[Shazzer]

does anyone wash the eggs they collect for eating? i do if mucky but wondered if i should generally, with more than just water.

[slowef]

I get mucky duck eggs and wipe them with a very mild solution of Milton and water WIPE only do not wash or submerge as the shells are pourus (how do you spell that)  :?:

Munty's advice and where is he not seen him in ages

[daveinmanc]

damned close lol  

Porous . . . .

[slowef]

thank you Dave :oops:

Love your videos of the ducks, you should have my lot they seem to "do what ducks do" all the time and by gosh do the Geese hate it.  I must try to get some film its hilarious.  I am surprised Charlie bothers with the stick he gets from them its enough to put a normal "bloke" off for life

[Aunt Sally]

You should only wash eggs if they are dirty.  The hen puts an antibacterial coating on the which will be washed off.  When washing eggs allow them to cool to room temperature first and then wash them with water at about 50 deg C. The temperature differential will prevent water from being drawn into the egg.

Have a read here:

http://www.pekinbantams.com/cleaning_eggs.asp

[chickychick]

oops! I have been leaving mine to soak in a tub of cold water to loosen the poo..so they have been absorbing the water I suppose, will not be doing that again.

[jack russell]

oops! I have been leaving mine to soak in a tub of cold water to loosen the poo..so they have been absorbing the water I suppose, will not be doing that again.

have you noticed a difference in the eggs when cooked or not?

[van connick]

having worked in every aspect of poultry keeping over the years, from hatching to dispatching, i have learned many things to do with chicken.

it is not so much letting water into the egg, as washing off the protective coating on the shell and letting in bacteria such as salmonella.

when working as a hatchery operative, the eggs that went bad were the eggs that had been washed at the laying farms, ( blame that one on the government and MAFF at the time ) the eggs that hatched were never washed just gently rubbed to get off any muck....the laying farms use dry, fine, wet and dry paper to clean eggs.

As an operative we were allowed to go to the company's laying farms to see the  eggs journey before they came to us, and every poultry farm was monitored as an experiment to see which farms had the better hatch rates.......we also had the opportunity to visit the growers farms to see what happened to our chicks once they had been sexed......please bear in mind we hatched hundreds of thousands of eggs per day......
the result of the experiment was that eggs from farms that had a washery installed were the eggs that went bad and had a hatch rate of 26%, those that did not have a washery were hatching at 98%, the figures speak for themselves......

now that is figures for hatching eggs, eggs for the table are slightly different, but i would not recommend washing them at all, even if they are eaten within 24 hours of laying.......after all you do not eat the shell, but if you are concerned about hygene keep them away from any food sources, in a basket for eggs ( after all we all know, dont we, that eggs should not be kept in the fridge ) ..

[WG.]

after all we all know, dont we, that eggs should not be kept in the fridge

 :? I didn't know that but, now you mention it, the supermarkets don't even keep them in the fridge

[van connick]

small extract as to why it is better NOT to store them in the fridge........from a well known cook........

Although it is now being recommended that eggs should be stored in the refrigerator, I never do. The reason for this is that for most cooking purposes, eggs are better used at room temperature. If I kept them in the fridge I would have the hassle of removing them half an hour or so before using them. A cool room or larder is just as good, but if, however, you think your kitchen or store cupboard is too warm and want to store them in the fridge, you’ll need to try to remember to let your eggs come to room temperature before you use them. My answer to the storage problem is to buy eggs in small quantities so I never have to keep them too long anyway.

The very best way to store eggs is to keep them in their own closed, lidded boxes. Because the shells are porous, eggs can absorb the flavours and aromas of other strong foods, so close the boxes and keep them fairly isolated, particularly if you’re storing them in the fridge.

There is, however, one glorious exception to this rule. My dear friend and great chef Simon Hopkinson once came to stay in our house. He brought some new-laid eggs in a lidded box, which also contained a fresh black truffle. He arrived on Maundy Thursday, and on Easter Sunday made some soft scrambled eggs, which by now had absorbed all the fragrance and flavour of the truffle. Served with thin shavings of the trufflle sprinkled over, I have to say they were the very best Easter eggs I have ever tasted!

[chickychick]

I hadnt noticed any difference in my eggs for being soaked in water but the loss of the anti bacterial coating was something I had no idea about, I will have to look into some other method of cleaning, it would be easier if they didnt all decided to sleep in the egg box and mes it up every night!

[Shazzer]

So it best not to keep them in the fridge? how long should i keep them before using up.  They are never more than 3 weeks old before i use them.

[Aunt Sally]

It's a matter of opinion really Shazzer.  I think they are best kept in a fridge.  They do of cause keep longer.

http://www.britegg.co.uk/safety05/startsafety.html

[van connick]

i agree aunty, but if you think where eggs come from, and where they are laid, apart from anything else, is it really hygenic to keep them in the fridge?...........yuk....

[Aunt Sally]

i agree aunty, but if you think where eggs come from, and where they are laid, apart from anything else, is it really hygenic to keep them in the fridge?...........yuk....

Yes, In an egg box, not in the middle of my trifle