Washing techniques

[Alethea]

I have been asked to wash our eggs. Would Dr. Bronner's castile soap with orange oil work?

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Not familiar with it, but warm water and rubbing with your hand will clean all but the worst ones........Pop

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
Why? by who?

Do they know about the bloom? the protective covering?

My worst ones (covered in poo/dried poop- no clean way to pick up- stupid poor potty habit rooster...) go to my dog the day I pick them up- they others go right into a carton or get rinsed off then tapped dry on a paper towel then in the carton...

 

[cobrien]

i don't wash mine until i'm ready to eat it. as mentioned the fresh egg has a natural protective bloom on it that keeps it fresher if you don't wash it off. if there is poop on the egg i wash with water and soap - Dr. bronners is great for this. otherwise i wash with warm water only right before i eat it.

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I don't wash eggs unless they are visably dirty. But since I collect the eggs three times a day I rarely get a dirty egg and when I do its minor that I can wipe off with a damp wash cloth or paper towel.

 

[triplepurpose]

Washing eggs doesn't make much sense to me. The outside of the shell gets cleaner and looks nice, but then the bloom is gone so it's open to infection, and in the washing process soap, microbes and other foreign matter can get into the egg through the shell, which obviously is porous. So an egg that's dirty on the outside because it wasn't washed is perhaps cleaner on the INSIDE than one that was washed... How counterproductive is that! If you absolutely must have pristine-looking eggs, a quick and gentle wipe with a clean, moist cloth or paper towel, like ibeier does, will take care of all but the crustiest, nastiest rejects while preserving the shell's integrity. And remind or educate people every chance you get about the value of un-washed eggs (more pristine, don't need refridgeration, less wasteful of resources). Also, keeping your coop clean and dry and keeping plenty of clean bedding in the nest boxes, as well as collecting eggs at LEAST once a day (if not more, like ibeier), goes a long way toward cleaner eggshells...

 

[gritsar]

I'm going to ask the same question Tigeris did...Why? By who?

I called the state when I wanted to start selling at the farmer's market. Even they didn't recommend washing. They suggested sandpaper for any dirty spots, I use rough paper towels instead.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

I don't wash mine, even if they are dirty, until I'm about to eat them. Then I rinse them under warm water and use my hand to scrub them. Most of my eggs are 100% clean but occasionally my messy females poop in the next box and the egg gets a little dirty, which is my fault! I only had one laying, now two, so I imagine as they all start to lay things will stay cleaner.