Disinfecting eggs before incubation - does anyone do this?

hi everyone,

I’ve recently bought an incubator and am going to incubate some quail eggs in the near future to raise as meat birds. I’ve never incubated anything before, and the Self Sufficient Me YouTube videos have definitely been helpful.

I’ve done some online research and the department of primary industries NSW have a quail fact sheet online that recommends fumigating eggs with a combo of potassium permanganate and formalin before incubation to disinfect them. I can’t post the link because I’m new to the forum, but it’s easily googled.

Has anyone ever done this? I’ve never seen it on YouTube and I don’t really think it’s necessary if the eggs and incubator are sufficiently clean. What do you guys think?

Can't speak from any sort of experience, but if they aren't disinfected when naturally incubated then it can't be crucial. The egg shells are somewhat permeable (that's how the baby chick can breathe) so you'd have to be careful to disinfect it with something that won't harm the embryo.

If the advice is coming from a primary industry department then I'd be inclined to take it along the same lines as pesticide use - as in, yes it probably helps increase yield in commercial farming but not at all necessary by someone trying to keep things natural/organic.