Post here if you DON'T wash clean-looking eggs

[rgfairey]

As someone who has to buy eggs, I always ask that they not be washed....doesn't always work, tho

 

[naomipoc]

Quote:
Exactly what I do. The girls love it when I beat up an egg or two for them to gobble up. But no, I never wash the eggs, no matter what it's going to be made into. If you wash it you wash off the bloom and all the bacteria get in. And then it's THE END of the Healthy Egg.

I may be a little nuts here, but I will not give chicken or eggs to my chickens to eat. It just seems so wrong!

I only wash the dirty ones before I use them.

 

[ChezPoulez]

Quote:
I keep my eggs in a covered plastic shoe box type container in the fridge. Refrigerators can dehydrate moisture out of eggs if not kept covered because the shell is porous. If you aren't able to eat your eggs within a few days, you might be impressed with the quality change by keeping them airtight. If not refrigerating them I would be inclined to use them within a day or so, otherwise why take the chance? Salmonella is a sucky experience.

Per USDA:

Refrigerated retail eggs are usually stamped with an expiration date that is 30 days past packaging date. That is the date that the retailer must pull them from the shelf, but they are still considered safe for consumer use for an additional 2 weeks past that expiration date.

Why should eggs be refrigerated?
Temperature fluctuation is critical to safety. With the concern about Salmonella, eggs gathered from laying hens should be refrigerated as soon as possible. After eggs are refrigerated, they need to stay that way. A cold egg left out at room temperature can sweat, facilitating the movement of bacteria into the egg and increasing the growth of bacteria. Refrigerated eggs should not be left out more than 2 hours.

I've noticed that there is a universal sentiment of looking down on commercial egg farms, but having lived in egg ranch country, I know their eggs are tested for internal salmonella and ours are not. Yes, INTERNAL salmonella. Some otherwise HEALTHY chickens can have salmonella organisms living in their ovaries, so they lay eggs with the salmonella already inside the egg before the shell is formed. Yep, that's true. One of the reasons USDA regularly inspects egg ranches is to randomly test eggs for the presence of salmonella inside the egg. If they are found to be contaminated, that facility can not sell any of its eggs for 'shell egg' use, but must sell them to processors who are going to cook the eggs. It's impossible to identify which chicken is infected, so the entire facility is considered infected. Only after they change out the flock and get a clean certification can they go back to 'shell egg' sales.

 

[commishT]

I only wash off the ones I am going to sell if they have poop on them. I would wash them right before using if they were my personal eggs and I wasn't selling. It will depend on the customer, though as some do really want barnyard eggs, and don't mind a little "stuff" on the outside!

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
Exactly what I do. The girls love it when I beat up an egg or two for them to gobble up. But no, I never wash the eggs, no matter what it's going to be made into. If you wash it you wash off the bloom and all the bacteria get in. And then it's THE END of the Healthy Egg.

I may be a little nuts here, but I will not give chicken or eggs to my chickens to eat. It just seems so wrong!

I only wash the dirty ones before I use them.

It may seem wrong, but chickens can be cannibalistic and even eat their own flock mates. They sometimes eat the eggs in the nest too.

Feeding a chicken anything that can bring protein and nutrition to them is fine. Eggs, are part of the chicken and contains what the chicken needs nutritionally. Again, it may seem wrong, but it is done all the time.

 

[<3 N.C Chicken Chick <3]

Me Me

 

[BigRedNZ]

Never washed, but having said that we're probable still under 100 eggs...

 

[Davian]

Nope, never wash them. I will wipe poop/dirt off with a damp rag though. Clean eggs go into a carton and into the fridge.

 

[1Rooster]

I never wash mine either due to the bloom.
Everyone that buy from me are aware and happy with that.. I tell them if they want to wash to do it just before they use them
If they are a little dirty I wipe them off and save them for us then I may wash them just before using
with luke warm water NOT HOT as that can break the bloom
I also refrigerate them.
I use shavings for floor and straw in nests or can reverse but that way chickens know where the nest are.
I sprinkle a little DE in nests to keep mites and lice away.
As far as feeding them the eggs if you have a sick one try scrambling an egg and add a little yogurt and warm oatmeal.
I never feed raw eggs just by chance they might start eatting those..
I was also told if need calcium to bake egg shells in oven again just so they dont recognize it as their eggs.
I have not done that yet but probably will if ever need the extra calcium.

 

[nuchickontheblock]

Don't wash them -- they always are clean -- occasionally wipe off tiny bit of poop. If any are ever laid outside and look dirty, we cook and feed them back to the girls.