Cleaning eggs

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graham

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Hi,cleaning eggs is not normaly something I do.But due to this currant weather,the snow has blow up into my runs and produced black mud,and I have some very dirty eggs.I have put in a thicker bed of clean shaving,this has now reduced the problem,I have read in one place use cold water in another use warm,how do you clean your eggs.

Graham.
 
Hi Graham, just going to jump into your post if that's ok? I'm interested in how people clean their eggs too and I'd also like to know if/how people mark their eggs? What is safe to use to write on them? Is pencil ok?
 
My understanding is that if you are going to clean eggs with something wet, it needs to be warmer than the egg so that bacteria stays out - if cooler, the egg will draw the bacteria in through the shell. (in non technical terms! :D )

With regard to what to mark your eggs with, I use sharpie pens - they are very legible on the egg, can be wiped off if necessary and makes it easy to see what is what in your incubator at a glance! I know quite a few people use them - the tip was given to me by a couple of top breeders/keepers.
 
If you are going to sell your eggs you can't wash them. It is classed as an additional process which requires certification apparently! Washing then drastically reduces their shelf life as the protective film, formed by evaporation of the lubricant produced during laying, is washed off. This renders the shell porous. The wash must be in plain water warmer than the egg, exactly as Philcott says.

We originally marked our eggs with a water based marker pen. Now use soft pencil or a horticultural label pencil, which is like a crayon. What's a 'Sharpie' pen Philcott and where do I get one.
 
i use damp kitchen roll and then rinse them afterwards under warm water.
 
If you do need to wash your eggs then i personally recommend warm water only (remember chickens dont wash their eggs before incubating them), and if you mark your eggs use a pencil or crayon,something that is not wet ie: a marker or felt tip pen. :)
 
For hatching, if the eggs are very dirty I don't set them but if they are only a little dirty I wash with slightly warm water and leave them to dry naturally in an egg tray. If setting under a broody, a certain amount of dirt will brush off naturally from the feathers of the broody. Incubator needs eggs to be reasonably clean.
Pencil is fine to mark the eggs. I always mark them on the pointed end as it stays in tact at hatching and you can see what has hatched in a mixed batch.
Mark with the date laid to ensure no old eggs are incubated and mark with breed or pen no. so you know what's what at hatching.
 
Hi Philcott. It doesn't say if they are solvent based or not so I must presume they are. So I will stick to pencil or crayon as it is safest (no possibility of solvent or water getting into the egg) and mark as Chuck suggests. A local breeder to us uses pencil -she hatches thousands a year!
 
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