Warning - objectionable content! Can I improve my eggs' flavor?

[greyhorsewoman]

Try washing your eggs with just plain water. I don't wash any of my eggs unless they are dirty.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

Mau I suggest that feeding corn GIVES eggs a whole some taste
I would and did not feed extra corn to my hens
I found it unnessary as it tends to lend stronger tatse to eggs and only puts fat on the hen

try feeding whole horse oats as this gives the eggs a much nicer taste always feed grante grit when feeding whole or cracked grains

also the grass they eat does give a strong flavor to the eggs

also the black oil sun flower seeds do add stronger taste
try deleting these things and hopefully the eggs will taste better

so you can help with the whole oats

email me any questions

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

IDK how to improve taste but I have noticed when I wash my pan I cook scrambled eggs in that it smells like a wet dog......anyone else ever noticed this or is it just me???

 

[Shesapip]

Chicks_N_Horses, I haven't noticed the wet dog smell, just that wet rust smell. I like to add garlic to the oil when I use my cast iron, to cover that up.

Glenda, is granite grit available at all feed stores? Are whole horse oats plain, or do they have some molasses mixed in with them?

There is a place nearby that sells oats at a great price. If they're plain, will that be okay to feed my hens?

I love oats, so it makes sense that they would help my eggs' flavor. Plus, they would replace a bit of the fat in the sunflower seeds and give more protein than corn provides.

I just bought 50 pounds each of the corn and sunflower seeds, so I'll probably continue to use them, just in much smaller amounts.

Greyhorsewoman, you're much braver than I am! Even when my eggs look pristine, I scrub them. Ever since I heard that chickens carry Salmonella, I've been paranoid that I or one of my egg customers will get it. You'll probably tell me you've been doing things this way for thirty years without a hitch!

 

[NancyDz]

Also the water should be warmer than the egg, so if you are using cold water that could be the problem too...

If your eggs had salmonella... no amount of scrubbing would get it out, its VERY rare.


Nancy

 

[lotzahenz]

In every book/magazine I've read, it says to never wash eggs as the shells are porous and you will "push" the bacteria into the egg itself. So, if you do wash them, it should be immediately before using them. I rarely wash an egg, just use a sterile technique to crack and pour them if I can. I always put them in a bowl first, just in case some shell sneaks in. I have friends who sell fresh eggs and they wash theirs so they "look" clean. I keep the dirty ones and sell the clean ones, as I don't want to take a chance by washing them and someone getting sick.

 

[Shesapip]

Wow! I'm getting an excellent education! Thank you!

Question: Could I just dip the eggs in a 1:10 bleach solution? Or will the bleach go through the shell?

 

[jemagsy]

We never wash our eggs and routinely leave them on the counter until they get at least 4-5 days old. (As long as you don't put them in the refrigerator there's no reason they *have* to be refrigerated - just make sure you float-test them first). If I had to bet money I would say it's one of two things either you really don't like true fresh eggs or it's something that's getting in the egg.

It is definitely a possibility you don't like fresh eggs! I know people who are so used to the taste of store-bought the fresh eggs are too strong for them. Remember these are just like the difference between store-bought and home-grown tomatoes.. the home-grown definitely have a stronger taste. My husband swore up and down he hated tomatoes until he had a fresh from our garden tomato - if it can change people's opinion to liking something there is no reason it can't do the opposite. I'll hope that's not the case since you have chickens already though.

If it's something in the egg perhaps its either the spinach or bleach?? Is the spinach particularly strong? Perhaps that or one of the other "extras" (sunflowers, etc) is what is boosting the taste. Also I would really be cautious with that bleach - you realize it's most likely getting in your egg right? The shells are extremely porous and anytime you wash them you risk eliminating the bloom and exposing them to bacteria and in your case bleach. I don't recall anyone else on here ever mentioning using the bleach and I would be very hesitant to try it. Note I do have FM so I don't use anything that's bleached (including flour) or preservatives etc to try and control that. Also the salmonella you're concerned about I definitely applaud you taking such fervent measures to protect you and you're family, however, the risk of contracting salmonella so long as you follow safe protocols are virtually nil. I would suspect you are already following most of these - from your earlier post I suspect you run a tight watch.

1) Gently - ever so gently rub dirty eggs under slightly warm water (cold water will get sucked right in along w/ the bacteria). I've also heard of some people using sandpaper, however, we only clean our dirty eggs so I can't attest to either method.
2) Immediately refrigerate any non-hatching eggs
3) Always always clean up any egg spills and wipe down counters to prevent any cross contamination
4) Float-test any eggs you are suspicious of, it will usually only take one rotten egg to get you doing this.
5) Thoroughly cook all eggs

Check out this site - it has a bit more info and note they do mention bleaching on their site too.

Hope this helps and let us know what you find out!

 

[Akane]

You can get salmonella anywhere.

There was an article about someone getting it from their fish tank. You can get it from any animal. You can get it from practically any food source. You can get it from dirt. The thing is it's very rare to get sick from most any of those sources unless you've got a seriously compromised immune system. About the only way a healthy person is going to get salmonella poisoning is bad and poorly cooked meat. It's a silly thing to worry about. Washing your eggs is more likely to cause problems than keep you from getting sick. Especially if you don't know proper ways to handle eggs. I've never washed an egg. If it's too dirty I feed it immediately to the pets. If it's just stained I put it in the fridge to eat eventually or set it into the incubator. Never had an egg go bad yet.

Sunflower seeds are healthier and better balanced than corn or oats for chickens. However oats would be better balanced than corn which is mostly just fed to animals when you want to put a lot of weight on them or give extra energy in winter. It's really not the healthiest thing to feed most any animal long term. Oats would be a better choice during most of the year and sunflower seeds will actually provide more energy and fatten them up more in the winter than corn. Corn is just cheap and common so it got used a lot. Molasses causes diarhea in chickens. You want plain oats or grains without molasses not sweet feed mixes or similar.

 

[citrusdreams]

I think you might realize a difference if you stop washing your eggs. I definitely wouldn't be scrubbing them with a brush.

Why are you washing all your eggs? Are they visibly dirty?

If you're itching to wash your eggs, maybe instead, change the bedding in the nest boxes more often, and collect them as often as you can.

If an egg is visibly dirty, I give that egg to the pigs

I figure, I'm getting more than enough eggs and don't need that one.

An alternative is to buy egg wash. I think McMurrays has some. But I still vote to not wash unless there is obvious crud on it.