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Junior Member
 
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Last Login: 1/5/2012 10:41:55 AM
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I agree with Karen and Doug - I don't "wash" mine unless they've got poop caked on them. Then I use a dry or slightly damp paper towel. I've heard of using fine grit sandpaper too.
FYI - the magic erasers can take permanent marker off the wall (from experience after an accident involving a two-year-old)!, but will also eat your skin - I wouldn't use them on eggs because there is obviously a chemical reaction that eats paint. . . not exactly what I want around my food.
I fully believe that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. I believe in dirt and germs!
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Advanced Member
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Last Login: 9/23/2010 4:13:39 PM
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| I can understand people not washing eggs that you consume yourself, but if you put them outside the road to sell a few ofthe extra eggs you have, I think it is prudent to wash them. I say this because my massage therpist and I were talking about this the other day. She said she tried to buy local, "but could not do local eggs anymore because she found some that were dirty and had a feather or two on them." It just grossed her out so much that she won't buy from roadsides any more. We both realizd that locals eggs are better, but if I ever ran into dirty eggs, I would not buy them there anymore either. It is just a product of modern society I know, but customers expect clean food now.
******
Tell a welfare recipient they must work and they call their congressman. Tell a farmer he can no longer work and he commits suicide. No wonder 1/2% of the population feeds the other 99-1/2%!!
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Senior Member
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Last Login: Yesterday @ 7:21:05 AM
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| I agree that eggs being presented for sale need to be cleaned up, but NOT washed, as in water...unless you have the special cleaning product that is made for eggs, which gives the eggs a coating to replace the bloom that gets washed off. Washing eggs with water - and especially water that is a different temperature than the eggs - only introduces pathogens into the egg, which means that the egg might look clean but can be teeming with bacteria inside. Most eggs come out of our nesting boxes already presentable, but the few that don't can normally be cleaned up with a scrape of a knife and a dusting off with sandpaper. If that doesn't clean up the egg enough, they are used by my family only. We wash them off just before using them.
Karen http://www.facebook.com/MrsKsCreations
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 3/6/2010 1:44:39 PM
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I also wash with hot water and soap. I have been doing this for over a year and have had good clean eggs!!
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 6/6/2010 12:09:55 PM
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| hmmm....I will say just one thing...I don't have too many issues with dirty eggs. I cure the problem before it starts. I bed all of my nest boxes with a good bit of hay. I clean them out as needed. If you see a pile of poop it is time to clean. Usually only about once a week, especially if you have some where for them to roost at night instead of inside the nesting box. If I do get one or two that are dirty, I usually wipe them with blades of grass or hay and then maybe a wet paper towel, then I make boiled eggs with them immedicately. I don't wash them ever! It isn't so much about ruining the inside of the age as it is the shelf life of the eggs. If you submerge eggs in water, hot or cold, it actually depletes one week off the month shelf life. If you are keeping the dirty eggs for yourself, then it really doesn't matter due to the fact that you know when they were gathered. If you are selling them...do not wash them. You don't know how fast someone will go through those eggs. All of have to do is any type of research online and you can find that this statement is true. I just watched a documentary not long ago on the history channel that explained all of this as well. By the way....we sell about 20 dozen eggs a week from here....and no one has ever complained and they always come back for more!
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 6/6/2010 12:09:55 PM
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| Okay...I got thinking about this topic this morning and decided to go through all of the information that I have gathered over the years from various sources to find the appropriate way to clean eggs.....I found this one the most informative: Dr. Christina Winstead of The Department of Animal Science Cornell University says the following: "A household refrigerator can be used to store eggs from small flocks, but the low humidity will cause air cells to enlarge rapidly. Eggs may absorb off-flavors if stored with other produce such as onions. Sanpaper, emery paper, or steel wool are useful for dry cleaning eggs. Egg washing is not recommended for small flock owners, but if done, an egg wash containing a sanitizer should be used. A temperature of 110 degrees F is preferred but a range of 90 to 100 degrees F. is suggested. Make sure the water is at least 20 degrees warmer than the egg but never more the 50 degrees. Wahing should not exceed 2 to 3 minutes and shoulb be followed by a rapid drying and cooling. Never wash eggs in cold water. It causes the egg contents to contract and draw-in the dirty water. Egg quality declines as eggs get older, but the nutritional value is not affected. For maximum quality, eggs should be used within 2 weeks after being laid."
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 2/26/2011 11:19:51 AM
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| I think the key is clean bedding all the time. When we have the clean bedding; we get cleaner eggs. When we do sometimes get dirty eggs; we clean them in cold water and a course scrubber. Anyone every try the egg wash solutions that are sold?
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Junior Member
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Last Login: 1/5/2012 10:41:55 AM
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I agree w/ pps on the topic of keeping eggs clean from the get-go. I tried using straw - not hay, the chickens just eat it - and got nowhere b/c the girls just kicked it out and then I had a bunch of cracked eggs.
Here's what I've found to work the best:
*Use sawdust, not straw or hay. It stays in the nest boxes so long as there's a lip on the edge so they don't waste it. Plus it absorbs moisture better and if the girls do poop in there it's more likely to stay put than get on the eggs. It also doesn't take much. I could use 1/2 a bale of straw or hay just to stuff the boxes which got wasted anyway so I'd have to do it at least twice a week. For 8 nest boxes, I use 2 -5 gallon buckets full of sawdust and that beds 'em pretty thick. I just throw it in there and the girls kick it around to get it the way they like it themselves.
*Put a sheet of dark fabric over the opening of the nest boxes. I just used some cheap black scrap fabric, tacked it along the top of the boxes and then cut a slit where the middle of the nest box would be. This keeps the girls from roosting on the edge and pooping in the boxes all night. Plus there's less mess in the back of the next box because they go in, lay their egg, and get out since they can't see what everyone else is doing.
I rarely have to clean off my eggs now and I don't have to rebed the nest boxes but every couple of weeks. If there is a poop pile starting to build I just scoop it out with a trowel, or I guess you could use a kitty litter scooper.
I fully believe that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. I believe in dirt and germs!
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