Unpasteurized Eggs

[Lokismuse]

Hi everyone! I hope it's okay that I post this here. I was torn between here and the disease section. I was curious on the opinion of eating farm fresh eggs while pregnant. Our hens are going to start producing shortly and I've never had a flock while pregnant. They all seem healthy, but I don't have the experienced eye that many of you have.

We just love this flock. Their personalities are so varied! We have 9 in total. Thanks for your answers and having patience with this newbie!

 

[lazy gardener]

You should talk to your doctor about this. But, realize that your doctor will give you the party line which is basically, "Don't do anything, eat anything, drink anything, ever, b/c you just might get sick, and then you might want to sue me." Personally, I'd take my chances with home grown eggs instead of eating any egg that comes from a grocery store. Of course, I'm guessing you will cook your eggs well, and may even avoid runny yolks if you want to be super safe while pregnant. BTW, congrats on your pregnancy.

 

[Lokismuse]

Haha, isn't that the truth? I actually spoke with them today about it and they said they wanted to look into it further. I guess that's the benefit of being more rural. And yes, sadly my days of sunny side up and toast are gone for a little while which means well cooked scrambled.

Thank you! We're pretty excited.

 

[Spartan22]

You should talk to your doctor about this.  But, realize that your doctor will give you the party line which is basically, "Don't do anything, eat anything, drink anything, ever, b/c you just might get sick, and then you might want to sue me."   Personally, I'd take my chances with home grown eggs instead of eating any egg that comes from a grocery store.  Of course, I'm guessing you will cook your eggs well, and may even avoid runny yolks if you want to be super safe while pregnant.  BTW, congrats on your pregnancy.  

2x

 

[lazy gardener]

And for that matter, most grocery store eggs are not pasteurized. They are simply washed, and kept in a warehouse until they are nasty old.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Doesn't something need to be cooked to be pasteurized? Unless you're eating the eggs raw, I wouldn't worry.

As mentioned above, no one really knows how old store-bought eggs are, you will know the freshness of your flocks' eggs as well as how the chickens are cared for.

 

[lazy gardener]

All nursing homes, and hospitals, and such places are required to use pasteurized eggs. They are labeled as such. Heated to a high enough temp to kill any disease organisms, while still appearing to be a raw egg inside. The age of an egg in the store can be found by reading the Julian date on the carton.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with everything LG said except that “nasty old” comment. Commercial eggs are normally electronically candled to remove any with surprises inside like blood spots and washed. Then they are refrigerated at a temperature that stops bacterial growth. The reason they are normally stored is so you can peel them if you boil them without chunks of white sticking to the shell. I don’t know what is nasty about that process.

The reason I use weasel words like “normally” is because you can always find an exception, maybe at “natural” food type stores. If Trader Joe’s eggs were handled like that I don’t think you’d ever get any to hatch.

I agree about the medical profession party line. If there is a remote possibility something could possibly happen, they have to warn you about it. My brother-in-law and his wife couldn’t go see their first grandkid until they got a certain vaccination because someone in the area they lived had a certain disease. I can’t remember what disease it was. They complied because the child’s mother asked them to.

I don’t agree that our eggs are any safer than the commercial eggs just because they are not commercial. We all keep them in so many different conditions and mother nature has a lot of stuff out there. I bet if you ask they don’t want you feeding the chickens or gathering eggs while pregnant. I wouldn’t be surprised if they warned you about walking in the woods or doing much of anything outside if you ask.

Is it possible that something could happen if you eat one of your eggs? Of course, anything is possible. It’s your baby (congratulations by the way) so do as you feel comfortable, but in my opinion as long as you follow basic cleanliness you and the baby should be OK. That means wash your hands after being around the chickens, wash the eggs, and well done is in your future for a while.

 

[Mosey2003]

You can totally pasteurize them yourself if you'd like the peace of mind. You bring them to 140 in water, hold for three minutes, then cool down and refrigerate.

 

[lazy gardener]

I agree with everything LG said except that “nasty old” comment. Commercial eggs are normally electronically candled to remove any with surprises inside like blood spots and washed. Then they are refrigerated at a temperature that stops bacterial growth. The reason they are normally stored is so you can peel them if you boil them without chunks of white sticking to the shell. I don’t know what is nasty about that process.

The reason I use weasel words like “normally” is because you can always find an exception, maybe at “natural” food type stores. If Trader Joe’s eggs were handled like that I don’t think you’d ever get any to hatch.

I agree about the medical profession party line. If there is a remote possibility something could possibly happen, they have to warn you about it. My brother-in-law and his wife couldn’t go see their first grandkid until they got a certain vaccination because someone in the area they lived had a certain disease. I can’t remember what disease it was. They complied because the child’s mother asked them to.

I don’t agree that our eggs are any safer than the commercial eggs just because they are not commercial. We all keep them in so many different conditions and mother nature has a lot of stuff out there. I bet if you ask they don’t want you feeding the chickens or gathering eggs while pregnant. I wouldn’t be surprised if they warned you about walking in the woods or doing much of anything outside if you ask.

Is it possible that something could happen if you eat one of your eggs? Of course, anything is possible. It’s your baby (congratulations by the way) so do as you feel comfortable, but in my opinion as long as you follow basic cleanliness you and the baby should be OK. That means wash your hands after being around the chickens, wash the eggs, and well done is in your future for a while.

The adjective nasty is in reference to the "old". And while an egg that has been sanitized and held in storage for a long time may be safe to eat, that egg, if it is from a factory farm is totally gross compared to the flavor of my eggs from my flock. I suppose that the adjective "nasty" also refers to the flavor, as well.