Having a hard time eating the eggs...

[Up-the-Creek]

I have 11 hens and all of them are laying. We get anywhere from 6 to 10 eggs a day and I always bring them in and wash them in very warm water,then dry them and then put them in the fridge. It was kinda hard for me at first too to eat the eggs, but in time it got easier,now I cant leave them alone. Really though if you REALLY knew how your food was handled before it got to the stores a little chicken poo is nothing. My dad is like that,..wont eat nothing "fresh" like that. His excuse used to be with the eggs that is was because they were brown,..so ole mom bought white egg layers and he still wont eat them. Like there was a difference. Some people just cant get passed it for some reason, but in my eyes eating "fresh" food is sooooooo much better and better for you.

 

[Beekissed]

You would be surprised to find out how much fecal matter is on the money you handle, the door handles you push to enter a store and just about every other surface in the public access.

You say you wash your hands frequently? You handle the money, place it in your wallet, touch your purse, your car door handle, your seat belt and maybe even your steering wheel, etc. before you can effectively wash your hands...unless, of course, you carry an alcohol hand wash and use it continuously, which then compromises your skin's natural oils and defenses against bacteria. See? This can go on all day if you start to worry about all the germs in the world....

Chicken poop? I take it over all that mess any day! Don't sweat the small stuff and learn to enjoy life without over thinking it!

Wash them off if you must, but do yourself a favor by eating that little golden sunrise in a shell!

 

[Iceblink]

Like everyone else has said, I sometimes wash mine, sometimes not. What really got me at first was the thought of eating something that had just been INSIDE my chicken! It felt incestuous and way too personal. I mean if you think about it, what else do we eat that comes from the rear end of an animal? (No, rump roast doesn't count!)

I eventually got over it and gratefully ate the eggs.

 

[redhen]

my mother is having a hard time eating my fresh eggs...LOL...she says its a mental block thing..then she says..the yolks are so orange!...LOL..i said..thats a GOOD thing mom!...

..

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Quote:
If you are really concerned, just drink 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar mixed with a tablespoon of raw honey and stir in about a half a cup of water. This will kill salmonella, and E.Coli. Wine will also do the trick as well. Whenever I suspect food poisening, I take this mixture right away if my tummy is bellyaching. Within about 20 minutes the bellyache clears up.

 

[ranchhand]

I agree with many here- worrying about germs from fresh eggs will make you far sicker than eating the fresh eggs!

Since I give away and occasionally sell our extras, I try to be very careful about the dates, rotating the older ones to the front to be used first. I do caution folks to break each one in a separate bowl, for a sniff/look test before they go in the pan or bowl. (Every now and then one will roll into a corner and not get found right away.)

I bring them in daily, sometimes twice- refrigerate asap. Just before using, selling or gifting, I give the yucky ones a gentle scrub under cold water with a soft, little nailbrush I keep for just eggs. It goes in the dishwasher regularly. A quick dry, caution the recipient about the bowl trick and many happy customers!

WORLDS better for you and the chickens than that store bought "stuff", most of which is pretty old. Know why you homegrown eggs are so hard to peel when boiled, and store bought so easy? Because fresh eggs are harder to peel, the shell and membrane are still tight.

Okay, I'll step down from my eggbox now......

 

[msgenie516]

Hi,

I have eaten store-bought eggs all my life and didn't worry about the germs, so it never occurred to me to worry about my very own eggs, since I know how the hens have been fed, taken care of, etc.

Enjoy your eggs! Genie

 

[JennsPeeps]

With a typical PH of 1-3, straight stomach acid is more acidic than wine, vinegar or lemon juice:

 

[dancesWchickens]

This is such an interesting discussion! As chickenannie says, we humans harbor fantastic numbers of bacteria on our surfaces and in our guts. They outnumber our own body cells by about 10 to 1, and are actually essential for our health and survival (they make vitamins we can't, for example). Nonetheless, the bacteria that inhabit chickens are not necessarily the same ones that inhabit humans, so it makes sense to think about this topic. I read one report that says an unwashed egg typically has about 30,000 bacteria on its surface.

I also read that about 30% of commercially-produced eggs have poo on them (!!!). In the U.S., commercial eggs are washed in hot water containing a high pH detergent that gets rid of the poo and most external bacteria. Washing also removes the cuticle that protects the eggs from being penetrated by any remaining bacteria. Scrupulous refrigeration keeps bacteria that do enter the egg from multiplying quickly.

So, the inside of an unbroken egg you buy at the store should be mostly sterile—unless the chicken that laid it was sick. A chicken infected with Salmonella enteridis or another bad bug will pass the bacteria right into her eggs, and if those eggs aren't cooked completely, whoever eats them will be exposed to the live bacteria. This is a problem with battery layers because they live overcrowded, unnatural living conditions. Those of us who raise chickens in a more natural environment don't need to worry so much about Salmonella because our birds are naturally healthy: Their immune systems are intact, so they are less likely to get sick with a bacterial infection.

Personally, I like to keep our nest boxes spankin' clean so there is no poo on our eggs to begin with—removes the grossout factor from the equation. But even our clean-looking eggs undoubtedly have bacteria on their surface because of, well, where they come from. Nonetheless, I'm with the folks who wash eggs just before eating or not at all. I wash our chickens' eggs only when I'm going to boil them. If I crack them raw, I do it carefully so the egg white or yolk doesn't touch the exterior of the shell. And then I wash my hands. I'm just not worried about the few bacteria that get past my sterile technique. Honestly, I'm more worried about eating eggs from a commercial operation, where Salmonella may be rampant.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Well said!!