Maybe change your line to something hatching dirty eggs. A picture might help also. Everyones definition of dirty is different.
A little dirt or stuff will not bother anything. If you have to clean them see above post with warm water and drying. They do not have to be perfectly clean.
Now I have seen a Mother wash a child but never a hen wash her eggs. If you are talking about an egg that is poopy beyond belief, wash it and have it for breakfast. If you are taking about an egg with a little mess on it, wipe it off and put it in the incubator. I never set an egg that needs to be washed, the water takes off the protective film.
Hi! For clumps of mud / (or stuff) I use my thumbnail and scrape off the worst and set them. They hatch here just fine. The egg in the back middle was dropped by one of my hens in the muddy yard. It as well as its' dirty friends hatched fine. Good luck! Lisa
If they' happen to be dirty and the hen is setting on them I let her worry about them, I only wash the ones we eat or I sell, then I wash in warm water and dawn dish detergent, rinse and put in fridge. marrie
I'm incubating some leghorn eggs that weren't the "cleanest" BUT, the wonderful breeder didn't want to remove the bloom so, 10 of the 14 were good at day 11 when I candled.
