FAQs didn't really answer about washing eggs or not

[LRG]

So we've gotten our first eggs and I was wondering, being new to this, if it is safer to wash your eggs before placing in the frig? The first one we absolutely had to wash as it was laid in the bottom of the coop below the roost. Sorry, don't need to have poop germs in my frig! But now that she's using the nesting box was wondering if they should be washed first. The FAQs talked about washing with scalding water -- how do you do that without making softboiled eggs? and talked about how you can wash off the bloom and introduce more bacteria to the eggs. I love my chickens, but recognize that they aren't always very sanitary and so I wash my hands after handling them. If the "bloom" is removed, what germs would be introduced that wouldn't have already been on the outside of the egg anyway? What do commercial egg sellers do? What do you do? Open to all suggestions and comments since I want a little more info than what I found in FAQs. Thanks!

 

[countrylife]

Personally I do not wash, if a egg is filthy my dogs get it. The eggs that are just a little untidy get washed right before I cook them, everyone else straight into the pan.
If you can check for eggs a couple of times a day you should not have a big problem the dirty ones.

 

[satay]

I wash any really dirty eggs under cold water with just a cloth and then I dry them.

 

[wombat]

I just brush any loose dirt off gently and store them.

Wash them before you use them, rather than when you first pick them up.

This way, the bloom stays on the egg, which will help it keep better.

If I'm giving them away, I wash them and dry them before I give them out.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

If they aren't really dirty I don't wash them until I am ready to cook them.

If they have gotten more coop matter on them than I am comfortable with, I wash them and use them ASAP.

If they are really gross and that rarely happens, then I see how far I can throw an egg.

 

[silkiechicken]

Personal choice, but if you wash, they will not keep as long due to the removal of the bloom on the shell. Furthermore, if you wash, wash with water warmer than the egg, as the shell is porus and you do not want to push bacteria into the egg.

Easiest is to just wash before use.

 

[tulie13]

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Just wanted to re-iterate this - I read this early on and have been very careful to follow this rule myself! I rinse all of my eggs in cool water, but ONLY after I have refrigerated them so they are COLD. I have an egg carton that has DIRTY EGGS written all over the top of it, and only unwashed/unrinsed eggs go in there. If the eggs are in the nesting boxes, usually they are OK except for the occasional small smear of blood or a little poo. But I have had some really annoying hens deciding to occasionally lay under the roost area in the poo...

I haven't had any eggs in 3 weeks due to the coccidiosis outbreak, etc. and I'm down to 14 hens (out of 22).

I hope they start laying again soon, I miss my little girls' eggs.

Plus I know they aren't laying right now because they feel crappy and have lost weight.

 

[Akane]

Rinsing an egg from the coop in cold water is a good way to crack lots of rotten eggs. I don't rinse eggs. If I have an egg get wet it goes to the dogs clean or dirty. If it's too dirty it goes to the dogs immediately. If you do wash eggs it would be better to wash them right before using instead of before storing unless you are trying to use very dirty eggs. Eggs have their own way of keeping bacteria out. Water only helps bacteria and dirt into the shell. If your concern is bacteria getting in the egg then washing will not improve things much. If your concern is bacteria on the shell getting on your hands or in whatever your making while cooking then washing in warm water right before you use them would help.

 

[LRG]

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Eggs from commercial growers keep a really long time. Are they washing them? What is "bloom" anyway?

 

[LRG]

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My concern is bacteria migrating from the eggs to other things in my refrigerator. I kind of figure since most veggies are rinsed prior to market (and subsequently my frig), wouldn't eggs be, too? Veggies from my garden are a different matter entirely since I usually pick only what I plan on cooking right at that time so they are washed immediately. Eggs, however, could be hanging around for awhile in my frig before being used and I'm just not sure. My mother has made me paranoid about salmonella, but not enough to ever prevent me from eating raw cookie dough. Sorry, mom!

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. My dog is liking a lot of your solutions for dirty eggs.