how to clean eggs or even to clean eggs?

[bosoxbratt]

Hi all we are starting to get eggs one of them was laid in their outdoor run in the dirt how do you clean it? under water? with a wet cloth? TY for any help

 

[Treegod]

I was told not to clean them too hard, they have porous shells and can let in germs if some protective layer is removed.
I'm not sure what to do myself, usually, if the egg isn't too dirty I keep it. Otherwise I throw it away.

It'll be interesting to see what others answer.

 

[woodmort]

First make sure your coop and nest are clean so the eggs don't get soiled. That being said, like you have had happen, the chickens don't always lay in the cleanest places and some eggs get dirty. If this happens we place them in warm water and hand rub the dirt off--if this doesn't work we use a vegetable-type brush that we keep just for the purpose. Of course, this ruins the "bloom"--the covering that protects the eggs from bacteria--so we store in the refrigerator and use asap. BTW, my wife washes the eggs she plans on boiling a couple of days before boiling them--storing in the refrig after--so they will be easier to shell. Unless you want to be really frustrated don't hardboil a fresh egg.

 

[DelcoChix]

Our girls have been laying for close to a year now and due to a muddy spring and same nestbox preference we have had a few dirty eggs from muddy feet...we do rinse ours off when warranted, and I have one of those scrubby sponges (yellow sponge on one side and green scrubby side), cut in half so we don't mix it up with the soapy dish sponge/scrubby, by the sink. If needed the scrubby side gets used as I don't care for the dirt/mud/? to be put in my fridge. We have quite a few friends who buy our eggs...the eggs look better cleaned up. Every evening when the girls are done the eggs are checked for damage-cracks-dirt, cleaned if needed and refrigerated. The only time I've thrown away eggs have been cracked and dirty, or found with no idea when they were laid as they girls were our free ranging. Good luck and enjoy.
Dawn

 

[Beekissed]

I don't wash mine if they have no visible dirt. If they have a smudge or two, I wipe gently with a warm, damp cloth. If they are too dirty to clean in this manner, the dogs always like the extra protein.