How to properly wash store fresh eggs?

[Caryar18]

Hello y’all! New chicken owner here and my girls just laid their first batch of eggs!
Questions
1. How to properly wash and store them
2. How long are they good for
3. Will the eggs get bigger as they get older

Any tips or advice would be much appreciated!

Thank you!! I’m so exited, way to go girls!

 

[Assuncao CostaPinto]

Hello y’all! New chicken owner here and my girls just laid their first batch of eggs!
Questions
1. How to properly wash and store them
2. How long are they good for
3. Will the eggs get bigger as they get older

Any tips or advice would be much appreciated!

Thank you!! I’m so exited, way to go girls!

To store the eggs you must wipe them with a humid soft cloth only to not break the natural protection that the egg has.If they are to dirty you can dilute some bleach /Lysoform/Sanytol on the water (about 5 ml /liter ) you can do this also before putting eggs to hatch.Never wash eggs with cold water - all dirt and bacteria will go inside the egg.You can keep eggs for about one month .Usually the first eggs are smaller and than they will grow until the breed standards (well fed chickens will give you bigger and better eggs)

 

[Caryar18]

To store the eggs you must wipe them with a humid soft cloth only to not break the natural protection that the egg has.If they are to dirty you can dilute some bleach /Lysoform/Sanytol on the water (about 5 ml /liter ) you can do this also before putting eggs to hatch.Never wash eggs with cold water - all dirt and bacteria will go inside the egg.You can keep eggs for about one month .Usually the first eggs are smaller and than they will grow until the breed standards (well fed chickens will give you bigger and better eggs)

Thank you so mich!

 

[NatJ]

If they're not dirty, they don't need washing at all.

My version of cleaning has nothing to do with removing germs--it's just to remove poop and other physical stuff that might get into my food. I trust thorough cooking of the eggs, and washing of my hands, to deal with germs.

I use my hand to brush off anything loose (like bits of nest material); I ignore minor smudges; and then I use plain water on the ones that are still dirty enough to bother me.

I either wipe with a wet cloth, or run the eggs under water, but don't put them in a container of water to soak. Usual advice is that the water should be warmer than the egg (more comfortable for the hands, too.)

If the nestboxes have clean bedding in them, I usually find the eggs are clean enough for me.

Storing: if you don't want to hatch them, an egg carton in the refrigerator is fine.

How long? Well, someone ran an experiment and said the eggs were still good to eat after 7 months in the fridge!
Here's my source for that:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/how-to-store-fresh-eggs-zmaz77ndzgoe
I had to click the "continue" button, then scroll way down to get to the conclusions section.
They also said that eggs stored on the counter (65-70 degrees) were still fine after a month, probably still edible after two months, but clearly rotten by four months.

Personally, I tend to write the date in pencil on each egg, when I collect it, and then I can be sure to eat the oldest eggs first. I've never yet had an egg go bad in the refrigerator, but I also don't stockpile giant amounts of eggs, so I doubt I've ever stored them for very many months.

 

[Caryar18]

If they're not dirty, they don't need washing at all.

My version of cleaning has nothing to do with removing germs--it's just to remove poop and other physical stuff that might get into my food. I trust thorough cooking of the eggs, and washing of my hands, to deal with germs.

I use my hand to brush off anything loose (like bits of nest material); I ignore minor smudges; and then I use plain water on the ones that are still dirty enough to bother me.

I either wipe with a wet cloth, or run the eggs under water, but don't put them in a container of water to soak. Usual advice is that the water should be warmer than the egg (more comfortable for the hands, too.)

If the nestboxes have clean bedding in them, I usually find the eggs are clean enough for me.

Storing: if you don't want to hatch them, an egg carton in the refrigerator is fine.

How long? Well, someone ran an experiment and said the eggs were still good to eat after 7 months in the fridge!
Here's my source for that:
https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/how-to-store-fresh-eggs-zmaz77ndzgoe
I had to click the "continue" button, then scroll way down to get to the conclusions section.
They also said that eggs stored on the counter (65-70 degrees) were still fine after a month, probably still edible after two months, but clearly rotten by four months.

Personally, I tend to write the date in pencil on each egg, when I collect it, and then I can be sure to eat the oldest eggs first. I've never yet had an egg go bad in the refrigerator, but I also don't stockpile giant amounts of eggs, so I doubt I've ever stored them for very many months.

Awesome thank you for the help

 

[aart]

1. How to properly wash and store them
2. How long are they good for
3. Will the eggs get bigger as they get older

3. Yes, could take days, weeks, or months to get up to a 'large' (or whatever the hens size will be).

2. Too variable to answer with hard numbers, can depend on how stored.
When in doubt....
Open eggs one at a time in a separate dish before adding to pan or recipe,
use your eyes, nose, and common sense to decide if egg is OK to eat.

1. I don't wash eggs unless they are very dirty, then will refrigerate or use immediately because thorough washing will remove all the protective bloom(cuticle).

Eggs should be washed in 'water warmer than the egg'.

Simple physics, using colder water will cause the egg contents to contract, causing any 'germs' on exterior surface of egg shell to be pulled into the interior of egg thru the shell pores. Using warmer water will do the opposite.

I don't use any soap or other cleaning/sanitizing agent, just rotate in my hands to 'scrub' all surfaces area of egg shell. Then I air and towel dry before placing in the fridge.

If you are washing eggs for sale to the general public, other requirements may apply, so check your state regulations.