Washing eggs?

[HallChicks]

I read a thread that said eggs do not last as long if you wash them. Why? I can only imagine that you should wash them before you eat them- right? How do you wash them?

I am hoping my hens will lay soon and I will have to start worring about this

 

[tink]

Hey...I read somewhere that if you wash them, dont do it until right before you use them. They have a protective film on them. I usually dont wash mine at all, unless they are dirty. When your hens first start laying you will probably get dirty eggs until they learn to lay and not poo at the same time!!!
Tink

 

[Tuffoldhen]

There is a covering that coats the egg when its laid...some call it bloom but there is another name (can't think of it at the moment)...this protects the egg from bacteria getting in...I do not wash my eggs before refrig. them...unless they are very dirty...washing the eggs takes the protection off and they don't stay fresh as long .....If you do wash eggs warm tap water is all thats needing...my opinion

 

[horsewishr]

I found this information on the University of Nebraska--Lincoln web site. It's from "Egg Cleaning Procedures for the Backyard Flock"

Dirty eggs should be washed in water that is at least 20°F (11°C) warmer than the eggs. A good water temperature is 90-120°F (32.2-49°C), or as hot as the hands can tolerate for about 30 seconds or until the egg has been cleaned. This is so the contents of the egg will expand and “push” out any invading microbes.

It is recommended to use a nonfoaming, unscented detergent with which to wash the eggs. Eggs can absorb fragrance from a scented detergent, resulting in an off flavor. Unscented automatic dishwater or laundry detergent can be used. Wear rubber gloves as these materials can irritate the skin. After the initial wash, bleach can be used as a sanitizing dip with a ratio of 1 tablespoon bleach to a gallon of hot water, followed by a rinse.

Seems like overkill to me. But my eggs are clean as a whistle right from the get-go.​

 

[Southern28Chick]

I've only had to wash 2 eggs so far and I only did it because the girls decided a big pile to poop was the best thing to lay the egg on.

After I washed them I rubbed oil all over them. I think I read on here that the oil will clog the egg's pores so bacteria can't get in after you washed the protective film off.

p.s. I only washed them with water to get the poop off.

 

[speckledhen]

If your nests are really clean, you rarely have to wash eggs. I have one particular girl who lays an egg and it always has this big glob of poop on it for some reason. I wet a paper towel and gently remove it with water warmer than the egg. If eggs come out of the nest clean, I never wash them, not even before I crack them open for cooking. After all, I'm not eating the shell anyway, LOL.

 

[Southern28Chick]

The 2 that I had to wash were on the coop floor right under the roosts. They got nasty!!! For the most part they all lay their eggs in the nice clean nest boxes though.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

I wash every egg.
By wash, I mean with warm water and a plastic netting scrubby thing ( for teflon coated pans). I don't know what it is called. No detergent.

I do not soak the eggs. I wash one at a time under running water. If it has something on it, I use the scrubby thing to get it off. Otherwise I just rinse each egg.

I set the eggs on a clean towel until I have them all washed, then I dry them off with a cotton flour sack type dish towel and put them in cartons.

I do this with the eggs I set & the ones we sell or eat ourselves.

I have an average of 89% hatch rate on eggs I set (Higher % if I only used my own eggs in the calculations).
Last year I hatched over 3000 chicks. This method works for me.

Also, DH says he doesn't want me to cook him an egg that has not been washed.

Jean

 

[Southern28Chick]

check this out:
http://www.eggcartons.com/category-exec/category_id/69/nm/Egg_Washer_Egg_Wash_and_Supplies

 

[HallChicks]

Thank you soooo much

Such wonderful advice!! Now I will know what to do when the time comes