I'm building on the good advice Ridgerunner supplied with regard to the bloom on eggs. If you have an egg that has got some poop on it, you should wash it in hot water. This removes most of the contamination but it will also remove the bloom that protects the egg. After washing the egg, be sure to dry it thoroughly with a paper towel before placing it in the refrigerator. Without the bloom, the shell is porous and if the egg is wet when placed in the refrigerator you run the risk that any remaining bacteria on the outside of the shell will migrate into the egg along with the water. In commercial egg production, all eggs are washed and I believe they are also dipped in some sort of sanitizing solution. If you're really concerned about this, you might do a google search on egg sanitizers. I don't sanitize my eggs and have not had an issue. I find that cleaning them and drying them thoroughly works well for me.I feel the chickens themselves are healthier if they are not raised or kept in a sterile environment. I depend on strengthening their immune system so they can better handle more of what nature throws at them. From what you described I don't think you are that fanatic about it either, especially with what I sometimes read on here. I think yours are being exposed to their environment.
Yes, they will walk and scratch in their poop. If the coop and to a lesser extent run are dry, their feet will stay pretty clean. Not perfectly clean but pretty clean. You can look at them up close and see how dirty their feet really are. When they take a dust bath the dirt usually has dried poop in it. There is stuff in nature not related to poop that is not especially healthy. When they get on and off a nest they do walk on the eggs. They settle their feathers on the eggs. So there is a chance something bad can be on your eggs. I see no reason to lie to you.
When the hen lays an egg she puts a layer we call bloom on it. When the egg is laid it looks wet but that quickly dries. Bloom helps keep bacteria out of the porous egg. It is so effective a hen can hide a nest and lay eggs in it for two weeks, then incubate the eggs for three weeks and bacteria does not get in and kill the embryo. Other poultry like ducks can incubate for five weeks. Bloom is pretty effective as long as it stays intact. If you wash it off though it cannot protect.
I don't consider myself a germaphobe but after I handle chickens or eggs I wash my hands. If eggs have visible dirt or poop on them I wash them (which removes the bloom) and store them in the refrigerator. When they are that cold bacteria cannot multiply so the eggs are not going to go bad. Some people wash and refrigerate all their eggs. I store my clean eggs on the kitchen counter without first washing them. With the bloom intact they stay good for over a month. I wash them before I use them though.
I don't consider washing my hands after I handle eggs or chickens as being a germaphobe. I don't consider washing the eggs before I use them as being excessivbe. I think it is common sense.
Last edited: