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Do you wash your eggs?

post #1 of 22
12/9/08 at 6:08pm
Thread Starter 
ok, so those of you who have chickens, do you wash your eggs? I never have because of the bloom and bacteria and such. But lately since it's muddy my hens have been tracking in mud and poo into the nest and the eggs have been extremely dirty and nasty i almost don't want to eat them.

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post #2 of 22
12/9/08 at 11:15pm
dh uses sandpaper to clean his off.
post #3 of 22
12/9/08 at 11:37pm
I wash the dirty eggs. I find that about half of my eggs have mud or chicken poop on them. I don't bother washing the eggs that aren't visibly dirty.
post #4 of 22
12/9/08 at 11:41pm
Do you mean wash like with soap wash or rinse off under water?
post #5 of 22
12/9/08 at 11:45pm


I just rinse them under water and use a little nail brush to get the yuckies off. I've never heard of anyone using soap, but I do know someone who uses vinegar and water.
post #6 of 22
12/10/08 at 12:10am
Not generally. If I feel like something looks gross, I might wash it before I use it, but definetly not immediatly apon bringing them in. Makes'm go bad faster (not that we don't go through eggs, mind you!!)
post #7 of 22
12/10/08 at 12:20am
If they are visibly dirty, I wash them with water - usually b4 eating, sometimes b4 storing. I've heard/read that the water should be slightly warmer (or was it cooler??) than the egg so as to not pass the bacteria thru the shell. OK, so I'm no help since we haven't had our chickens for a few mos now (moving and they are at m moms) and I can't remember if it's supp to be warmer or cooler than the egg....
post #8 of 22
12/10/08 at 12:35am
Same, if they're dirty I wash them right before using them.
post #9 of 22
12/10/08 at 12:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kangaroomum25 View Post
Same, if they're dirty I wash them right before using them.
This is what we do. I don't wash them because I want them to last a long time. There's a membrane on the outside of the eggs and if you wash them, you mess up the protective membrane. If I give the eggs away, I go through and only give the cleanest ones away.
post #10 of 22
12/10/08 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kangaroomum25 View Post
Same, if they're dirty I wash them right before using them.
Me too! I also wash them if I give them away. People don't seem to appreciate the poo and mud on the eggs like I do
post #11 of 22
12/10/08 at 1:47am
Thread Starter 
yeah I read that if you wash them it should be in water warmer than the egg and you should use a bleach water combination and pour them over the eggs, then use a new paper towel on each egg to clean anything else remaining on it. Seems pretty time consuming not to mention wasteful of the paper towels.

A friend of mine sprays hers with chlorox hard surface cleaner then scrubs them with and antibacterial soap.

Do any of you do anything that extensive like the above?

What I am worried about is getting sick or one of the kids sick from one of the eggs that bacteria gets into. Will that happen or will i notice a contaminated egg?
post #12 of 22
12/10/08 at 1:55am
I'm way more scared of the bleach then I am of contamination. I just use plain vinegar or sometimes a bit of dishsoap (although I probably shouldn't use that).
post #13 of 22
12/10/08 at 2:19am
I wash them before I give them away, too because I don't want people grossed out. I've been known to crack it on the clean side if one side is dirty and fry it. But if they're super gross, we wash them or throw them away.
post #14 of 22
12/10/08 at 2:46am
I only wash the dirty ones. I have had chickens for 7 years and never had an issue with bacteria.

~Traci
post #15 of 22
12/10/08 at 2:47am
The guy I sometimes buy eggs from just throws the dirty ones back out to the chickens for them to eat and he says he never has a problem with them pecking their own eggs.
post #16 of 22
12/10/08 at 11:06am
When they are nasty, I wash right before I prepare to use them, with a little dr. bronner soap. Otherwise, no, I don't wash them.
post #17 of 22
12/10/08 at 11:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by annethcz View Post


I just rinse them under water and use a little nail brush to get the yuckies off. I've never heard of anyone using soap, but I do know someone who uses vinegar and water.
Sorry. I have heard of it. I don't know why, but some people do. It might be less time consuming to just drink the soap first and then eat the eggs.
post #18 of 22
12/18/08 at 12:12am
Like MamaMonica, I'll crack on the clean side. Or wash before use. But never before storage!
post #19 of 22
12/18/08 at 3:31pm
I wash before using them. If they are grossly poopy I wash before sticking them in the fridge.
post #20 of 22
1/3/09 at 2:03pm
we wash as we go- i dont bother washing the whole batch, but rather each one or two as i eat 'em. we dont refrigerate our eggs and i think washing them would cause the some problems, ie going bad or wicking up bacteria through the pours in the shell.

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