I love this Forum! Okay, here it is, I hate to wash eggs. I don't know why, but I will leave a basket on my counter until it is full. I found it is easier when I soak them in water for 10 minutes (shows any cracks easier) then use a vegetable brush on them. Tried soaking in vinager but that made them sticky. Thought of getting a golf ball cleaner but... Does anyone know of an easier way? I should also mention I have a problem with chemicals, so bleach and commercial stuff is out. Thanks

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), June 06, 2000

Answers

I made a fluffy nest out of hay on the ground in the corner of the coop and do not have to wash poop off the eggs anymore. When they had their nesting boxes, I had a mess every day! Now all I have to do is rinse them with clean water.

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), June 06, 2000.

Dee: I just wash them with one of those non-metal scrub pads, and plain water. I don't wash them unless they are yukky, as they are supposed to store longer. Does anyone use the Ke-peg stuff to store eggs? Does it work and can it be reused after the eggs stored in it are gone? Should you wash them first when using it? Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), June 06, 2000.

I put straw or hay in the nesting boxes and if the eggs do get dirty i wash them upon collecting with a clean damp washcloth. I often get dirty or muddy eggs as right now we have had a lot of rain and ours free range so i have to be extra clean.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), June 06, 2000.

I hate to wash eggs too. My solution? I gave the job to my enthusiastic 7 yr old! In case you don't have one, rinsing them under a faucet and scrubbing the yucky ones with a luffa sponge or scrubby pad works well :-)

Amy

-- Amy (mstydale@aeroinc.net), June 06, 2000.

Why would you be scrubbing with a brush or anything else? All that would do is take off the natural coating that keeps the eggs from spoiling. The only time to rinse an egg is when they occasionally poop on them, and as long as you use luke warm water to rinse, that's all it needs. Cold water will draw germs inside the shell, lukewarm water makes germs rinse away. Letting the eggs come to room temp. as you do is a good thing though. The only people who wash ALL of the eggs are the people selling them that have to go through health dept. regulations.

-- Jill Woods (lance1_86404@yahoo.com), June 06, 2000.

Hello, I also hate washing eggs! Since following the all the great advice everyone gave so far in my qyestion "what to do with my broody hen",the other hens have been laying in their new,fluffy,& on the ground nesting box- ignoring hteir old favorite one;now,the eggs are all so clean! Yea!!!!!Thanks everyone!!!!T.J.

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), June 07, 2000.

I think that the best way to get clean eggs, is to give hens a clean place to lay them. We still wash all of our eggs, because we sell them. We just let the soak a bit in warm water and then air dry them.

-- Abigail F. (treeoflife@sws.nb.ca), June 07, 2000.

I wash mine with a touch of dish soap.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), June 07, 2000.

It's me. Thanks everyone.

Everytime I try putting alot of staw in a pile on the floor, the chickens scratch it all apart. If I put alot of hay in the boxes, they scratch it out, too. Sometimes some of the eggs get eaten,(if I don't get to feed them again in the afternoon. They are free range) the others get messy. (They all have to use the same box, after all. Eight boxes isn't enough - 16 if you count my first coop which is still open)

I sell my eggs to friends and locals. Not alot but enough to keep the feed paid for. They like clean eggs. (City people)

Thanks again

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), June 07, 2000.

Hi Dee, I am amazed with my results with the clean hay in the laying boxes.I have to keep refilling the boxes about once every 2 months. But I don't ever have to wash my eggs and I sell them sometimes right from the nest. People love to see those nice clean eggs come right from the boxes. It works well for us. Good luck. Karole

-- Karole Schoepf (Biz3boymom@aol.com), June 07, 2000.

People who hate poopy eggs really freak when you tell them the egg comes out the same hole as the poop! I used to keep a piece of steel wool by my sink to scrape off dried poop. My ex in-laws hated looking in the frig and seeing 'unappetizing' eggs. Unless they were laid in mud or dirty all around, I would just crack them on the clean side. Vinegar eats the calcium out of the egg shell( why it gets sticky). If you have hard water stains in your boiling water bath canner (usually calcium) add some vinegar to your water when you boil. Or break a jar of pickles (my method). A fun activity for the kids is to put an egg in vinegar for a couple days and then take it out. No shell. It's just like those shelless eggs everyones hens lay once in a while. Carol

-- Carol (fchambers@mail.janics.com), June 09, 2000.

WE SELL OUR EGGS TO THE PUBLIC. WE PUT WOOD CHIPS IN THERE NESTING BOXES OR WHEREVER THEY LAY. USUALLY THE EGGS ARE CLEAN. IF THERE DIRTY WE WASH THEM IN LUKEWARM WATER. WHEN YOU WASH THEM THE OUTSIDE PROTECTIVE COATING IS GONE. SO IT'S BETTER TO KEEP THERE NESTING BOXES CLEAN. I THINK OUR CHICKEN COOP AND THE BARN ARE CLEANEN THEN OUR HOME SOMETIMES. WE NEVER USE CHEMICALS ON ANYTHING. OUR EGGS ARE ORGANIC. WE ALSO SELL FERTILE DUCK AND CHICKEN EGGS.

-- MRS PRISCILLA WILLIAMS (GP83196@AOL.COM), June 12, 2000.