Cleaning and storing fresh eggs

Good info, especially on how long an egg can sit in transport and store before you buy it. I rarely ever wash my eggs, when I was selling eggs my customers all requested unwashed eggs so they could store them outside the fridge. Washing an egg means shelf storage is quite unsafe since it can damage or remove the natural "bloom" that protects an egg from bacteria until the hen is ready to sit and hatch it.

Another way to store eggs that will last for a couple YEARS is by water glassing them!

I had several hundred water glassed at one time.

This was very helpful. Most of my eggs are clean when I gather them, but once in a while I get a dirty smudge. Then I clean it.

Informative!

Do fertilized eggs need to be refrigerated sooner to prevent development?

Very good information, given in a concise article.
Here is an in-depth study from the 70s about the best way to store fresh eggs. Folks might be surprised at the results:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/how-to-store-fresh-eggs-zmaz77ndzgoe

Thanks for taking the time to write this informative article. Good stuff

Nice, easy read and quite informative! I do a little of each cleaning technique and both have worked well. I gather our eggs in a basket and transfer to paper cartons for storage. So far, so good!!!

Informative article!

Great article !

It's always good to find interesting articles on this lovely site.
The suggestion of a soft buff of soiled eggs is a great idea, it's now on my list of good habits!

My two new Sexlink hens Peeka & Boo are producing 2 huge eggs a day. I was just wondering how to best store them and it was answered in this article. One question what should I do with frozen eggs that crack?

I feel like this article is incomplete in explaining WHY you should or shouldn’t refrigerate/wash eggs. No one has mentioned the antimicrobial ‘bloom’ that covers the egg and is WHY they CAN go without refrigeration. I researched this many years ago when I first began keeping chickens and my findings were that we are the only country that washes and refrigerates eggs. First off, if you wash - you refrigerate because you are washing off the bloom and oxygen can get in and they will spoil. Second, from what I learned, the reason, that started decades ago, for this practice is a fear of salmonella however it is only fear. No rash of cases were ever reported to be from unrefrigerated eggs. I personally have the belief from doing taste tests that a refrigerated egg has less flavor in that the cold and no more bloom leaches it out. I have been keeping chickens for over 10 years and I keep my eggs in a basket lined with hay on my kitchen counter. When I start to get more than I can keep track of I put them in cartons marking which are older. Also there is the all important FLOAT TEST. If ever in doubt on the freshness of an egg simply fill a cup (I use a 2c Pyrex measuring cup) of tap water and place the egg inside. If it lays down it’s still fresh. If it stands on end eat soon. If it floats the bloom has worn off and it either is a treat in my Girls (hens) salad that day or my dogs get it.

I’m not an expert nor a scientist, although I do LOVE science experiments like float tests. I’m just a chicken keeper and a gardener sharing information I’ve found through the years and this is my opinion based on those findings and my experience. I believe that eggs are perfect right out of the box. Nature knows what she’s doing. Enjoy!!!

I enjoyed reading this information
I have only 8 hens they are ISA Browns and are prolific layers. I water glass my extra fresh UNWASHED eggs. I currently have three 5 gallon covered buckets of clean unwashed eggs in the waterglassing solution and I am now using the water glassed eggs collected in March of last year. This is an old method of safe egg storage that was common especially in the rural areas even til now. There is a YouTube video called the HOMESTEADING family that explains the process very well to safely water glass your eggs. I always do a "float test" before using the eggs and rinse well before using. I have stored fresh UNWASHED eggs this way for up to 18 months with no change in the yolk or albumin or flavor. And done so for 20+years. I have never had a food born illness from this method. The recipie has to be followed each time and will ONLY work with fresh unwashed eggs.
Just another way to avoid waste and enjoy YOUR hens fresh eggs.
Anita

Thanks for this essay. Very helpful! I learned a lot.

Thank y'all for sharing these articles! We are planning on getting chickens soon(going to try again), and I am finding these articles very helpful!

Thanks for sharing!

Great article. Thanks for the information!

Great information!

Great article, I’m so proud of my girls they haven’t stopped laying not even during the winter. I love them and am thankful for them