[nicky d]

just a wee question.  Im getting 3 beautiful eggs a day now my two new girls have settled in along with my barnie, the 3 of them go in together and lay, and then i collect them pretty much straight away when there still warm.   The  eggs are very clean, theres never any poo on the eggs, prehaps a bit of straw which i pick off.   I dont wash my eggs just put them straight in the egg basket, should i be washing them

[Pretty Chick]

I don't think it's essential to wash them when they are perfectly clean. A quick wipe wouldn't hurt though 

[joyfull]

washing eggs will remove the protective bloom, so if they are pooey then if its still wet wipe off on their bedding or wait until just before you use them to clean them 

[Chablis Dog]

I fret about this issue a lot as I give boxes of them out to friends and neighbours and wouldn't want to make anyone poorly.  I change the straw in the nestbox just about every day but still occasionally get a mucky shell.  I can't bear to give them away/keep them mucky, so I wipe them with a damp piece of kitchen towel and then dry them off.  Should I not be doing this?

[joolie]

i do the same as Chablis dog - cos i sell my eggs I wipe them with a damp piece of kitchen towel if there is any poo on them.  I'd love some feedback on whether or not this is a bad thing please.

[brownp]

I was told by the breeder of my hens that you should never wash an egg as it removes the bloom provided by the hen. The egg is porous and he said it is unsafe to wash the egg unless you are just about to crack it.
Personally, when buying eggs, I see bits of bedding/poo on the egg as an indicator that they are definitely free range.

[TeaPots]

A quick wipe wouldn't hurt though  

Absolutely the opposite!     What you are doing is PERFECT,    keep the nest box as clean as you can, and collect the eggs before they get pooped on, and they are perfect.

 If they are pooey, wiping them pushes the poop/any bacteria into the porous shells and into the egg itself, so should only be done just prior to using. The eggs are laid with a special protective coating, called a 'bloom'. This stops the bugs getting in, but as Joy says, once wiped, this bloom is destroyed. If you NEED to clean a poopy egg (necessary prior to hatching to prevent the bacteria being put into the incubator) use an 'egg wash' solution, and wash thoroughly, NOT a 'quick wipe' .

So, just do as you are doing  

[TeaPots]

So, NEVER do a 'wipe'...thoroughly wash them or leave them with their free-range look.

[Pretty Chick]

The  eggs are very clean, theres never any poo on the eggs, prehaps a bit of straw which i pick off.

Nicky d said that the eggs never have any poo on. I wouldn't have suggested wiping the eggs if they have poo on!!!
But, yes I didn't explain about the bloom.

[woodburner]

I may have this wrong, but I think the wetness on a just laid egg is the bloom, so I avoid touching them while they are still wet. (ROFL, last time I touched a wet egg, the hen laid it while my hand was underneath her!)
I don't usually sell dirty eggs, but if that's all I've got and someone asks me for eggs, I tell them I've only got dirty ones. So far no-one has refused them! I explain that it's best to keep them dirty, and clean them just before using them.