My Peroxide Peeps, Margot and Macklemore
The egg incubator and other methods like it date back to at least the second century BC, when ancient Egyptians placed eggs in mud-brick huts to hatch. The Chinese were incubating eggs in around 250 BC. The first American incubator was invented and put on the market in 1844. Since then, incubators have evolved into a range of sizes-- small, 7-egg capacity incubators to giant, almost 2000-egg capacity incubators used in large-scale hatcheries. Incubators also happen to be optimal breeding grounds for bacteria. The warm, moist environment provides the perfect opportunity for bacteria to grow in the incubating hosts that are eggs. Large amounts of bacteria on the exterior of the eggshell can travel inside the egg, use the nutrients inside to reproduce, and hinder the development of the embryo entirely. Usually, eggs are gently rinsed under distilled water, but hatcheries commonly use chemical disinfectants to kill bacteria on the exterior of the shell. Will eggs disinfected with hydrogen peroxide prior to setting in the incubator, not become infected with bacteria and will have higher hatch rates than eggs rinsed under solely water?
Hypothesis:
If eggs are first rinsed under distilled water and dipped in 3% hydrogen peroxide, then the hatch rates will be higher than non-disinfected eggs.
Procedure:
Put on gloves to prevent cross-contamination from skin bacteria to eggs. Mark 6 of the eggs which will be rinsed in peroxide with an H in pencil. Rinse all of the eggs in 105 F distilled water, removing any particulate matter on the surface. Pour 2 cups of 105 F 3% hydrogen peroxide into a bowl. Quickly dip 6 of the eggs into the peroxide, making sure the entire surface of the egg is covered. Remove and place all 12 eggs into the incubator. Let eggs incubate for 17 days, candling on days 6, 12, and 14. Discard the failed eggs. DO NOT candle after day 17. Add water to the incubator to manage humidity as needed. On Day 18 of incubation, remove the turning plate (if present) from the incubator, adjust settings for hatch, and boost the humidity to 65-70%. Open the incubator as little as possible from now on until hatch. Monitor the temperature and humidity until hatch around day 21. On Day 21, the chicks will pip (make small holes in the shell to begin hatching,) and hatch. Some chicks will take longer than 21 days, but remove any unhatched eggs after day 24. After most chicks hatch, leave them in the incubator until they are dry and standing, then move them to the brooder. The heater should run in the brooder for an hour before the chicks are introduced. Check the chicks over (very gently) for any signs of injury. Watch the chicks for any signs of deformity or injury. Compare the number of eggs hatched that were rinsed in peroxide to the number of eggs hatched that were solely rinsed in water.
Data, Results, and Discussion:
Only 2 eggs developed and hatched, one dipped in hydrogen peroxide and one not. The egg that was dipped in hydrogen peroxide hatched a smaller, slightly weaker chick than the egg solely dipped in water. Ten days after hatch, the hydrogen peroxide chick weighs 10 grams less than the water chick and is observed as farther behind in development. The hydrogen peroxide chick has fewer feathers and more down than the water chick.
Some issues that could affect this experiment include a power loss suffered on day 7 of incubation. Four dead embryos were removed from the incubator on day 11. Three of these embryos suffered a bacterial infection, and the remaining embryo died mid-development.
If this experiment was repeated, a larger amount of eggs from a flock with a younger rooster would be optimal.
Conclusion:
The egg dipped in solely water hatched a larger, more robust chick than the egg dipped in hydrogen peroxide. This does not support my hypothesis, which states that the egg dipped in hydrogen peroxide will be a stronger, more robust chick because the risk of bacteria entering the eggshell will be much lower.
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Thanks so much for reading my article! I performed this experiment for Bio. Both of the chicks ended up being beautiful little pullets, which are now residing in my backyard in a spacious run with all the bugs they can eat. They are almost 3 months old now! Be sure to visit their growth thread, and other relevant threads!
Growth thread
Hatch-A-Long
Random questions
Sexing
Have a great day, and feel free to PM me with any questions/comments/concerns/chat about the babies or d'Uccles! I can go on for hours!
