To wash or not to wash eggs?

[TulsaChick]

My girls haven't started laying yet. But when I buy them they are not washed. I don't wash before I use them either. I just wash my hands after cracking

 

[margiedawn]

I have been washing all my eggs even though they come out of my coop clean looking. I did not know about the bloom, I been washing it off. GOOD to know, time to stop washing my already clean eggs.

 

[Joan71]

The bloom on the egg is a protective coating that keeps bacteria out. The eggs that need washing, use them up first.

Unwashed, eggs can be stored on the counter for a couple of weeks. Once washed, they must be refrigerated. Unwashed eggs can last up to 3 months in the fridge. Washed eggs will not last that long.

I agree.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I don't wash them. If one is dirty I wipe the dirty spot off with a warm wet paper towel. I do put in the fridge.

Same here, though my freshest eggs are on the counter in my egg skelter.

I have a couple things to say for those of you who don't believe in washing eggs. Chickens are dirty creatures, and unless you clean your coop daily, The nests will get dirty one way or another, even if they aren't roosted in. Pooh and dirt on eggs is disgusting and I'd much rather have a nice clean egg that doesn't last very long than a pooh covered egg that apparently lasts 3 months or so. Think about it, if you don't wash your eggs, you're probably going to be touching manure right before you cook and eat!

I guess for those of you who are fine with manure omelets and poopy refrigerators, not washing eggs is ok, but I must admit that I just don't have the guts for that.

Maybe once a week, I get an egg with a tiny bit of dried poop on it, and I have 25 or so hens laying. A quick spot check with a damp paper towel takes care of it. In winter, I will get a bit of muddy toe marks on some eggs if they are not collected often enough. Again, damp paper towel takes care of it if it's too much.

Wash yours if it bothers you. I do not keep my eggs 3 months, though in the fall I do start stockpiling my eggs in preparation for molting so I do not have to buy store bought eggs.

I have enough egg customers that I'm lucky if they last 2 weeks in the fridge. There are far worse ways to pick up germs than eating unwashed eggs - pre-schools, kindergarten, shopping carts, etc.

 

[theadopter]

I have to admit I would be confused if my hubby and I hadn't done sooooo much research before starting our chicken co-op

I DO NOT WASH MY EGGS! it removes the natural protective coating.
I refrigerate IMMEDIATELY because I have customers that have never even seen a live chicken.
I wipe off any goobers the day before or of delivery. Most of my customers buy 2-3 times a month.
My nests are covered (poo protected) and lined with dried grass from mowing the pasture. (I am SERIOUSLY ALLERGIC to hay and they <3 the soft sweet smelling dry grass)
I clean out coop 'as needed', but usually about once a month. I sprinkle DE

on the dried grass and it keeps insect reproduction WAY DOWN
I add a little over 1/2 coffee can of DE to 40 lbs. of feed to keep insect and bacteria to a minimum in the girls feed and it keeps their systems clean as well.

I have 8 hens, 1 rooster and 2 drakes that all eat and dwell in the same area and to be honest most of the dirt seems to end up on me. If you give your hen's a 'place of their own' they will use it and protect it the same way you would protect a bassinet ...

I have to admit I probably spoil mine but I am very observant and conscientious of safety and cleanliness. Best of luck and ENJOY

 

[SJ]

We live in a hot climate, we dont wash any of our eggs.
Never had a bad one, eaten or otherwise. Not even a slight smell after more than a month on the counter.
The ones that are sitting around more than 3 weeks dont have that fresh taste, they get a little stale kinda like bread. Its still good. Just like bread, its obvious which loaf was eaten quicly and which one was not.

I dont really support washing eggs or putting them in the fridge unless you have a very dirty coop or birds who habitually lay in their own poop zones.
If we get one that has poo on it (some foot love) we knock off what we can with a flick and let it dry.
When opened, just open from the side with no poop over a bowl and not over the food or pan.
If the terribly unlucky happens and the poo flakes off into the egg just feed it back to the chickens, they love it!

I dont really support fridge eggs either. Eggs need to breathe, they really do need that bloom on them so they can stay fresh and alive instead of cold and dead absorbing all the odd flavors and smells in the fridge. Plus if your fridge is anything like most peoples its not to clean and a bad place to put an egg after the protective coating was removed.

I find that eggs out on the counter (even with a speck o poo) unwashed will be fresher tasting much longer and last about as long as any washed egg even in the fridge.

So for the best results and flavor get them eggs every day and leave them in a cool, dry and dark place. Dont touch the natural barrier, but flick off anything that doesn't belong.
Healthy chickens make healthy eggs that just dont need to be messed with.

If the idea of poo on your eggs bothers you, then wash. However you really dont need to wash the egg even with a foot print on it, that bloom is resilient! Flick and dry, you'll survive I promise

(remember that bloom is on there just for the purpose of poo protection. you really think wild chicken feet are clean when they turn that egg every day?)

That being said, every one has their own story and opinion.
Wash away if you just cant help it

EDIT: Spelling, but I doubt I got it all

A stiff brissled brush makes a great poo flicker and it leaves the bloom. I like the boar brissle brushes just for cleaning shells with a little poo stuck to the side. Having said that sometimes I wash eggs too because an egg breaks in the nest from time to time. Im not sure of the shelf life of an egg covered in yolk??? So I wash my eggs but I try to not have to. I do use the eggs I washed before eggs not washed.
I have found keeping a clean coop and clean litter in the nesting boxes plus collecting eggs in a timely manner greatly decreases both dirty and broken eggs.
By timely manner I mean STUDY YOUR FLOCK and find out what time of day your birds are on the nests. Then watch them girls to see when the last hen gets off her nest. Check the time but more importantly check the position of the sun. Chickens don't have watches the sun is her watch. If you do this long enough you will find that each hen has her own routine and time of day she wants to lay. So if your hens are all done by 1:30, like mine, it is safe to assume you can collect all the eggs that will be laid that day at by 2. Remember each hen is an individual and your flock may lay earlier or later but getting to all of a day's eggs at one time has helped me collect more and cleaner eggs.

 

[Happy Chooks]

A stiff brissled brush makes a great poo flicker and it leaves the bloom. I like the boar brissle brushes just for cleaning shells with a little poo stuck to the side. Having said that sometimes I wash eggs too because an egg breaks in the nest from time to time. Im not sure of the shelf life of an egg covered in yolk???

In our house, those go to the dog.

 

[buttercup95]

I just had this exact same conversation with my SO. He thought it was gross that I wasn't washing them, luckily he's smart and after I told him about the bloom and everything he didn't mind it at all. I did catch him the other day trying to scrub the ehem "spots" off the quail eggs. He thought it was poo...

 

[Gardeningmama]

I never wash them. My nest boxes are kept pretty clean, so only occasionally do I get a dirty one. Honestly I have so many eggs, I throw a dirty one away. I have a pretty basket that holds about 3 dozen eggs (one weeks collection) it sits on my bakers rack until it's full. Then I put them in egg cartons with dates for cycling. In spring/summer the cartons go in the basement fridge, fall/winter they go to a basement shelf. Works great!

 

[SJ]

In our house, those go to the dog.

Yeah the dogs get their share of eggs too, and washed eggs are more likely to be dog food than unwashed eggs around here. Yep, I wash the eggs before I feed them to the dogs.