How big is that egg compared to the hen eggs? Duck eggs are usually a lot bigger.
Some people can see development after 3 full days of development, but not always. How many days of development has it had? It takes 24 hours for it to have 1 day of development, so you say "1" the day after it goes in the incubator. There is nothing really wrong with candling but be patient. Give it time to develop. I generally wait 7 days but my blue and green eggs are really hard to see inside.
The last thing a hen, duck, turkey, whatever, puts on the egg when she lays it is a liquid layer we call bloom. That quickly dries and creates a barrier to help keep bacteria from going inside the egg through the porous shell. What causes an egg to go bad is bacteria get inside to multiply. It's usually best to not wash that egg or sandpaper it to take that layer of bloom off.
If an egg has a real light coating of dry dirt or maybe a real light bit of dried really thin poop I incubate it. But a heavy blob of poop or mud can compromise the bloom and can hold bacteria. If an egg is that dirty I do not incubate it. It sounds like that egg was probably that dirty.
If bacteria is not present it cannot get inside the egg. That's why it is important to have your incubator clean and as sterile as you can manage. By washing that egg you took the bloom off, even if you just used water. But you probably took bacteria away too. If the mud was as thick as I think it was the egg has a better chance washed than not.
With the bloom gone it is even more important to not introduce bacteria. Make sure your hands are very clean when you handle the eggs. If you lay those eggs down, make sure what they are on is clean. You need to do this with all the eggs but especially that specific one. You may want to think of this when you candle.
One way to check if that egg is going bad is to sniff it. If you get a rotten egg smell get rid of it. If it doesn't smell you are OK, at least up to that point. But keep checking.
This is not the end of the world. Good luck with that egg and all the others.
Some people can see development after 3 full days of development, but not always. How many days of development has it had? It takes 24 hours for it to have 1 day of development, so you say "1" the day after it goes in the incubator. There is nothing really wrong with candling but be patient. Give it time to develop. I generally wait 7 days but my blue and green eggs are really hard to see inside.
The last thing a hen, duck, turkey, whatever, puts on the egg when she lays it is a liquid layer we call bloom. That quickly dries and creates a barrier to help keep bacteria from going inside the egg through the porous shell. What causes an egg to go bad is bacteria get inside to multiply. It's usually best to not wash that egg or sandpaper it to take that layer of bloom off.
If an egg has a real light coating of dry dirt or maybe a real light bit of dried really thin poop I incubate it. But a heavy blob of poop or mud can compromise the bloom and can hold bacteria. If an egg is that dirty I do not incubate it. It sounds like that egg was probably that dirty.
If bacteria is not present it cannot get inside the egg. That's why it is important to have your incubator clean and as sterile as you can manage. By washing that egg you took the bloom off, even if you just used water. But you probably took bacteria away too. If the mud was as thick as I think it was the egg has a better chance washed than not.
With the bloom gone it is even more important to not introduce bacteria. Make sure your hands are very clean when you handle the eggs. If you lay those eggs down, make sure what they are on is clean. You need to do this with all the eggs but especially that specific one. You may want to think of this when you candle.
One way to check if that egg is going bad is to sniff it. If you get a rotten egg smell get rid of it. If it doesn't smell you are OK, at least up to that point. But keep checking.
This is not the end of the world. Good luck with that egg and all the others.
