How do you clean your eggs?

[poultrylubber]

I just run mine under med. warm water and then dry them of, just enough to get the mud of. I read not to use hot water because it opens up the pores allowing bacteria to go through the the shell(I dont know how true this is). also my Aunt lives in south america and she said that the people there dont wash the eggs so they can be kept on a shelf without refrigeration.

 

[Chickjen]

El Nat-U-ral eggs are covered with a coating, by washing it off you eliminate the natural "bloom" as one poster called it. I am new to chicken keeping as well but I looked it up. My first instinct was to wash them and or soak them. But the shell being porous, there is no barrier against the salmonilla coming through the shell once you wash it. I'll by that for a buck! To each their own though

 

[pigeonguy]

I worked at an egg factory for 2 months when I was a lot younger. Eggs do not get washed boss said washed eggs spoil to fast and might be something wrong with that chicken eggs should come out clean
. Egg got laid on wire rolled out on conveyor it brought them to a sorter which had 4 lines medium, large, xtra large and not big enough (garbage) from there they went to the stamper that stood them on end like you would see them in the carton and stamped the tops then to the packer which put them in cartons all the person manning the machine did was watch for dirty eggs and throw them away and of course make sure nothing jammed up. don't know if it is still done that way but that was it 30 years ago.

All that to say I will not wash an egg dirty eggs get thrown away. Exception would be if an egg broke beside it and got on another egg but then I would keep it separate and eat it in the next 1 or 2 days. I say will not because mine are not laying yet.

Reason 2 I live in the country and have my whole life and a lot of neighbors raise chickens and none have ever washed eggs that I know of.

 

[kuntrygirl]

That explains why I see poo on the eggs that they sell in the stores. Every now and then I take a look at the store bought eggs and some of them have chicken poo on them. :/

 

[pigeonguy]

Yep minimum wage with no hope of raise we didn't watch to close. I was only there 2 months but sometimes you do what you half to do then move on.

That explains why I see poo on the eggs that they sell in the stores. Every now and then I take a look at the store bought eggs and some of them have chicken poo on them.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I also wash my eggs with hot water and soap to avoid any type of salmonella but I would do the same for veggies that grow on the ground in my garden. Someone told me the other day they were afraid to eat my eggs because they were unpasteurized. Since I am fairly new to having chickens/eggs I googled unpasteurized eggs and everything I could find said that eggs you buy in supermarkets aren't pasteurized either. Has anyone else heard of this?

You can buy pasteurized eggs at the store, but they come as a liquid in a carton like heavy cream. The shell eggs you normally buy aren't pasteurized.

We wash our eggs with hot water and commercial egg wash, since we sell eggs. I wouldn't throw away eggs just for some poo--wash it in hot water and don't worry about it. If it freaks you out, use a commercial egg wash. The commercial washes have chlorine in them that kills bacteria.

If I'm just grabbing some for my family, I only wash them if there's poo on them. Eggs that haven't been washed still have the bloom on them so they stay fresh longer.

Always wash eggs in hot water--it causes air to come out of the pores in the egg, taking possible bacteria in the pores with it. Washing in water colder than the egg can cause the bacteria to move into the egg.

 

[susannalee]

I only clean them if they look dirty. My hens keep the nest clean, but sometimes I use a dishtowel to rub off any straw etc....

 

[marthat]

I also wash my eggs with hot water and soap to avoid any type of salmonella but I would do the same for veggies that grow on the ground in my garden. Someone told me the other day they were afraid to eat my eggs because they were unpasteurized. Since I am fairly new to having chickens/eggs I googled unpasteurized eggs and everything I could find said that eggs you buy in supermarkets aren't pasteurized either. Has anyone else heard of this?

You can't pasteurize a raw egg in the shell! That term is only used for eggs that have been cracked, combined and processed, like liquid whole eggs for food service or food production.

Grocery store eggs have been graded and candled, and probably washed, but nothing more.

 

[coffeenutdesign]

Just a quick question.... Who the heck eats the shell anyway?

Um, sometimes me...not intentionally, of course. I just happen to be the worst egg cracker ever! My niece recently showed me a neat little trick about how to use the big shell to use as a "magnet" to attract those little piece I drop in. It works! How silly that I did not know this sooner!

 

[coffeenutdesign]

Oh, and for the above reason, I don't wash until I am ready to eat them, and then I just rinse with cool water. I don't usually get poo or dirt on the eggs, but occasionally small pieces of pine shavings from the nesting boxes stick to the bloom when there is still some wet spots on the egg. I do wash those off. I don't even wash my eggs for customers. I tell them that the eggs are not washed because they stay fresher longer. My customers are the type who "get it" though, so I don't worry about it.