Amy B

Thank you for the welcome, John. I've actually been a member of Permies for decades, but under a name or email that I can't remember (because I don't normally log-in or post anymore). Wanting to talk chicken, so I used my gmail. Happy to be in the conversation instead of just lurking. ;-)

John F Dean wrote:Hi Amy,

Welcome to Permies.

I'm glad to see this thread revived. I was helping some folks with their hens, and the eggs were pretty dirty 'til I added fresh bedding to the nests (that's all it took). After that the eggs were clean. I was raised partly on a farm, and was always told not to wash the eggs. Instead, we brushed any debris off with a special brush after it dried, but again, that was rare, because we kept plenty of bedding in the nest box and layered, then replaced it, as needed. The eggs were always kept at room temp, never refrigerated. My great aunt would rub the eggs in lard, in the palms of her hands, and that kept them shelf stable longer (also made them really pretty). Mom didn't do that (too much trouble, and our eggs were used up pretty fast), but I occasionally do that now.

Timothy Norton wrote:Highlighting some things that folks have said previously, unwashed eggs are pretty convenient but every once in a while you might need to clean some shells up!

I have found that egg laying box hygiene is important to keeping eggs clean. When we get storms, there might be some mud so there still needs to be some cleanup. If a dry cloth doesn't work, I move onto washing when I am getting close to utilizing the eggs.

I setup my sink into an assembly line. If it is a big batch, the first sink is stoppered and filled with eggs which will be submerged in water. They get processed one by one to check for cracks while I take a soft wet cloth to wipe off any gunk. These go into the second sink which get a post cleaning rinse before they are wiped clean with a new dry cloth. I then package them in egg crates and they are then stored in a refrigerator.