clean the eggs? or not?

[CoffeeCow]

my ladies are going to be laying soon (i hope), and I have read that you are not supposed to wash the eggs, that there is some protective something-or-other that you don't want to wash off....

Is this true? I am sure that there will be all kinds of ... erm.... unwanted materials.. on the eggs... so, wash em' or not?
and if its "wash em'", how?

thanks folks

 

[tuesdays chicks]

My girls don't poo in the nest box so I don't wash mine until I'm going to crack open, if I had to wash them I would keep those seperate and use them 1st.

 

[NevadaRon]

I'm curious about this too

, so BUMP!

 

[chickenmamalp]

yes, it is true about the protective coating.
I do not wash mine unless they are really bad and by washing i mean, alittle water and a wet paper towel.

 

[carrlr]

We don't wash them until just before eating. If applicable, we do wipe off anything that can be cleaned without water. Dirty eggs are not give away or sold.

 

[BethieofVA]

Well I run my real quick under some warm water, dry with a towel and do keep in the fridge. My nest boxes are super clean and they do not poop in them.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I will "spot clean" if necessary (which isn't too often) but I never do a full clean until they are to be used. ETA: If your nesting boxes are clean, then your eggs will be clean too.

Yes there is a protective bloom on the egg, and it keeps bacteria from penetrating the egg. They will keep longer unwashed because of the bloom.

 

[micschoenborn]

Quote:
x2

 

[BigPeep]

When the hen lays the egg she secretes a filming covering called a "bloom". If you can get out there right when she lays the eggs you can see and feel it. This protects the egg from incursion of bacteria. If the bloom is not washed off, the egg will remain fresh for 3 months or more. If the egg is washed this period is reduced to 3 weeks.

I therefore do not wash most of my eggs. I have a CSA where I inform my members that the eggs will usually not be washed and that they should not wash them until just before eating, at which time they should use only a warm water rinse.

I collect the eggs 3 times a day and keep the nest boxes as clean as possible. If an egg is quite dirty I either wash it or use sandpaper.
Otherwise I leave it alone.

During the recent egg recall it was mentioned that some supermarket eggs did not need to be recalled as they were OVER FOUR MONTHS OLD! These were eggs that had been washed with chlorine so they should really not have been sold after one month. This means that most of the eggs sold in the stores are way past the date they should be sold given the fact that they are washed.

 

[CoffeeCow]

thank you so much for the info, i learned a lot from you all