash?*

Howerver.. I do have to add. I ended up trying to incubate someone else's eggs once.. they did bleach wash.. and I ended up having one of those eggs semi explode in my incubator.. A nightmare for me. I got it cleaned up and the whole incubator cleaned up and tried to dab off the mess on the other eggs.. I had no problems with other eggs in contamination and had an extreme high success in hatching emus.


----------



## Sundancer (Jan 21, 2012)

*Re: Urgent - Contaminated incubating eggs - Should I wash?*

Do not wash them. The covering on the egg protects it from bacteria. Being dirty with poop or broken egg mush won't do anything but make the eggs a little nasty to look at. :greengrin:


----------



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

*Re: Urgent - Contaminated incubating eggs - Should I wash?*

:thumb: Thanks all! They are due to hatch day after tomorrow! My little sister is crazy excited! (Not to mention that I am too!  )


----------



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

*Re: Contaminated incubating eggs - Yippee! They are hatching*

Well, they are due tomorrow, but two of them have pipped their shells!


----------



## nubians2 (Feb 20, 2011)

*Re: Contaminated incubating eggs - Yippee! They are hatching*

Congrats. It is always fun.hatching chicks!


----------

