How do you clean your eggs?

[Beekissed]

I use deep litter in the coop and hay in the nest boxes. This makes for clean feet and clean nests. My birds free range, so their feet are clean when they come into the coop and are kept clean by the composting DL material, while the hay in the nesting boxes is also clean as no birds walk in with dirty feet, nor do they sleep there and poop in the nests.

No, I don't wash eggs and especially not hatching eggs....when a hen lays a clutch in a natural ground nest they are usually VERY dirty by the time she starts sitting that clutch. I'm often surprised a chick can hatch out of such dirty eggs when it's all said and done, but my broodies have a very successful hatch rate and better than I could do in an incubator.

 

[Flock Master64]

Thank you very much everyone

 

[GoldenFlight]

Thank you very much everyone

Your welcome!

 

[Flock Master64]

Any other tips or advice?

 

[henny1129]

I think one of the best ways to keep eggs clean is to just have a lot of bedding in the nest box. And walk out to the coop often to collect eggs, that way they aren't sitting in there all day getting "soiled". If we happen to find an egg with some poop on it we just use some warm water and a wet paper towel and wipe the poop off, otherwise all the eggs go straight to the fridge. If you are incubating/hatching the eggs, I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to clean them at all. Sorry Jake, I don't have any pics of eggs on my phone, but if I can get on the computer soon I will upload some. Best of luck on your article!

 

[Flock Master64]

Thanks

 

[orrpeople]

I have also found that if I keep a close watch on the "backsides" of my girls (some are very effective at preening, some -well- not so much) and keep them clean, my eggs are much cleaner! And I second the "lots of good bedding in the nest box," comments- keeping it changed out and cleaned regularly. In the winter I use pine shavings, in the summer, hay or straw. I change it with the seasons because rainy, moist weather, hay/straw seems to get moldy quicker, while shavings don't. Just my experience, though. Not a hard and fast rule. I use sand in the coop - very easy to brush off the eggs if they track it in the nest.

 

[henny1129]

Thanks

Of course!

 

[Cacique500]

I keep my nest boxes clean - remove any poop (very rarely an issue) and change out the pine shavings when necessary (or every couple of months).

We keep the eggs "natural" in a carton in the fridge until we need them, then use one of the two sided sponges under running water to gently remove anything questionable.

We also go the extra step of cracking each egg into a small glass bowl, to make sure there's nothing "foreign" in there (meat spots, blood spots, etc.)

 

[m1marin]

We're new to raising hens and heeded the advice to make the roosting bar higher than the nesting box. Occasionally their dirty feet will get on the eggs. If that happens we just brush off any dirt with a dry paper towel. But 9 times out of 10 the eggs are perfectly clean.