not sure if Im in the right area got egg questions

[cbriggscc]

We've had lots of rain but when my eggs are dirty what are some of your recommendations for cleaning the eggs. Sometimes it's just dirt and other times it's just chicken poopy. I heard that the protective coating on the eggs is the best but when I give them to family and friends I'd like them to look nice

Thanks for your input.

 

[Mrs. Glassman]

I've heard it's best to give them a light scrubbing on the dirty spot with fine sandpaper, as opposed to washing them with water.

 

[chickenfever]

You're going to get so many different answers. Yes, the eggs do last longer if you leave the bloom on them. Personally I want my eggs to be clean in the egg cartons so the egg cartons don't get poopy, and customers are getting clean eggs, so I wash all my eggs under hot running water. No soap.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It depends on how long they are going to be stored. If you take the protective coating off, it makes it easier for bacteria to enter the egg. (The egg shell is porous so the developing chick inside can breath.) If you are going to use the egg in a couple of days and store them in a fridge, no big deal. If they are going to be stored longer, it could develop into a problem. The eggs you buy from the grocery have probably been washed. They have also been put into the fridge as soon as possible. Treat your washed eggs as you treat store eggs. One of the tricks to washing them is to use water that is warmer than the egg. If the egg is warmer than the wash water, water will penetrate the shell and could carry bacteria with it. I think 10 degrees is the minimum recommended difference in temperatures.

If the eggs are going to be hatched, do not wash them, just gently brush them off.

Sandpaper will also remove the bloom.

Hope this helps.

 

[damselfish]

Also, you can take steps so they stay cleaner.
1) make roosts higher than nestboxes so chickens are not inclined to sleep, and poop in the boxes.
2) pine shavings or some other bedding in nestboxes.
3) put your nestboxes far from the coop door so the chickens have to walk across the maximum amount of dry bedding before they put their dirty chicken feet in the nest.

Good luck!

 

[msgenie516]

Quote:
I agree! I also know there are differing opinions on the subject because of the bloom the hen leaves on the egg, but I just CAN'T STAND dirty eggs, so I also wash them in hot water with no soap. I have been doing this for a long time and no one has gotten sick from eating the eggs and I have had some for a month or more and they were still fine to eat. Good luck!

Genie