To wash or not to wash...eggs

[Paraclete 2]

I have been raising a flock of around five-hundred various breeds for about twelve years now and I never wash eggs unless they are cosmetically unclean, then I use a soft scratch pad that retains almost no water but is kept warm. It removes any fecies in seconds and only dampens the egg. which in turn is immed dried. No reason to wash a clean egg. But I personally would never buy unsightly or unclean eggs at any price. Paraclete 2 Diddo Jn 14:6

 

[Kansaseq]

My chicken eggs only get washed if dirty, but my duck eggs.......are ALWAYS dirty. I scrub and scrub with Dawn and they still don't look clean to me.

 

[mamawolf544]

I never sell dirty eggs, like I said if they are dirty I feed them to the dogs and chickens. All my hen nest have shavings and sand so we hardly ever have dirty feet unless we have had a hard rain.

 

[kcravey]

ok wow! I never knew people DIDNT wash their eggs.

I wouldnt want a dirty egg in my refridgerator without first washing it. Even if they looked clean - I imagine stuff on it I cant see. Ive always brought them straight in and to the utility sink and washed them with warm water then straight to the fridge. Then washed my hands with soap.

So - for those of you leaving them out, unwashed.... are they fertile eggs?? All my eggs are fertile. i would think setting them out in warmer air might cause them to set??

Now im visioning a nice egg basket - full of colored eggs (hopefully by next spring I'll get a variety in color!) setting out for display.

Never knew you could keep them out for 2 weeks either! How do you know when they are past two weeks? I have an egg basket in the fridge and am constantly adding eggs to it every day. It is never completely emptied unless we have a lot of people over for breakfast one morning. Ive never had a bad egg either... or a stinky egg.... I throw all the cracked ones away.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I wash all of my eggs.

.....Alan.

 

[The Chicken People]

I only wash the pooh off! If not dirty why wash it?

 

[mama2many]

Had to post to share my slightly nutty way of doing things. My kids are 4 and 6-we keep 2 sets of cartons in the fridge... down low is theirs and that is where the eggs go straight from the chickens. When the up high cartons are empty I wash the down low eggs and they get promoted to up high where they are given away or consumed. Drives my husband nuts all these cartons! That is the only way I can be sure there is no cross contamination going on!!!

 

[momdrinkstea]

I've read that there is a natural "bloom" on the eggs, a protective
layer that seals the outside. When you wash off the bloom, you force
bacteria on the outside into the inside of the egg. (Eggs are permeable, and
allow air, etc. to pass through - chicks have to breathe ya know!)
This is why store-bought eggs have a problem with salmonella - that and their
age can be up to a month! Ever wonder why old recipes call for raw eggs and
it was ok "back then"? No one washed the eggs before storing them! This kept
out the bacteria. I would wash a dirty egg before using it, but only right before.
Store them unwashed and keep them fresher! My neighbor and I sell eggs, unwashed,
and we tell our customers this too!

 

[kstavert]

Hi All

I'm new here... this is my first post... and, it's about POOP

I've read a bunch of posts where people write that it's uncommon
for their eggs to get poop on them.

What are you doing to stop that from happening?

I have 27 girls and keep filling their boxes with wood shavings -
because they'd just immediately kick out any straw that I put in...
looking for seeds?

It's been raining for two days and everywhere is ankle deep mud.
I can't clean their coops and there's lots of poops.

My husband said that I can't wash the egss... Is wiping them down
with a damp cloth the same thing as washing?

Your help and expertise will be greatly appreciated.

Wanting to be poop free in Arkansas!

Karen

 

[Kansaseq]

Kstavrt,
Poop happens. When my eggs get poop on them, I wash. If they are clean, I leave them alone. It's OK to wash