To wash or not to wash eggs?

[Happy Chooks]

Quote: Yup. I see someone else already gave you the link.

Here's the Canning thread too:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/78434/what-are-you-canning-now/8350_50#post_11841781

 

[Annasg]

I did not know all this. I have been washing my eggs as soon as I collect them even tho they dont need it. I almost never get any poo on them but I am germ conscious. I do have another problem. I am wondering if it is normal for a newly learning egg layer to have specks in their eggs? Is this part of the learning process of egg laying?

 

[appps]

I never wash the eggs. I'm not eating the shell so don't quite see the point. If I have to get paranoid there could be a germ on the outside if my clean looking egg its time to give up lol. Its called developing a normal immune system . And to be honest I had never heard if anyone washing eggs, especially not store ones before coming on here. Maybe we just do things differently over here

If it was really pooey maybe but that's not been an issue for us. They keep their nestboxes clean so so are the eggs.

I guess if it was really dirty and I thought some might fall in the scrambled eggs as I cracked it I would wash under the tap quickly before using.

I store in the fridge but most of the supermarkets here don't keep them refrigerated so that's obviously not a must.

 

[appps]

Yeah, I understand that. Like I said I wasn't trying to be mean or anything, just tryin to make sense of the conversation lol. I know what ya mean, I pretty much survive off the land as it is. I put up peas, green beans, squash, okra. And other veggies. I have fruit trees berry bushes, stock up on homeade jelly, and I am an avid hunting and fishing fanatic. My grocery bill is less than 50 dollars most months. I love it. Oh look you have me in survivor mode now lol, would any type of oil work on the egg to keep it for a year on the counter? lol

 

I will have to ask my mum for you. She used to tell a story of an aunt stored eggs somehow for a long time. I do think they just used the stored ones for baking though

 

[Hokum Coco]

I wash the ones that are dirty. My coop is clean but not impeccable sometimes poop happens.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Some sources recommend rinsing eggs with a solution of vinegar and water as an alternative to chemical sanitizers such as bleach (there is a huge list of "approved" egg sanitizers). I tried pouring vinegar water over eggs just prior to the final rinse and believe it starts to dissolve the egg shells ... which makes sense as vinegar is used to dissolve egg shells for pickled eggs and vinegar is used to extract calcium from egg shells.

 

[jackhorn01]

Only question I have about that is are you heating the vinegar water solution? Washing eggs with cool water is a big deal. May as well call it bacteria marinade. I have heard of some people keeping a sanitizer solution in a spray bottle and not washing eggs like we have been talking about here, but lightly giving them a lil mist with the spray bottle.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Only question I have about that is are you heating the vinegar water solution? Washing eggs with cool water is a big deal. May as well call it bacteria marinade. I have heard of some people keeping a sanitizer solution in a spray bottle and not washing eggs like we have been talking about here, but lightly giving them a lil mist with the spray bottle.

 

Yes. The sanitizing solution of vinegar water was the appropriate number of degrees warmer than the eggs ...

I personally wouldn't want to use a "mist" on eggs as it would be impossible to regulate the relative temperatures properly enough to do more good than harm ...

People rave about the cleaning properties of vinegar, but in my opinion sanitizing eggs is not a good use of vinegar as it really seems to damage the egg shells ...

... Just my opinions.

 

[Belinda7]

I have done some reading on eggs: from Robert and Hannah Litt - "A Chicken in Every Yard" information gleaned....(I learned a lot from this book and recommend it!)

Per Litt:

The egg has an outer cuticle which provides a layer of protection that helps keep the egg from drying out.

So if an egg is soiled, leave it be as it is until you are ready to use it, so the outer cuticle will not be removed, and the egg will not dry out as fast. However if an egg is old, it does begin to dry out over time, even if you didn't wash off the outer cuticle, and accumulates air within the shell...even if you haven't washed it..

To determine how fresh and egg is, put it in a glass of water. If it sinks to the bottom, it is fresh.

As an egg ages, it accumulates air inside the shell and it will float higher and higher in the glass of water, the more aged it becomes.

Being in the medical profession, I am germ conscious and chickens can carry salmonella...and that disease is NOT so much fun.

SALMONELLA...often a self-limiting enteritis with watery diarrhea associated with abdominal pain and cramping. However, it can produce septicemia with systemic symptoms including fever, cough and meningismus (Enteric Fever) with high fever. There may be a relative bradycardia associated with the high fever. (i.e., typically when you have a fever, your heart rate is 10-20 beats faster per minute than normal, and that does not happen with this disease.)

Should you develop diarrhea with fever, and suspect this, be sure to replenish fluids lost from diarrhea with Popsicles first (you can't slug down a Popsicle no matter how thirsty you are...so small amounts of liquids get absorbed slowly, making it less likely you will puke it right back up...and even if you do puke it back up, because you have slowly reintroduced liquids, you probably will have had time to absorb some of the fluid and electrolytes before you can accumulate enough fluid in the stomach to produce enough to actually vomit.) And that is the goal: To keep fluids and other nutrients in the stomach long enough, so that they can be absorbed by your body.

If you have access to WHO (World Health Organization) re-hydration packets, those are also useful for re-hydration at this point. Mix according to directions on the packet. If you don't....use Popsicles to start with.

If Popsicles are being tolerated for a few hours, progress to white grape juice sips at a time frequently. This is an easily digested juice. Try each phase of re-hydration for an hour or two before advancing to the next stage/food item.

if that is tolerated, move up to Gatorade, again, sips at a time.

And then if that is tolerated, progress to chicken noodle soup to provide protein, and salt replacement.

I have been preaching this for over 20 years to patients and can verify this order of fluid and electrolyte replacement is highly effective in resolving dehydration and restoring electrolytes lost from vomiting and diarrhea!) Great for toddlers, children and adults with vomiting.

If dehydration persists or worsens, see a medical provider as antibiotics may be needed.(usually Ampicillin or Bactrim.) If in doubt, see a doctor!

DO NOT USE ANY TYPE OF ANTI-DIARRHEAL MEDICINE. This needs to be washed away from your system, not "kept in."

Dehydration can be lethal if your body does not get fluids and electrolytes properly restored. A good way to tell if you are properly re-hydrating is if the pinkish color begins to return to your cheeks and you have moisture in your mouth.

If despite home re-hydration, you are pale, listless, sunken eyes, dark circles under the eyes, and have mouth dryness, you may need IV fluid re-hydration, and should seek medical help immediately.

Sooooo....having gotten my first egg today, I did wash it with bleach water, dried it with a paper towel, and then cracked it and cooked it. A "deliciously" happy day for me!

If I get more eggs than I can use in a day, I plan to store them dirty in my refrigerator in a carton, and not clean them until I use them. I am an avid gardener as well, and I don't use any pesticides, etc. on any of my food products, as I believe that anything that goes into my body should be good for me...not toxic! But at the same time, common sense approach makes me think that cleaning the eggs with bleach water is probably a good health practice to thwart off any organisms on the shell just prior to cooking, and the minute bit of bleach water when I crack the egg seems a whole lot safer to me than salmonella. ...So that's my personal intuitive thoughts on this matter!

 

[JacobMaxwell]

I wash the ones that are dirty. My coop is clean but not impeccable sometimes poop happens.

This is my situation exactly. I see no reason to wash clean eggs. Your right, sometimes poop happens.