Scrubbing Eggs

I don't know if you all have noticed, but it shall never ever complain
About the dirt, shit,cold,wet,occasionally painful, expensive
Vet visiting,emotional heart string plucking nature of animal care
It goes with the territory and the choice of living in a place where the
Kitchen floor is constantly in need of being mopped
a mouth or beak is always in need of being filled, 
and a shitty Klingon always needs to be cut off a shitty arsehole
However
There is one job that I absolutely detest with a vengeance 
And that is
Cleaning shit and mud covered eggs.
I HATE THE JOB!
I hate it more than anything else in the world
Chickens roll their eggs with their feet, so wet winters mean
Dirty bleeding eggs!

Tonight I am doing a twilight overtime shift at work 10pm until 6 am
So before I go, I will complete all of those little needy jobs at home
And that includes sorting the eggs out!
Has anyone got an easier way of cleaning the little bastards?
Please let me know

58 comments:

  1. I have a commercial egg cleaner that I put in (about a capful) water and soak the eggs in for a bit, then clean them with a cloth. Works fine, but someone smarter than be can probably get the cleaner recipe on line. Not my favorite job, either....

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  2. Plenty of straw in the nest box. My eggs don't really get dirty and the pens are knee in mud. Very rare I have to clean mine but they all use the nest boxes so that helps.

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    1. There are 16 nest boxes available all with straw.... The hens choose to lay in just 6 ........so there is a surfit of muddy feet around

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  3. I used to keep a lot of chickens a few decades back. There was a 'marvellous invention' called a dry egg cleaner. It consisted of a bit of emery paper wrapped around a piece of wood - no, it didn't work that well either only it was supposed to be better for the customers - and I HATED the job too

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  4. i have absolutely no idea!

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  5. CHRIS'S TESTICLES!!! (you me bottle it up last night - fnarr fnarr - and now I am displaying some disturbed social behaviour)

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    1. insert - ooh er - 'made' into the above, if you would be so kind.

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    2. Anonymous9:35 pm

      The first time I encountered Tom on this site he was wanking in the library.

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    3. That's why John doesn't often read books - all the pages are stuck together.

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    4. Anonymous10:32 pm

      I'm trying to find that comment, but both the archive and search blog features are not working. Damn.

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    5. I couldn't find it either, but it rings a few bells.

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    6. Anonymous12:19 am

      June 22, 2013
      Guilty Pleasures

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  6. Anonymous6:43 pm

    Does sound like a nasty job. Do you have a sink sprayer?

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  7. Getting eggs this time of year? You should be so lucky - shitty or not, at least your hens seem to be laying. I am getting about one a week at present - they are waiting for the lighter days.

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  8. Love the picture of you in bed with all the dogs!

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  9. I have no idea... I use "windex" for everything but I don't think that would help here.

    cheers, parsnip

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  10. I am not allowed to wash eggs in the kitchen sink or walk in the kitchen with wellies on can't think why. Smug chicken owners with 3 chickens living in a designer hen house probably don't have shitty eggs but I know what you mean it is a horrible job I use those round ball inox scourers but not the one for the dishes.

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  11. It never occurred to me that eggs would be poopy. I open the box from the grocery store and the eggs are beautifully shiny. Perhaps you need to try some behavior modification with the hens.

    Love,
    Janie

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. na ... my neighbours fought over my girls' eggs - shit n' all - the fresher the better x

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  14. We have a white, long and curly haired terrier. I have cut off more Klingons than you could shake a shitty stick at! After a particularly long and tiring night shift I returned home at 0630. My bed had fresh sheets, you know the lovely smell of fabric conditioner as you lay down your head. As I nestled into my feather pillow I caught a waft of that unmistakable stench of dog shit. The little fecker had rubbed his hairy arse right across my pillow. I shot up to turn the light on, retching as I did. Right across the pillow was a dirty protest smudge! He looked smug as he gently snored in his basket and let out a silent and deadly dog fart!

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    1. I know your world so very well indeed
      Xxx

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    2. I am no longer broody for a dog. *retch*

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  15. I've read that washing eggs removes the natural "bloom" that protects them and actually allows bacteria in.

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    1. Yes......that's true chania.......especially duck eggs
      That's the reason for my blog.......just wondered what others do

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  16. i wish i could be a help but i grew up where eggs - similar to Janie - came in cartoons. even when i visited my grandparents back in the days, the eggs were already cleaned and ready to be cooked.

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  17. I use a nail brush under a running tap of just tepid water.....then I use a muslin face cloth to dry and wipe clean....however my lot aren't very productive so it's usually only 2 eggs if I'm lucky.

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  18. Soaking fresh eggs is never recommended. Any moisture on the eggs can destroy the natural bloom and water can draw any bacteria on the shell & draw it into the egg. Never use anything but warm water if you have to clean an egg. Water should always be at least 20 degrees F warmer than the egg. Basically the temp. you would bath a baby in.
    I would place a paper towel in the bottom of the sink to keep the eggs from rolling around. I bought a little misting bottle that I would fill with 1 cup warm water & a few drops of bleach. After misting the eggs and waiting a couple of minutes to loosed the poo, not to scrub the whole egg, I used a very soft bristle toothbrush dipped in more warm water & bleach, to gently brush off the poo. A damp paper towel also worked wel for wiping away the pool. Use a clean dry towel to dry the eggs.
    Everything I have heard or read has recommended never to soak or submerse eggs in water. Cold water draws bacteria into the egg and any water removes the natural bloom from the shell leaving the egg without a barrier to bacteria. Putting a fresh egg in the refrigerator will also cause the egg to contract and draw bacteria into it.
    If you have to use water, use a little as possible. That's why I used the spray mister rather than running water and only spot cleaned rather than disturb the entire shell. Purist say you shouldn't have much poo on your eggs and that if you do, your laying boxes are not placed high enough or you need more clean straw. That is nice, but you have a different reality with poopy eggs. Just remember to use the least amount of exposure to water as possible, make sure the water is warn, never cold, and be gently in your cleaning.
    Good luck

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    1. Now THATS a reply!
      Yes... Not a lover of washing eggs because of the bloom thing
      Thanks ellen

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    2. That sounds like way too much work, which is why I buy my eggs already poo-free.

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    3. Me too....I'd be tempted to go in with a wire brush or perhaps a pressure washer. Cold scrambled.

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    4. Yes Ellen's way is the 'perfect' way to wash eggs but in reality for me it's simply the case of tipping the lot in a bowl of barely warm, clean water and using one of those double sided green pan scoury things (gently). Starting with the cleanest eggs first so the shittier ones are soaking for slightly longer.

      No one will buy shitty eggs, in fact the only reason that your supermarket free range egg is clean is that the hen never gets to sit on it or even see it, the egg literally falls out of her rear end (being polite here) onto a conveyor belt and is whisked away!!

      So your supermarket egg is never touched by a chicken at all.

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    5. Well.....the outside of one anyway!

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  19. No problem at this time of year...but in the rainy season there are some mucky eggs to be dealt with so I use a dry toothbrush and fantasise about sending it as a present to Tony Blair.....

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    1. Anonymous11:00 am

      Now that is an idea!

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  20. Bloom or no bloom if it has shit on it its getting a good cleaning, otherwise they just go in the basket we keep in the fridge. Pull your nickers up John there is no getting out of that job.

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  21. This was one of my chores as a kid - I think we just used a damp cloth and then lightly sandpapered any really nasty spots. Yep, sandpaper.
    Then we had to candle the eggs to check for blood spots in the yolks. Ah yes, memories of time spent in the basement with those eggs...

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  22. Surely ironing's worse...

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  23. I don't recall any eggs that were that shitty, John. I used a "Scotch Bright" over any that had spots.

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  24. Washing is letting more bacteria in - damp paper to remove poo only here

    If dried poo then scotchbrite to remove the poo - soaking is not a good idea as it allows the bacteria to get in through the natural defense of the bloom and the shell.

    But yes, it is a difficult time of year !

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  25. First, I can't wait until I have fresh eggs! People who buy them in the store (as I have done all my life), just don't know what they are missing.
    From what I've read, what Ellen said is what most people here do.
    I think you must have so many eggs because you have so many different kinds of hens. :-)

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  26. What, chickens don' just drop their eggs into a cardboard container? I'll be darned.

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  27. I haven't the faintest idea of how to better clean them - maybe a light pressure washer??

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  28. my sister gives eggs to me dirty, the way they left the chook pen. i think she has the whole thing sorted!

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  29. I did hear that 'commercial' egg producers are banned from washing their eggs; I don't know if that's true. Our run is quite muddy too, but I'm pleased to say that the Richards have more pride in their eggs than your lot!

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  30. I didn't think you were supposed to wash eggs as they are porous. Can you stick more straw in the boxes they lay in perhaps or even wash the chickens feet!!! (Only joking!) x

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  31. City boy that I am, it never dawned on me that eggs come out dirty from under those chickens! Blech. (They never look dirty on the old-fashioned farms I've seen in movies. Very misleading.)

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  32. It looks like a bummer of a job!! (Sorry!)

    I think it's worth doing it though. I buy my eggs from the local farm and although the eggs are fabulous I absolutely hate it when they have chicken poo stuck to them. I then either have to wash them myself or risk a bit of the poo landing in my cooking when I break the egg - not a good prospect and not good for customer loyalty.
    I usually put them in a colander under a warm running tap then give them a rub with a scourer. I somehow felt that soaking was not good for the eggs although I had no idea why.

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  33. Would using salt on them after wiping with a just damp cloth be more practical? I'm assuming that the salt works as a light abrasive and the just damp cloth gives just enough moisture to let the salt do its' job without the salt being absorbed into the egg?
    I'm getting together all the info re- chicks from the people who 'know' in real life about caring for hens/poultry, ready for the time when I eventually get my own. Books are fine but,there's know knowledge like 'hands on' is there? LOL!

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  34. Have children, that's what my parents did.

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  35. i get eggs from a friend. Sje just brushes off the loose big chunks and I wash as I use so as to not worry about damaging the egg's cuticle

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  36. I would never even consider cleaning my organic, free range eggs... If the feckers want free range they get the whole experience! shitnstraw all included! No complaints yet! sod em! if they want clean eggs they can sod off to the supermarket! I sell my veg covered in mud...If you want my fresh purple sprouting you get the whitefly free!

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    1. too many exclamation marks.. sorry.. sign of madness x

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    2. That's the best advert for Sainsbury's I have ever read !!

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  37. Oh my, I just found your blog via Nelly's Garden - never thought I'd see anyone post about cleaning shitty eggs but I hate it too!! I love it when I collect eggs and they are all nice and warm and clean. Hard to find in the winter, the other day as I reached under a hen she crapped on my hand! It was absolutely foul and I had to wash my hand 3 times to get the smell off - ugh!
    I'm looking forward to reading your posts :)

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