Not sure if I should clean eggs...

[sewchick]

For myself I just wipe them off if they are dirty and stick them in the fridge. Mostly they do not need it. I do use an organic wash. My customers like them clean. I guess it just depends. After the Decosta thing....well you know. People get paranoid. I let them decide. I offer both.

 

[BeckySue]

We wash our eggs. Here's how: we gather the eggs then cool them down in the refrigerator. We have a spray bottle of Oxine AH at room temperature that we use to sanitize the eggs. A toothbrush is used to knock off any clumps of poo or stains on the egg.

The exterior of the egg can become contaminated in the nest due to mud and dung being brought in by the chicken's feet. We've found our eggs streaked with brown stuff that looked like one of the girls stepped on the egg.

When the hen lays her egg, her uterus extends out of her vent, so the egg is not actually in the same duct as where the poo comes out, but it's the nest that can contaminate the egg. Our girls are free range and 18 birds share eight laying boxes.

It is recommended that eggs be washed by the state if you're selling them. We sell our eggs, so that's why we started it, but collecting the eggs and seeing the "footprints" in the nesting material drives us forward on this.

 

[HHandbasket]

I think it also depends on the number of laying chickens you have, the activity in the boxes, etc. I think if there is more activity in the boxes, and as others have noted, other chickens with poop and stuff on their feet inadvertently tracking that stuff into the nest and onto teh eggs, if you have large numbers of eggs you are selling/giving away or even consuming yourselves, I would think the recommended washing/cleaning procedures would be a good idea.

For a small backyard mini-flock such as my own (6 chooks, all girls), we get at most 2 eggs a day. We retrieve them from the nests within half an hour of so of being laid (only once have we left them in there for a few hours when we were not at home), and the worst it ever gets is a little streaky. I brush off the poop, but there is almost never anything at all visible on the outside of our eggs, and leave the eggs intact and covered in the fridge. When it comes time to eat them, I thoroughly wash them and let them sit a few minutes before I cook them. Even with store-bought eggs, my mom and grandmother always taught me to wash eggs from the carton before you use them anyway because people open the cartons to see if any are broken & a lot of people run their hands across the eggs in the carton. You don't know what kind of stuff is on them, so you wash them anyway.

So I guess the simple answer is that there is no simple answer--do what seems right to you and your flock/situation. How's that for noncommittal but sage advice? Lol.

 

[ElioraImmanuel]

I do not sell the eggs that have gotten poop on them. We have one chick who insists on laying on the floor. We get a couple a day that are poop streaked. I lightly wash them and put them aside for us. God has magnificently designed chickens to lay eggs that are not only a perfect food but protected and keep longer if unwashed. However, don't want poop on my eggs. lol!

 

[BJnMe]

Quote:
Actually that isn't true--the egg will not be contaminated from passing through the oviduct unless the bloom is washed away--handling it once it dries won't do that. If the egg is infected it will happen before the shell is applied--salmonella--not after. The US of A is about the only place were commercial egg producers are required to wash their product before sale--most other countries do not (and have no problems). I would guess it is because 1) most commercial farms are not the cleanest places on earth and 2) US citizens tend to be germophobic. In truth an egg will store longer and without refrigeration if it is left unwash. That being said, I suggest anyone wash an egg before using it for the simple reason that the shell may have picked up bacteria in it's journey from nest to pan and shell pieces have a way of falling in. I suggest that, I don't always do it. We also routinely wash dirty eggs here for the simple reason that the one who-must-be-obeyed says she doesn't want any chicken s%#t in her refrigerator.

Do they re coat the eggs with something after washing, or do they go out unprotected.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
The farm I know best used to put a coating of vegetable oil of some kind on them--not for protection as much as to make them shine. I don't think there is anything that will protect them like the natural bloom--that's why every carton of eggs says to "keep refrigerated". I guess its like washing your hands after using the bathroom, it's assumed their clean and will stay that way.

 

[jlloyd]

I wash all my eggs in cold water only and put them in the fridge. If it is going in my fridge, and I am going to be eating it later, I really don't want chicken poop on it.

 

[chickbird]

Quote:
Actually that isn't true--the egg will not be contaminated from passing through the oviduct unless the bloom is washed away--handling it once it dries won't do that. If the egg is infected it will happen before the shell is applied--salmonella--not after. The US of A is about the only place were commercial egg producers are required to wash their product before sale--most other countries do not (and have no problems). I would guess it is because 1) most commercial farms are not the cleanest places on earth and 2) US citizens tend to be germophobic. In truth an egg will store longer and without refrigeration if it is left unwash. That being said, I suggest anyone wash an egg before using it for the simple reason that the shell may have picked up bacteria in it's journey from nest to pan and shell pieces have a way of falling in. I suggest that, I don't always do it. We also routinely wash dirty eggs here for the simple reason that the one who-must-be-obeyed says she doesn't want any chicken s%#t in her refrigerator.

the cloaca serves as both excretory(feces/urine) and reproductive(egg) function. the female reproductive system consists of a left ovary and oviduct which terminates in the cloaca. the right ovary and rt. oviduct are present in the embryo but fail to develop.

 

[lakeman]

Quote:
On the farm an egg eating dog was always disposed of.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:

Just a bit of FYI - washing eggs in cold water causes the contents of the egg to contract, sucking dirt and germs in thru the pores in the eggshell.
If you must wash your eggs, it is best to do so in very warm water - at least 20 degrees warmer than the egg itself. The causes the contents of the egg to expand, pushing any germs up and out.