Can eggs be infected through the shell?

[Hoenske]

Hello, I'm not sure if this issue was addressed somewhere else or if I'm asking something extremely stupid. Here comes:
I've had the second batch of eggs not hatching. I've tried it with two different hens in two different nests and the eggs were from two different suppliers. The hens are both veterans in hatching eggs for me so they're innocent. Both batches one in May and one in June/July the eggs started to discolour. I left the hens on their nests way past 21 days. I had to throw the eggs away. Didn't check the insides but the one was cracked and with a peek inside saw the membrane was totally in tact but dried out completely. The crack appeared only on the last day. It was just so dried out it seemed.
So my question is can there be something that my hens have that infects the eggs? Remember the eggs are not theirs. The egg shells become discoloured and it is not like a fungi or something growing on them. It seems to be from the inside out...

[kated]

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/avian/pfs33.htm

This is a useful website - it is very discouraging when you don't get chicks, I sympathise! The fact you have tried two different broodies and two different suppliers can rule out some of the problems. Other than that, it is just bad luck - keep trying!

[ChickenGirl101]

http://enisrarebreedchickens.wura.co.uk ... of-an-egg/

The egg shell is porous, but has a waxy cuticle which avoids the penetration of bacteria. This is not to say that they do not succeed though...

[subruss]

This is the same question you ask a few weeks ago, look in (your posts) and you will get all the answers that were given then

[fakefur]

Could have been that the eggs had been washed prior to your recieving them.... That can cause problems. I had bad luck this year with my first and few hatches. Of the first we had 1 hatch only out of 6 the second nothing, the third 1/6 and the fourth 9/12. We hatch regularly and know what we are doing. All those eggs were from ebay and not from my usual supplier.
I noticed that the first two batches had staining from poo on them and looked to have been washed... when I candled a few had started developing but most stopped about day 12.. I put this down to bacteria somehow getting into the egg from the research I did on various forums.. I know the incubator was running fine... It's the only thing I can put it down to... one of those things