Eggs, Eggs, and Eggs

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Rabbit Lady

Rabbit Lady

Hatching
May 16, 2015
2
0
9
Hey there, my chickens just started laying eggs. These are my first chickens ever so I had some questions: do I need to wash the eggs? How do I tell if an egg is good or bad? Any tips/advice appreciated! Thanks :)
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. Congratulations! It's always so "egg"citing getting those first eggs. :eek:) In answer to your first question, no, you do not need to wash the eggs as the outer shell has a protective bloom on it and the inside will not be contaminated by external germs. However if the outer shell has poop on it, I would wash the poop off. In answer to your second questions, to tell whether or not the egg is good, place it in a bowl of water. If they egg sinks, it is good. If it floats, the egg is bad and needs to be trashed. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting many more eggs.
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.
Congrats on your new eggs!
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There is no need to wash eggs unless you want to. Water washes off the unique eggshell coating called the "bloom" which keeps bacteria out. So, if you do wash the egg, either rub it with vegetable oil (which acts as a different covering) or eat the egg sooner than later. (Here's a link on cleaning eggs explained further. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/cleaning-and-storing-fresh-eggs)
If eggs happen to have a little poo or bedding on them, simply brush them off or use a dry paper towel to remove it.

As for determining if they are good or bad, there are several ways to tell this. If you are wondering if they are fresh, place them in a bowl of water. If they float, they are old and if they sink they are fresh. Also, cracking the egg open and looking at the yolk can help determine freshness. If they yolk is dull, runny, flat and yucky looking, I wouldn't recommend eating it. (Give it to the chickens or the dog instead.)

Hope this helps. Good luck!
 
Welcome, so glad you have joined us.

And thanks for posting the question on bad eggs - I knew the water float test for age, but the info on the yolk was helpful to me too.
 

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