Washing the eggs

[kimble]

How do you do it? I sell some of mine, and my chickens get very dirty feet and sometimes make a mess of the eggs, so washing is needed. I have read how bacteria from soil and animals is good for humans as it keeps our micro-flora on their toes and topped up, and my animals do that, bit too much, so the eggs get a good cleaning. Maybe my customers do not have the lifetime of strange and prolific bacteria I have had.

[veggiechicken]

I don't wash mine.
They lay in clean nestboxes so the eggs aren't dirty. If there is any mess, I wipe/rub it off. However, I don't sell them - just give away any surplus.

[kimble]

It can rain a foot in a couple weeks here, and the bird house is on the clay ground with leaves for litter - and the chickens go out in the woods and rain and end up looking like drowned rats, but muddier. Then they dig all the litter out of the nest boxes and wallow in any mud and droppings and generally roll in all that and on the eggs.

My chickens are willfully bad and always looking for ways to get eaten, get dirty, make noise, and eat my plants and gardens.

[muddled]

so, the thing with washing eggs is that it allows some very nasty pathogens to enter the shell.

Eggs have a natural coating to prevent this....but you destroy the coating when you wash it.
In commercial egg production (and Bill H will know more about this than I do) they often use roll away nest boxes to prevent soiling. They also wash eggs with quite a strong anti bacterial agent.

Here at home, if an egg is dirty and requires more than a quick wipe, I do wash it but only just before I use it so that bacteria does not have long to multiply inside the shell.

I NEVER wash to store.

[fishpond]

As has been said.
Do not wash the eggs.
Think of a solution to stop it happening in the first place.

[sparrow100]

so, the thing with washing eggs is that it allows some very nasty pathogens to enter the shell.

Eggs have a natural coating to prevent this....but you destroy the coating when you wash it.
In commercial egg production (and Bill H will know more about this than I do) they often use roll away nest boxes to prevent soiling. They also wash eggs with quite a strong anti bacterial agent.

Here at home, if an egg is dirty and requires more than a quick wipe, I do wash it but only just before I use it so that bacteria does not have long to multiply inside the shell.

I NEVER wash to store.

Never knew this - very handy, thanks!

[Nicos]

I may be wrong but I thought it was a legal requirement in the USA that eggs for sale had to be washed in an antibacterial solution of some sort?

Personally I just wipe a dirty egg with a dry cloth then wash under the tap when I come to use them.

Washing immediately after laying means their shelf life is drastically reduced and they really need to be stored in the fridge.

[Lisasbolt]

Very good answers on here and all i can say is that i do not wash and make sure their house is clean.
Maybe if you do a couple of collections a day, then hopefully the dirt is fresh and wipes off easily.

[bearded bloke]

OP, we are in the UK & as such have different regulations to follow regarding the sale of eggs, try asking on a local (to you) forum fo a further explanation of where to get the information advised here .....

If you plan on selling your eggs, you will need to comply with your state's regulations regarding the proper cleaning and safety procedures for farm-fresh eggs.

For you that would be ... The Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry ... apparently they do have local agents/ inspectors, maybe give them a bell & get the official view on this subject

[ancee]

I have no idea what my three get upto! They are adept at finding murk and rolling in it! They have the papers under their perches cleaned daily and have fresh wood shavings in their two boxes to lay in. Their eggs are always filthy! One of them also messes in with the eggs which is really infuriating. How do you stop that? So some days my eggs are so mucky they have to be washed, as if you cracked one to use, you'd get murk going into what you were cooking. Mine don't last more than a week, so I reckon the washing is ok.

[kimble]

""so, the thing with washing eggs is that it allows some very nasty pathogens to enter the shell.
Eggs have a natural coating to prevent this....but you destroy the coating when you wash it.""

I have come to believe this is largely myth. All the eggs you buy have been washed and they keep months (when I was a baby in a remote place the eggs came in every six months) refrigerated.

My chickens are not in a place where they can leave clean eggs - they live in the forest and their house is wire walls and a dirt floor when they are inside. Washing is the only way. Now in spells of dry weather, maybe half the year, when I am changing the litter often, the eggs look clean - but they still are not really.

Having a bit of a chemistry background - and microbiology, I use a very small amount of automatic dish washer liquid. This is basically a concentrated form of bleach, a very powerful alkali, with a bit of detergent. The important thing is to always have the water hotter than the eggs so you do not develop a negative pressure in the egg and suck in bacteria.

So I fill a big stainless steel bowl with a teaspoon of auto/dish liquid, a T of bleach, and warm water - wash with only my hands as abrasive cleaning pads will interfere with the egg's integrity (if caked with manure I keep them for us - dip and set in the sink for a bit wile doing others, and then it comes right clean)

Wash and set in a wire basket that has been dipped into the cleaning water first, and is on a plate to catch dripping. Put in refrigerator - in USA we keep eggs in the refrigerator. Do not rinse eggs as the amount of detergent is harmless, and bleach evaporates. The strong alkali is key - it kills the harmful bacteria.

I would never sell unwashed eggs - but my birds are semi-feral. At the farmers market I look at other's eggs sometimes and am amazed at seeing how many are dirty. Those fecal bacteria are falling right into the bowl when you crack the egg. (which I do not mind really if it is from my own chickens.)

[mothhawk]

In the UK I'm fairly sure that the law states that class A eggs must not be washed, and in the UK they are not refrigerated, as the potential temperature change when buyers take them home can cause a build up of condensation which may result in contamination.

Not being allowed to wash eggs encourages good husbandry and better living conditions for UK poultry.

And the flavour is not affected.

[veggiechicken]

I would never sell unwashed eggs - but my birds are semi-feral. At the farmers market I look at other's eggs sometimes and am amazed at seeing how many are dirty. Those fecal bacteria are falling right into the bowl when you crack the egg. (which I do not mind really if it is from my own chickens.)

That's why, if you need to, you clean the eggs just before you use them - but not before!

[Greenleaves]

Where's Edwina Curry when you need her

[skeggijon]

I would never dream of washing one of our eggs until immediately before use.