Cleaning Eggs

[mickey328]

This was the closest topic I could see, hope it's okay.

I was just wondering what y'all do with your eggs after you gather them. I have some friends who used to have lots and lots of chickens and they'd gather eggs in a pail then bring them in and scrub 'em all with soap and warm water. Is this necessary?

We only have 6 hens so we average 3 to 5 eggs a day; they lay all throughout the day and we gather them onsie, twosies. I just bring them in and rinse them in cool water unless there's poo or straw stuck on 'em and then I just scrape it with a fingernail and rinse it away.

Would love to hear your opinions!

Thanks
Mickey

 

[carol-ann]

hi mikey, i only have 6 hens as well - so i am getting 3 or 4 eggs a day also

i dont wash my eggs, have seen other thread which debate this subject. what i understand is that you dont need to wash the eggs, and if you do wash 'em, they then need to be kept in the fridge

 

[donrae]

Lots of threads on this. I don't wash my eggs. Sometimes I put them in the fridge, sometimes just on the counter. None of us have died yet.

 

[Imp]

Wash in warm water and refrigerate.

Imp

 

[what did I do]

I've started washing the dirty eggs in warm water, no soap. I wipe off the dusty eggs but do not wash.

I want to know what others do.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I get about 2 dozen or more eggs a day, and I gather a lot throughout the day. I put them in the fridge and wash half of them every week. Half get washed to sell, and others I use and sell to people who would rather have un-washed eggs.

Some people say that the fridge-wash-fridge method causes cracks, but in my experience that is not true.

I just wash with cool water (warm opens up the pores to bacteria) and wipe with a rag. No soap unless absolutely necessary.

If you do wash you are taking off the bloom, which is the natural layer that protects eggs from bacteria. If you get an egg immediately after it is laid it will feel wet, that is the bloom.

If they do have a lot of poo I'll let them soak for a bit, then scrape with finger nail.

I prefer that they are un-washed, just because they will keep longer, but it doesn't really matter that much.

 

[cskotek]

At TSC I noticed they sell "Egg Wipes" I was looking into them just because they seem handy, but what I have been doing with my eggs is that I have ducks and when I want to incubate them I will take a damp paper towel and wipe over the egg and what ever comes off, comes off. I dont like to wipe them really hard, I just don't like them to look grose inside the incubator.

 

[mickey328]

Thanks for all your input folks, I appreciate it! I didn't know about the "bloom", though I had seen that the freshly laid eggs were wet. I though it was just a lubrication. In our arid climate it doesn't stay wet for long...generally by the time I walk the 30ft back in the house they're dry. Most are otherwise clean and I've been just rinsing them under cool (straight from the tap) water before refrigerating them. Given that Donrae and family are still among the land of the living, LOL, I think I'll just go with leaving them unwashed unless they're poopy. We have no roo (we're not allowed, and can have a max of 6 hens where we live) and I only wanted the girls for eggs and amusement (sometimes they're better than TV!), so hatching or incubating isn't an issue.

Thanks again!
Mickey

 

[chfite]

I collect the eggs, knock off anything chunky, then wipe clean just before using.

Chris

 

[Vicky2479]

Mine are put straight in a bowl on the kitchen counter, if they have any streaks then I just wipe over with a damp paper towel