Ok so this is my first time owning chickens or eating fresh eggs. I dont want to make the family sick or do something wrong. we go out and check for eggs 3 times a day. when we find some we wash them.... soap or no soap? what do we clean them with? we put them in the fridge. how long do you keep them? anything els i should know? thanks in advance
I collect once a day and refrigerate without washing. They will stay fresh for months. Store bought eggs are about a month old when you buy them. I wash a poopy egg and use it first, if it's just a smear. They have a coating that helps keep them fresh which will be removed if you wash them. It's a matter of personal choice, though. In Europe, eggs are sold off a shelf, and not refrigerated. Many on here do wash, with plain water or just a small amount of soap or bleach in the water. You can also buy stuff to wash them with. Commercial operations do wash them because it is required. One thing, if you do wash, be sure the water is warmer than the egg. This causes any bacteria to move out of the egg, instead of into it, as can happen if the water is cooler than the egg. Any egg can have salmonella, though it is rare, and cooking will kill it. You can Google salmonella in chicken eggs and come up with lots of material on it.
WELCOME to the forum---- Flockwatcher gave perfect answers to your questions---just goes to show you how great BYC is. I never wash eggs before refrigerating them.... The coating that the chicken puts on the eggs helps protect the egg. You will love having chickens and their eggs.
thank you so much! i was so worried and i feel much better now! now i know i have a great place to get advice.
I do not wash my eggs, under normal conditions. I also store mine in flats on my kitchen counter. Now, during the summer, when it's horribly hot, I will store eggs in the fridge. Otherwise, my house is fairly cool. I sometimes don't get eggs gathered for three days (I have fibromyalgia and have "bad days") and treat them no differently than eggs I gather the day they are laid. Eggs will not develop embryos without 24/7 incubation either under a broody hen or in an incubator. (Well, MAYBE in VERY warm summers and the coop is over 90 degrees, they might, but I gather eggs daily then.) I usually just wipe dirty eggs off with a paper towel and pick at anything stuck to them. I will use a clean scrubbie to get stubborn bits of mud or poo off the eggs, and then wash those JUST before I use them. As mentioned, wash them in water warmer than the eggs. Otherwise, don't wash 'em, as it removes the "bloom" which naturally protects them. Even on my counter, eggs will keep just fine for three months. Honestly! The whites just get a little thicker due to evaporation.
