Seriously? Those egg wipes for sale...necessary?

[critterkeeper25]

We have 17 hens and get about 13-15 eggs a day on most days. My hubby sells most of them to people that he works with in the city. He washes them. I guess that they would be grossed out by a spot of poop or two. Mostly our eggs stay clean, but on ocassion we will have a hen that sleeps in the nest box and leaves poop in there and OF COURSE someone has to use that box to lay their egg in. (we have 6 nest boxes) So that egg/eggs in that box get some poop on them. He washes them off with hot soapy water and a cloth. Before we started to get so many eggs, we use to just carton them up and clean them as we used them if they were dirty. Oh, my sister and her kids (in their 20s) freak out if they get a dirty one, so we wash hers too.

 

[jacilee]

A man I knew was so excited to get chickens, finally the day came. His first egg. All was wonderful until he picked it up. He refused to eat it because it wasn't clean like the "good store eggs". He gave away his chickens because some of the eggs were a bit dirty. I said if you squeezed an egg out you might get a bit of poo on it too.

 

[lazy gardener]

That is a perfect example of just how far our society has moved from the source of our food. I have a co worker who is stepping very far out of her comfort zone. She wants to buy a dozen eggs from me. But, not to eat for herself, she'll let her husband try them. She won't even buy packaged chicken at the grocery store. Because it's raw, and she can't stand to look at it, and wouldn't know how to cook it. Hello! How does a grown woman with children manage to feed them while living in that paradigm?

 

[Jennn27]

That is a perfect example of just how far our society has moved from the source of our food. I have a co worker who is stepping very far out of her comfort zone. She wants to buy a dozen eggs from me. But, not to eat for herself, she'll let her husband try them. She won't even buy packaged chicken at the grocery store. Because it's raw, and she can't stand to look at it, and wouldn't know how to cook it. Hello! How does a grown woman with children manage to feed them while living in that paradigm?

LOL I guess it takes all kinds of people make the world go 'round, huh? But, that is pretty funny.

 

[jacilee]

That is a perfect example of just how far our society has moved from the source of our food. I have a co worker who is stepping very far out of her comfort zone. She wants to buy a dozen eggs from me. But, not to eat for herself, she'll let her husband try them. She won't even buy packaged chicken at the grocery store. Because it's raw, and she can't stand to look at it, and wouldn't know how to cook it. Hello! How does a grown woman with children manage to feed them while living in that paradigm

It is just weird to know there are people who don't know how to cut up a chicken, cook it.

I see frozen scrambled eggs in the grocery and I am just awed by it, how hard and how long does it take to just scramble a real one, I mean I know there are people who are in a hurry and need convenience food but eggs?

I hated learning to cook when I was a kid but I was thankful when I moved out many years ago and I am thankful for it now.

 

[rainbowhatchery]

I wouldnt say it is or isnt, kinda a preference. For eating Im sure most like them clean, nobody wants poop on an egg your cracking to eat and even with the cleanest nesting box its gonna happen. We clean the eggs we eat but just use luke warm water. If you do clean them with water just dont use cold water. Cold water caused the inside to shrink pulling in bacteria through the eggs pores. Warm water make the inside expand lessening any bacteria pulled in because there is almost a pushing out effect. Eggs do have pores.

 

[critterkeeper25]

I remember hearing about inner city kids that were taken to a farm for the day. They had never before seen cows, chickens, etc. They couldn't believe where the milk they drank came from or the eggs/chicken that they ate either.

Maybe the woman that couldn't handle raw chicken had a lovely husband that did all of the cooking? I know that my sister-in-law doesn't cook at her home. Or maybe they buy already prepared food.

We got our hens, initially, for pest control. We have so many stink bugs and ticks that we needed to do something. We try hard not to spray pesticides because we also have honey bees. The fresh eggs are a bonus. My husband sells most of them to friends at work. We get on average 12-15 eggs a day. Selling them helps to cover some of the feed costs. We have grown attached to the hens. I don't know if we (the kids and I, my hubby is a hunter) will be able to eat them when their useful days are up.

We have a chicken processing plant about 8 miles from our home. We have to pass it on our way to and from the highway. It's sad to see all those little white chickens stuffed in those crates, waiting for the truck to pull into the factory. I'm no vegetarian, I know where my food comes from. But, now that we have chickens and see how sweet they can be...it's a little sad that those we see on those trucks don't get to have a good life before they end up on our table.

 

[Blue Ridge Farm]

Okay, I'm a newbie, so I may be falling for this but my intuition tells me it's ridiculous: I see ads for "egg wipes" to clean the eggs that have just been laid, not fertilized eggs, just for eating/selling. Is this seriously necessary? What (if anything) do you use?
Thanks!

If you use wipes, Walmart sells a Great Value brand that has bleach to disinfect and only costs $1.98 vs the high dollar ones.

 

[Folly's place]

I was eggs as they come in from the coop, using hot running water and a little soap on a dish rag. The eggs then go in the refrigerator. A very dirty egg will get pitched. One of my EE hens consistently poos on her newly laid eggs, and it's not pretty! She's a rare bird, for sure.
Mary