Dirty goose eggs, what to do?

[froggyphore]

I finally found where one of my female geese (the Embden I believe) is nesting. there were 6 eggs, all ice cold and covered in mud. she had no problem with two being taken. I'm considering incubating some this year, but from a little googling (not much on there about geese compared to chicken eggs) it seems the consensus on washing goose eggs and cleanliness of hatching eggs is the same as chickens, so I'm not sure what I would do about the dirt. can you incubate after washing and/or incubate dirty? it seems odd to me that waterfowl eggs wouldn't be able to handle getting wet. will the ones laid later in the year be any cleaner? Thanks

 

[sourland]

Can you provide more nesting material at the nest site. Given the opportunity geese can generally construct clean/dry nests.

 

[froggyphore]

Can you provide more nesting material at the nest site. Given the opportunity geese can generally construct clean/dry nests.

They got a fresh bail of hay earlier this month, should I give them another one? they made the nest in a good clean dry spot, I think she maybe just got in with dirty feet?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

From personal experience, I know that there's no need to fear "dirty" goose eggs, as they can successfully be incubated. Setting clean eggs is optimal, of course, but I prefer preserving the bloom over washing.

Before I set muddy eggs, however, I do try to gently brush off the soil with a dry paper towel so it doesn't fall off into my incubator or come off later during the misting and cooling phase. If the eggs have been submerged in moisture (e.g., mud, water, etc.), there is a chance that bacteria may have penetrated the shell and I would keep a close eye on those ones for signs of bacterial infection during incubation to prevent "exploders" (rare, but possible).

Happy hatching!