Washing before eating

[1sttimechickenmom]

Hello Fellow Chicken Families!!

Well we are two months in and we have embraced chicken math. Our 1st coup, as many of you kindly commented on, is now a spare for future hatchlings. We had a new and improved coop built by a local builder and we love it! In addition, a friend needed to rehome her flock so we went from six to 13 plus a rooster! Aaaaaand we have had our first egg and now today a second hen laid HER 1st egg. It is all so exciting!!!

I know there have been A LOT of posts on washing eggs and I have read through MANY of them. Forgive me if the answer is out there and I missed it. I know if you wash eggs, you damage the bloom and they have to be refrigerated. We are keeping ours out on the counter, bloom intact. My question is when you go to use the eggs.....do you wash the eggs? Ours are not dirty but it makes sense to at least rinse them before cracking them and cooking them. Yes? No? If you do 'wash' them...wash them with what? Seems there are some strong views on food safety when it comes to eggs. I thought I'd come here and check out what the experts have to say!!

Thanks!!

On a separate note....the rooster we inherited is very mellow. He is still youngish (6 -8 months) but he shows no aggression towards me our any of my kids when we go in the coop or run. BUT just about everyone and their brother has warned me he will likely try to attack us, especially the kids as he gets older. Fact or fiction? Your experience?

 

[Evadig]

I never wash my eggs, even the dirty duck eggs. I just crack them into a separate bowl and remove any eggshell bits that happen to fall in. I figure the heat from cooking them will kill any germs...

I have a rescue rooster who was originally scared of me but is now becoming more and more aggressive (I don't know how old he is, unfortunately). I cannot go anywhere near him in the coop (and he actually respects me to a certain degree) let alone my younger teenage sister. Some roosters stay nice, others don't. You just don't know .

I'm not an expert on either question, just my experience...

 

[nuthatched]

If it's not visibly dirty, I don't bother to wash it and if it's dirty, I turn it until I find a clean spot and crack it there. And if it really disgusting...I chuck it into the woods...

 

[50-45-1]

I am always confused by the "not refrigerating the eggs thing"!.
Like is your refrigerator full?
Or are you somewhere where there is no electricity?
Since the invention of refrigeration science proves it keeps food fresher, longer and safer.
Anyway, yes, dont wash or refrigerate if you plan to hatch the eggs.
Now the washing before you cook eggs question.
I guess it depends on how squeamish you are about germs. It may make some wonder about handling the eggs then other food while food preparation, but others are reasured that the high heet on cooking will destroy the bacteria anyway.
I dont know, touching unwashed eggs (thinking about where they come from) then buttering my toast...
The rooster question. yes he may get aggresive. Keep watch always when the kids are around him. My advice is to not befriend your rooster. Let him retain a healthy respect and fear of humans. Familiarity breeds contempt is the saying. And adolesent roosters will test to see what they can get away with.
Congrats on your flock!

 

[nuthatched]

Like is your refrigerator full?
Or are you somewhere where there is no electricity?

Most of Europe doesn't refrigerate their eggs, if used in a timely manner, it makes little difference. My kitchen is in my basement, it stays cool down there but if you live where your house gets warm, I'd refrigerate.
Long term, anything longer than a week, into the fridge.

 

[50-45-1]

In Europe, all laying hens are required to be vacinated against salmonilla...
Not so in the USA.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Congrats on the eggs! It's so exciting when the magic starts happening!

Well... everybody's an expert, so you're going to get answers from A to Z, so you won't be any wiser after you read all the answers. You'll just have to decide what works best for you. Here's my thinking. As one respondent already pointed out, eggs need the bloom to protect them IF they are going to be under a hen, hatching. Gets pretty nasty under there, the egg needs all the protection it can get! In a clean carton in your fridge? Not so much. By all means wash it if it makes you feel better. It's still going to be fresh enough to eat for a couple of months, but is it really going to be in there that long? Nope! It's going to get eaten long before that!

Me? I wash before eating or selling, better safe than sorry. I put a little squirt of Dawn dish soap in a sink of warm water, give them just a quick dunk in an egg basket, then rinse quickly. If soiled, wipe with a damp paper towel, air dry and put in cartons. Oh... and I date each egg on the big end the day it's laid. That's so I know which ones are best for hard cooking - they peel best if at least two weeks old.

 

[nuthatched]

In Europe, all laying hens are required to be vacinated against salmonilla...
Not so in the USA.

Properly handled and cooked eggs have little chance of contamination, but if one has a weak or compromised immune system, it's best to stick to pasteurized eggs.
Considering that lettuce keeps getting recalled on regular basis, I'm not too concerned about your average backyard flock.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Congrats on first eggs! They taste the best!

I don’t wash eggs before eating them. I also don’t eat really dirty eggs- I refrigerate those and cook to feed back to the chickens or the dogs.

I keep my eggs on the counter except in Winter. My general rule of thumb is 2 weeks on the counter or a month in the fridge.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Properly handled and cooked eggs have little chance of contamination, but if one has a weak or compromised immune system, it's best to stick to pasteurized eggs.
Considering that lettuce keeps getting recalled on regular basis, I'm not too concerned about your average backyard flock.

Hey, this is interesting! Can you tell us how to pasteurize eggs? I assume this is something done in the shell?