We have about 24 layers that are producing a little more than a dozen a day. Been selling our excess to friends for about three years now. Our question to other egg producers would be... how do you clean them?? We don't prefer to use chemicals, or even water but prefer to clean them before we deliver them. The method that we have been utilizing involves sandpaper which takes quite a bit of our time in the evenings. We try to keep the bedding to a minimum in the nesting boxes and of course clean the boxes offen but we still seem to get eggs (not all of them) that need to be cleaned up. Any ideas??
Cleaning chicken eggs for market
We only wash the ones that are actually dirty. Plain water does the trick. Clean eggs don't need to be washed.
I got 114 so far today. Would be fine if Farmers Market was going now, but--
Eggs are good for at least 60 days so I should be OK.
I wish everybody craved fresh eggs like the people on here do. We must be the only people in the whole world who cares where the eggs come from. I even offer delivery to their house & get very little response.
Bernie
I clean mine with water also,I have a hard time trying to keep fresh nesting material in the nests they kick it out as soon as I put it in.I take a wet paper towel and most of it will come off,if they are real dirty and stuck on I run them under the water and softly rub them until it comes of then paper towel them dry.I try not to rub to hard as that will take off the protective coating on them.
Our egg provider (my husbands coworker) gives us eggs just the way they come out of the coop, sometimes with feathers or bits of straw stuck on too. We don't mind at all and wash the eggs with warm water before using.
Commercially produced eggs don't last as long because the cleaning process removes the protective cuticle that keeps them from drying out. Just tell yours friends the dirty eggs last longer :)
I use a damp paper towel, unless the eggs are really covered and then I run them under cool water. I don't think warm water is a good idea; I think it opens up the pores of the shell and allows bacteria to enter.
Backyard Poultry Magazine advises the sandpaper method, but it does take an awfully long time!
I would never even consider selling dirty eggs, as someone suggested. I use tepid water and emery cloth. they clean easily and quickly, then immed frigerate. Most of my eggs don't need cleaning, Them I only wipe with a damp cloth.
Yes, that's like selling dirty vegetables, it don't work. Ask yourself, do you find dirt in a grocery store ?
When we sell vegetables, every single item gets washed. Only exception are berries.
Ain't they pretty!
Bernie
I used to shine my egges!
Now, I just wash off the really dirty ones, and keep them for my family.;
most of the egges are clean, only some of my hens are dirty birds. bad birds bad birds.
I have a broody under the ramp. have to get her out and cage her. the runner duck
and his mallard girlfriend are doing the nasty, and laying eggs, but shes not settin.
i might put a milk carton in the spot where her eggs are to see if she will set.
I heard to soak the eggs removes the antibacterial coating on them, so you want
to be careful with cleaning them. i think the egg producers use a cool water with
an antibacterial agent in it.
Sher
I only have one customer. I use a damp cloth, quick polish is all I give them. They really are not dirty for the most part. Every now and then a feather or something but nothing really awful. ;) I am glad at least half of your chickens are laying. A dozen a day, you can make up your feed bill and then some. Have a great day. Jeanmarie
I would never expect to see dirty veggies at the store but the ones we recieve from our CSA often have dirt on the root veggies. I don't expect the homegrown eggs to be perfect or spotless any more than the veggies that come out of my garden. Our price for cheap eggs from healthy, happy chickens is rinsing our eggs before we use them. But I'm a gardener so a little dirt doesn't bother me. If you're selling to people who don't seem to know what dirt is you might need to be more fussy about cleaning the eggs. I wish we could have a couple of chickens but they a strictly forbidden in town :(
I use I mild soapy water bath for the dirty ones.
Gosh inbetween: I'd never use a soapy solution solution, eggs are very porus, and once the natural protective coating is removed. Yuk!!
Bernie those eggs are beautiful. I can't keep enough eggs around for my customers, did I understand you right??? Having a hard time selling all your eggs? At the price your charging I don't know how you can afford to deliver em. Haystack. What you offer is a great bargin. WOW.
Hey greenhouse. I'm glad to hear you are a subscriber to Backyard Poultry. I have been a subscriber for five years and I love the Magazine. My wife says I read it like its the stock market. I always tell her she could use a little reading. LOL I have had chicks quite a while but I always love the tidbits I find in the Mag, much like I find here from the forum friends. Have a great day. Haystack
I wash my eggs only before I use them. I try not to put real dirty eggs in the cartons that I sell. I keep the dirty ones for our use. I only have 1 customer plus family that gets my eggs. They guy I sell to came by last night for 7- 18 packs. They are country people also and know all about keeping eggs. They dont mind dirty eggs. They cant have chickens 1) dogs 2) his wife is allergic to chickens.
Katlian, I have friends who live in the village, they cant have chickens either. It stinks. Sorry you cant have some of your own. You dont need chickens to be here though. Great to hear from you. Have a wonderful day. ;)
I will have to dig out the book again, but I believe my chicken book said if you are going to wash eggs, user water that is WARMER than the egg. Like I said, I need to check again.
We only wash the ones that are dirty, and with mud season upon us, there are often dirty ones just because the hens' feet get so muddy. We use warm water and a little dish soap on a scrubby sponge. Yes, washing removes the "bloom" but if the eggs are going to be kept refrigerated and eaten within a few weeks, I don't think that matters a whole lot.
Do check that, please, Gallesfarm. Always nice to get the real lowdown on things!
It is definitely warmer water for hatching eggs--to prevent the entry of bacteria. So it is probably true also for selling eggs to eat. They do sell a powder you mix with water to wash eggs for selling--I think it releases hydrogen peroxide.
I'll have to see if I can find the issue of Backyard Poultry that talked about it! Catscan, it does sound like your logic makes sense, though. I don't think I'd want to use peroxide on my eggs; seems like it would kind of defeat the purpose of avoiding chemicals, no?
This message was edited Mar 18, 2009 11:25 AM
Wow! Really appreciate the help!! Just signed up for my second membership with DG. Wandered off for a couple years... but glad to have access again to a forum like this to research farming issues.
Thank you...
Then you'd better avoid water too; it is after all a chemical. Hydrogen peroxide is H2O2. Peroxide works because it releases the second oxygen atom which is very reactive and that has an antibacterial effect. What's left is H2O, which is water.