Unwashed chicken eggs

[lynviviana]

How long can unwashed chicken eggs be stored for? My girls are laying 40 daily. Im having a bit of trouble finding people to purchase eggs from me.

 

[Perris]

where are you? the rules and customs vary by place.

In a dry cool place (not the fridge) they should be good for at least 2 months, and probably longer. In a fridge they might last 6 months - but in either case, if you're going to sell them, they should be not more than 3 weeks old really.

 

[WIchickMama]

I keep mine unwashed in a fridge in the garage-I have read 6 months, longest I have kept them is a month as we either eat them up, I bake with them or I freeze them.

You could try freezing them. I wash them, crack em into muffin tins, freeze solid, pop them out and put in freezer bags. Then I use them for scrambled eggs, egg bakes or baking.

 

[kerbotx]

How long can unwashed chicken eggs be stored for? My girls are laying 40 daily. Im having a bit of trouble finding people to purchase eggs from me.

Unwashed, refrigerated, they will last for 3-4 months easy, up to 6 months. If you're getting that many eggs, you should go to the local Farmers Market - see if you can find an egg buyer, who will buy from you, if you don't want to take them to market yourself. Of course, laws vary from place to place. Might not pay as much as selling them yourself, but it's more regular income.

 

[lynviviana]

Unwashed, refrigerated, they will last for 3-4 months easy, up to 6 months. If you're getting that many eggs, you should go to the local Farmers Market - see if you can find an egg buyer, who will buy from you, if you don't want to take them to market yourself. Of course, laws vary from place to place. Might not pay as much as selling them yourself, but it's more regular income.

But as soon as i wash them its straight to the fridge right? I am in the process of figuring out the process to sell at a farmers market.

 

[kerbotx]

But as soon as i wash them its straight to the fridge right? I am in the process of figuring out the process to sell at a farmers market.

Yes, once washed, they must be refrigerated as washing removes the protective bloom. Be sure to research the proper way to wash eggs - especially since you are selling them - or you could contaminate them during the process. (I don't wash my eggs, so I don't remember the specifics; water should be constantly running, water temperature should be warmer than the egg, then egg must be dried properly, then refrigerated.)

 

[Ridgerunner]

But as soon as i wash them its straight to the fridge right? I am in the process of figuring out the process to sell at a farmers market.

Talk to the farmer's market and find out what their rules are. Many states and many farmer's markets have their own rules for what you have to do. That should answer your questions. It doesn't matter what we say about what you can do if they have rules about it, and most have rules.

About the last thing a hen does when she lays an egg is she puts a layer we call bloom on the egg. That's why the egg looks wet just after it is laid, but it very quickly dries. As long as that bloom is intact the egg can last a long time. The bloom is pretty effective on keeping bacteria out. But if that bloom is compromised bacteria can get inside and ruin the egg. You compromise the bloom by washing the egg, sandpapering the egg, or scratching it to get it clean. If it has a glob of poop on it the bloom is compromised. A muddy egg should also be considered compromised. Handling the egg with dirty hands, especially oily hands, can cause problems.

I keep my clean eggs on the kitchen counter for over a month sometimes. I've never had a problem. But if an egg is not clean, I wash it and put it in the fridge as soon as it is dry. Since a refrigerator is cool, bacteria have a hard time growing. A clean washed egg can last a long time in the fridge.

If you wash an egg the water should be warmer than the egg. There is air inside the egg, in the air cell. If you wash an egg in water warmer than the egg, that air expands and keeps the everything out. If you wash the egg in colder water that air contracts and can suck in water (which might still be dirty) through the porous shell. By the time the egg that was washed in warmer water cools off, hopefully it is clean so there are no bacteria to be sucked inside.

Again, talk to that specific farmer's market. Many of them require the egg to be washed and stored below a certain temperature.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

For purposes of sale, you should follow whatever your local rules are. From a liability standpoint, Law trumps Science.

The EU's folks, and the USDA here in America, have both looked at the science regarding the safe storage, transport, and sale of chicken eggs and reached radically different conclusions regarding best practices to minimize food-borne illnesses. Here, USDA says wash, sanitize, refrigerate immediately (in essence, sacrifice the bloom while removing external contaminants. Sanitize to get anything you may have missed, then retard the growth of anything which the egg might later come in contact with). The EU, otoh, says wipe clean (preserving the bloom), don't wash/sanitize, and store at room temperature until ready to use (in essence, the bloom prevents things from getting in, and avoiding refrigeration helps avoid significant temperature variations which tend to cause humidity to condense on the shell, and allow "bad stuff" to penetrate the egg's pores and gain access to the insides).

Mixing methods, such as washing then storing at room temp, is NOT recommended. That's neither science, nor trusting the experts (even when they disagree). Its just a place where two "half right"s add up to one "wholly and completely wrong".