Hatching addicts who have come across a rotten egg in their incubators never forget the smell. The odor is distinctive and unmistakable. Rancid does not begin to describe it. Why do incubated eggs go bad? Often, dirty eggs are the culprit. Bacteria from a dirty egg grows inside, turning the contents into a foul liquid, killing any embryo present. Gasses build up and generate pressure that may cause the egg to ooze or explode.
I rescued this egg from one of my fairweather broody hens, who had abandoned her nest after two weeks of sitting. The egg was no longer warm when I found it, which didn’t give me much hope for the embryo’s viability, but I placed it in my incubator hoping for the best a few days ago. Upon inspecting the eggs that had begun to hatch in the bator this morning, I immediately spotted the telltale, maple syrup-looking ooze that strikes fear into the heart of every hatcher. I knew what that innocent, honey-like substance signaled as I had seen it before. A stink bomb in danger of detonation. Must. Act. Quickly.
I took the egg out of the bator and placed it in two, zip-top bags and took it OUTSIDE. I’m just not a risk taker and the smell of a rotten egg is so pungent it could very well penetrate the confines of two sealed, plastic bags.
I always insist on knowing what lies within, so of course, I had to perform an eggtopsy (ie: crack that bad-boy open). My weapon of choice for this job is a heavy carving knife. I tap the blunt edge of the knife against the wide end of the egg (where the air sac would be) to crack it, being very careful not to puncture the bag. A nice, ripe egg will explode with balloon-like force and sound.
This egg, while rotten, did not explode. There was a well-advanced, decomposing embryo inside that, if given more time in the incubator, would have deteriorated further into greenish-black, liquified putresence. While I’m not ordinarily one to spare the photographic details of the graphic, I thought better of it this time. (you’re welcome)
When candling eggs, pay attention to any smell inside the bator to catch rotten eggs early. Bad eggs readily identify themselves and should be removed immediately.
Happy hatching!
Kathy Shea Mormino
Affectionately known internationally as The Chicken Chick®, Kathy Shea Mormino shares a fun-loving, informative style to raising backyard chickens. …Read on
shop my SPONSORS
Hatching addicts who have come across a rotten egg in their incubators never forget the smell. The odor is distinctive and unmistakable. Rancid does not begin to describe it. Why do incubated eggs go bad? Often, dirty eggs are the culprit. Bacteria from a dirty egg grows inside, turning the contents into a foul liquid, killing any embryo present. Gasses build up and generate pressure that may cause the egg to ooze or explode.
I rescued this egg from one of my fairweather broody hens, who had abandoned her nest after two weeks of sitting. The egg was no longer warm when I found it, which didn’t give me much hope for the embryo’s viability, but I placed it in my incubator hoping for the best a few days ago. Upon inspecting the eggs that had begun to hatch in the bator this morning, I immediately spotted the telltale, maple syrup-looking ooze that strikes fear into the heart of every hatcher. I knew what that innocent, honey-like substance signaled as I had seen it before. A stink bomb in danger of detonation. Must. Act. Quickly.
I took the egg out of the bator and placed it in two, zip-top bags and took it OUTSIDE. I’m just not a risk taker and the smell of a rotten egg is so pungent it could very well penetrate the confines of two sealed, plastic bags.
I always insist on knowing what lies within, so of course, I had to perform an eggtopsy (ie: crack that bad-boy open). My weapon of choice for this job is a heavy carving knife. I tap the blunt edge of the knife against the wide end of the egg (where the air sac would be) to crack it, being very careful not to puncture the bag. A nice, ripe egg will explode with balloon-like force and sound.
This egg, while rotten, did not explode. There was a well-advanced, decomposing embryo inside that, if given more time in the incubator, would have deteriorated further into greenish-black, liquified putresence. While I’m not ordinarily one to spare the photographic details of the graphic, I thought better of it this time. (you’re welcome)
When candling eggs, pay attention to any smell inside the bator to catch rotten eggs early. Bad eggs readily identify themselves and should be removed immediately.
Happy hatching!
Hi I have a 36 day old bantom rooster an he has what seems like lost power in one of his legs? Do you know what would cause this?
I'm glad to know it helped, Stormy!
I have had a couple of eggs that have been smelly and oozing. This is my first time hatching in the incubator and removed them immediately. I broke them open outside so they wouldn't explode on their own and when I did they were perfect little chicks almost completely developed so I thought I had made a mistake. I got worried and Googled this topic and found several results before yours that just didn't answer the question, which was " Does a healthy egg have a bad smell or leak?" Your post was the only one that gave me a… Read more »
Hi. I have some eggs that are on day 21 in an incubator. This is my first experience with this. I'm new to chickens altogether. But my hen was not sitting on her eggs so I figured why not give it a try. When reading the papers on setting up the incubator, they stressed cleanliness to prevent bacteria. So i somewhat washed the eggs before putting them inside. I now know I shouldn't have done that, but too late now. For a week I've smelled a vague bad egg smell. But it's not strong or intolerable. I don't see anything… Read more »
Rarely.