Hi all,
I think it's a good idea to have a recent thread on this matter for anyone who's new to chickens and poultry or just isn't as experienced as others.
How do you "clean" your chicken eggs?
If you have ducks in a separate run, how do you clean their eggs?
From experience, washing a chicken egg reduces the "shelf-life" of the egg as you are essentially removing or partially removing the natural bloom protective layer on the egg which prevents bacteria etc to get into the egg. I personally have stopped washing the eggs until just before wanting to cook etc, however this isn't really possible when you're wanting to sell your eggs as customers don't know about the "bloom" and expect clean eggs.
I've seen plenty of disinfectants on the market to dilute with water and wash the eggs, but never bought or tried any.
I have heard that some people use fine grit sand paper to clean the eggs and some use a dry sponge to clean the eggs, has anyone tried this or have any experience of this? This could remove the easier to clean dirt off the eggs, but we all know of eggs which have those hard to clean stains, what's your methods of cleaning?
Obviously the best way to have clean eggs is to initially have clean coops and nesting boxes which decreases (but doesn't stop) the number of dirty eggs.
Chickens aside, ducks can be even tougher depending on the breed and their environment in their runs. Ducks, specially domesticated breeds such as Khaki Campbells tend to lay their eggs anywhere and everywhere. This means that if there's a muddy area within their run, which more than likely there will be some when they have water containers/ponds/bathtubs/paddling pools etc, then their eggs end up getting covered in mud and unless you pick the egg up straight away, then that mud will dry up on the egg a bit. I've heard the bloom on duck eggs are a bit thicker but I'm not sure as I don't have a scientific source for this so not sure of the credibility. In regards with duck egg, has anyone got any experience with the cleaning process. I would imagine that duck eggs would be more ok with getting washed with water than chicken eggs due to them being waterfowl and obviously more prone to being around water sources and environments.
I'm also hoping to start selling some of our surplus eggs sometime in the future and like I mentioned earlier, customers would normally rather get clean eggs without any stains.
It would be really good to hear from you all on here as I'm sure myself and plenty of other would benefit from this discussion.
I think it's a good idea to have a recent thread on this matter for anyone who's new to chickens and poultry or just isn't as experienced as others.
How do you "clean" your chicken eggs?
If you have ducks in a separate run, how do you clean their eggs?
From experience, washing a chicken egg reduces the "shelf-life" of the egg as you are essentially removing or partially removing the natural bloom protective layer on the egg which prevents bacteria etc to get into the egg. I personally have stopped washing the eggs until just before wanting to cook etc, however this isn't really possible when you're wanting to sell your eggs as customers don't know about the "bloom" and expect clean eggs.
I've seen plenty of disinfectants on the market to dilute with water and wash the eggs, but never bought or tried any.
I have heard that some people use fine grit sand paper to clean the eggs and some use a dry sponge to clean the eggs, has anyone tried this or have any experience of this? This could remove the easier to clean dirt off the eggs, but we all know of eggs which have those hard to clean stains, what's your methods of cleaning?
Obviously the best way to have clean eggs is to initially have clean coops and nesting boxes which decreases (but doesn't stop) the number of dirty eggs.
Chickens aside, ducks can be even tougher depending on the breed and their environment in their runs. Ducks, specially domesticated breeds such as Khaki Campbells tend to lay their eggs anywhere and everywhere. This means that if there's a muddy area within their run, which more than likely there will be some when they have water containers/ponds/bathtubs/paddling pools etc, then their eggs end up getting covered in mud and unless you pick the egg up straight away, then that mud will dry up on the egg a bit. I've heard the bloom on duck eggs are a bit thicker but I'm not sure as I don't have a scientific source for this so not sure of the credibility. In regards with duck egg, has anyone got any experience with the cleaning process. I would imagine that duck eggs would be more ok with getting washed with water than chicken eggs due to them being waterfowl and obviously more prone to being around water sources and environments.
I'm also hoping to start selling some of our surplus eggs sometime in the future and like I mentioned earlier, customers would normally rather get clean eggs without any stains.
It would be really good to hear from you all on here as I'm sure myself and plenty of other would benefit from this discussion.