Egg exploded covering all other eggs under broody hen in gunk, I threw them out but was it possible to have saved them

[FranzBear]

I didn't take a photo but it was thick layer of dried raw egg over each egg (about 10), they had been incubated by a first time mom hen for about 3-4 days. Discovered yesterday morning so I decided to trash the eggs. Thoroughly depressed cos I knew that there were viable embryos in them having candled them recently and I felt like cleaning them properly without damaging the protective bloom is impossible. Still, it killed me to chuck the eggs away and put new fresh ones under the hen (I cleaned up nesting area and put less eggs under her this time). Luckily she had only been sitting on them 3-4 days and I hope she won't mind having to wait extra few days, but now I was wondering if it was possible to clean the eggs without damaging the bloom? Or would the egg gunk not have affected hatchability much? I feel like it would have,but seeking advice of more experienced hatchers.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
No, cleaning those eggs wasn't a good idea, you did the right thing. Fortunately it was only a few days, not later in incubation.
Was that egg thinner shelled than others? How warm is it where you live now, and how long was that egg out there?
Starting over was the best option you had, and if you can identify which hen's egg was damaged, consider not trying to hatch any of hers.
Good luck with your broody!
Mary

 

[Egg Snatcher]

I didn't take a photo but it was thick layer of dried raw egg over each egg (about 10), they had been incubated by a first time mom hen for about 3-4 days. Discovered yesterday morning so I decided to trash the eggs. Thoroughly depressed cos I knew that there were viable embryos in them having candled them recently and I felt like cleaning them properly without damaging the protective bloom is impossible. Still, it killed me to chuck the eggs away and put new fresh ones under the hen (I cleaned up nesting area and put less eggs under her this time). Luckily she had only been sitting on them 3-4 days and I hope she won't mind having to wait extra few days, but now I was wondering if it was possible to clean the eggs without damaging the bloom? Or would the egg gunk not have affected hatchability much? I feel like it would have,but seeking advice of more experienced hatchers.

Yes the eggs would of been viable. When I have this happen I just clean the nesting box out and give the hen her eggs back. I’ve never had problems. Like @Folly's place said you can’t wash the eggs. It may no of been the hens fault so I would not just quit letting her hatch. Rotten eggs are know to explode so what u have had happen is normal.

 

[Folly's place]

Here we had an episode with an incubator, exploding egg all over the others, and dead/ dying embryos and chicks as the few who made it to hatching had ugly bacterial infections. As I recall, two or three chicks were okay, out of over a dozen eggs.
It was so ugly, never again!
Mary

 

[FranzBear]

Welcome!
No, cleaning those eggs wasn't a good idea, you did the right thing. Fortunately it was only a few days, not later in incubation.
Was that egg thinner shelled than others? How warm is it where you live now, and how long was that egg out there?
Starting over was the best option you had, and if you can identify which hen's egg was damaged, consider not trying to hatch any of hers.
Good luck with your broody!
Mary

It's unfortunately super hot middle of summer in far north Queensland, Australia...humid and full of summer rain and shine. Yes, it was a mix of eBay eggs and eggs from my own hens, although I am unsure which one broke, eBay or my own. But from examining the shell of the broken one yes, it was quite thin, from previous experience most of my hens have thicker than average store-bought eggshells and now that I think about it, one of the eBay eggs was also cracked when it arrived in the post. Will probably switch eBay seller which is a shame, they have good communication. Thanks for your encouragement and reaffirming that I did the right thing! Such a shame, I had some rarer expensive eggs in the mix...

 

[FranzBear]

Here we had an episode with an incubator, exploding egg all over the others, and dead/ dying embryos and chicks as the few who made it to hatching had ugly bacterial infections. As I recall, two or three chicks were okay, out of over a dozen eggs.
It was so ugly, never again!
Mary

How horrible, thanks for the insight so I didn't have to go through with it! Just such a shame cos some of the eggs were expensive

 

[FranzBear]

Yes the eggs would of been viable. When I have this happen I just clean the nesting box out and give the hen her eggs back. I’ve never had problems. Like @Folly's place said you can’t wash the eggs. It may no of been the hens fault so I would not just quit letting her hatch. Rotten eggs are know to explode so what u have had happen is normal.

I don't think it exploded cos it was rotten, I think it was cos it just had a thin shell and broke, as another egg that arrived in the mail from the same seller was already cracked. Not happy with the quality of eggs I received this time, shell thickness wise, but they were fresh, and only 3-4 days into incubation. Unfortunately, the hen thoroughly rotated and covered all the other eggs in broken egg juice and it has dried into a thick later onto pretty much every inch of the shells, cleaning them off just seemed like too daunting of a task.