To wash or NOT to wash

[k7ailaan]

I rarely wash the eggs. I get them pretty clean from the coop in the morning, right after laying.

in rare occasions i need to wash them from dirt and poop.

 

[newchickmom]

I leave mine on the counter for a couple days, untouched, then when I have enough to fill about 3 or 4 cartons, I wash the ones that need it and put them all in cartons then in the fridge. I sell mine and some customers would not like to see smudged eggs.

 

[my3jsons]

Seriously, I can't imagine not washing them! That to me would be like bringing home fruit that other people have handled in the grocery store and not washing it only worse. You guys that don't wash must have cleaner chickens than mine.

 

[woodmort]

I only wash those that are dirty. I prefer not to wash them at all since they will last longer but on occasional there is some dirt or poop that needs to be removed. In that case my first choice is a damp cloth to get the spot. If the egg is really dirty--often happens if it gets kicked out of the nest onto the floor--I run warm water on it and scrub the dirt off with a vegetable brush I keep just for that purpose. I immediately use these eggs or put them in the refrigerator where they will be used first. I do tell my egg customers that the eggs I'm selling them aren't washed and should be before use. I do check them for cracks as I box them up though.

 

[Liamm_1]

my 3 pullets have just started to lay recently, and we've collected about 3 dozen eggs so far. Every single egg with the exception of one, has been a sparkling clean gem of an egg. The one exception was a pullets first egg, that had a slight blood smear. If I saw a dirty or poopy one, yes I'd wash it, but I thought hens won't poop in their nest box? at least mine haven't. As for bacteria, water definitely won't affect bacteria, but the heat when you cook it will kill anything present.

 

[Lennie]

Eggs come naturally with a protective coating that keeps bacteria from getting inside. No need to wash eggs that don't 'look' dirty. If you wash the eggs, you're washing off its natural protection. Hence, eggs keep longer unwashed. Of course, if they're badly soiled from poop or blood, go ahead and wash them, but then better put them in the fridge and use them fairly soon. If you keep your chickens' rear clean, there shouldn't be any poop on the eggs anyway.

 

[gritsar]

The eggs I sell to customers (unwashed) are positively absolutely spotless compared to the eggs I've seen for sale at our local farmer's coop. Neither of us has any trouble selling out.

People around here understand that eggs come from a chickens butt. I remind my customers to wash them before use. I'd never sell a really dirty egg, much to my dogs delight. A light smug or stain I'm not going to worry about and neither do my customers.

 

[QuinnP]

you meant eggs, not the chicken.

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