Chickens are laying, now what?

[chickengirl01]

Okay so today was the first day one of my chickens laid!!

I noticed an egg thismorning and tossed it because I wasn't sure how old it was. It was also dirty. Then I was out for a little bit, came home, and there was another. This one I cleaned with dawn dish soap and put in the fridge.

I hear a few different things:
Don't wash them
wash them
sanitize them
Only wash them if they're dirty
don't refrigerate
refrigerate
etc

What am I supposed to do and how long do they last?

 

[Ed62]

Congrats on the first egg. You'll get a lot of different answers on the options you listed.

Mine have only been laying for about a month, and I have yet to find a dirty egg! We haven't washed any. We do refrigerate them.

Ed

 

[Domestic_goddess]

If they are clean, don't worry about washing them until just before you eat them. If they are dirty I'll wipe them a little with a damp cloth. Always refridgerate!

 

[nuchickontheblock]

Congratulations on your eggs. They come out of the chicken clean and with a coating on them that is a barrier to germs, etc. If the nest box area is clean, your eggs should be clean. I don't wash my eggs until I am going to eat them. If they seem to have a bit of poo on them, I just wipe them. I usually refrigerate mine, but from what I have read, you don't really have to. Eggs will last for a number of months in the refrigerator.
Enjoy! They are delicious when they are fresh!

Paula

 

[craftymama86]

I found this thread at a good time. Great to see the answers.

 

[Happy Chooks]

The egg will store longer unwashed, as the bloom put over the egg when it is laid keeps bacteria out. I do not wash mine until just before use unless they are dirty, then I clean with a paper towel and put in the fridge. Some people keep their eggs on the counter instead of refrigerating. But once you wash an egg, it should be refrigerated. Unwashed can be stored on the counter.

 

[7L Farm]

I only wash the ones that have poop on them. I don't eat the shell so I have never washed an egg before eating it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll throw in my opinion. If you refrigerate them, they will last longer. Longer means different things in different conditions.

The bloom is the coating the hen puts on the egg when it is laid. Right after she lays it, the egg looks wet. That is the bloom. The bloom does not absolutely stop bacteria from entering the egg, but it greatly slows that process down. If you wash an egg, I think it should be refrigerated. If you do not wash it, it will last a long time (weeks, for sure. Months, maybe) on the counter provided the room temperature is not too hot and the egg is not dirty. The warmer it is, the better the environment for bacteria to grow. Also if it gets too warm and they are fertilized, they can begin to develop. I don't mean incubation temperature of around 99 to 100 degrees. I mean in the low 80's they can develop a little. They will never develop enough to hatch, but they can develop enough to be unpleasant when you open them. I set the top limit for me to store them on the counter at 75 degrees.

I normally store unwashed eggs on the counter and washed eggs in the fridge.

 

[Nostalchic]

Mother Earth News did a really good study/discussion of egg storage methods (some pretty wild ones, and the standard ones, and the wash-don't wash issue) a few years back. If you search under Mother Earth News egg storage on this site you can find it. It answers a lot of interesting questions. The quick and dirty: arrange for clean eggs (keep the nest area and floor clean); do not wash the eggs until just before use; clean, unwashed backyard eggs will keep for months in the refrigerator with very little change in quality.

 

[KooKoe]

I've never washed an egg before use?

I also never leave the eggs in the nest long enough to get dirty. I immediately take em out the nest box and store in the fridge. I never have enough eggs to leave in the fridge to see what happens later. I use my eggs up too soon. the other day I had a recipe that called for 6 eggs. I had five. so I sat on the table and waited for Hester to finish laying and then I snatched up the egg and continued baking...