WHAT exactly do you do with the eggs? I only get 4 or so a day, and i have been rinsing (hot water) and scrubbing lightly, drying them and into the fridge. I have been told i don't have to fridge them .. and some have said i don't have to clean them... Well.. some of my eggs DO need to be cleaned (know what i mean? ) anyways.. someone also told me they have a basket hanging up in the chicken coop they use to store their eggs... So -- do most people NOT refridgerate the eggs? What is the approximate shelf life of an room temperature egg? AND.. is there a problem or issue if i DO refridgerate my eggs? Thanks... this forum is very informative.
I only clean the really dirty ones with a warm damp rag or paper towel, not hot. Then I leave them on the counter for about a week. If we haven't eaten them by then, I go ahead and put them in the fridge. Although, they will be perfectly fine for longer than that. You have to think, sometimes, a hen will lay eggs for a couple of weeks to save up enough to hatch. And I would imagine our homes are more temperature stable than the coop. Extreme heat or below freezing is what is the hardest on an egg!
Do not clean or wash eggs until you use them. This drives bacteria into the egg. If they have poo on them, I rub off what I can . You can store them in the room for a week, fridge for much longer. To test the age of the egg, put in a bowl of water, if it sinks it's good, if it floats, toss it. But only test them right before you use them.
I gather eggs frequently, so I rarely have "extras" on the egg shells. When there is a little bit of iffy stuff, I spot wash and use the egg within 10 days, just like my regular, unwashed, bloom-intact eggs that sit on my kitchen counter . If the egg got very messy, I thoroughly wash it and use it within a couple days.
I wash all my eggs within 2 days of collection. I use them within 3 weeks. I keep them ALL in the refrigerator. You DO need to refrigerate them if you wash them.
You don't HAVE to do anything with them. You can leave them laying in the nests until you're ready to eat them if that's what you want to do. For myself our eggs are gathered, washed, and refrigerated every day. We feel it's the best thing to do. Other folks choose not to wash, some choose not to refrigerate. It's all up to what you feel comfortable with.
It is up to you. I mean, my mom grew up hanging meat in a windy door way as they didn't have refrigerators... We just put ours in a carton and pop in the fridge or put on the counter for a few days, in no particular order. As long as the eggs are not cracked, best if not washed, they are essentially sterile so can sit out on the counter for a month no problem. They just dry out and get thick. If all your eggs are getting poopy, make sure nobody is sneaking into nests to sleep at night. It's a habit easier to break the sooner you try and break it. If they are poopy due to feet, which always happens in the winter in the PNW... well, all you can do about that is try to keep a thick layer of dry shavings down. LOL That doesn't last long out here.
Since we sell most of our eggs they need to be sparkling clean so I wash the dirty ones under hot tap water using a kitchen sponge and dish soap. I let air dry then "seal" the egg with a light coating of food-grade mineral oil, and store the eggs in cartons on our kitchen counter for up to 10 days. None of my clients have ever complained about a spoiled or funny-tasting egg, on the contrary
In the summer time I clean off any poo spots and refrigerate them right away but the rest of the year I usually don't refrigerate them until either the end of the day or within 2 days. I only clean the ones that has poo on them which is never more than a few of them. None of my eggs are ever in the refrigerator longer than a week. We eat them for meals and we sell a whole lot of eggs.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=434622&p=1 Here is a similar thread from today that you might benefit from. I keep dirty eggs in a basket on my counter for personal use, and i wash them right before i crack them. I sell or give away only clean, unwashed eggs.
