[Bert]

What is the best way to clean mucky eggs. They are for selling/ eating not for incubating ( if that make a difference ?) I've never had a problem with mucky eggs till I got my 4 ex batts. Two of which learnt to perch with the other girls but two still insist on sleeping in the nest boxes. I think they were students in a former life by the bloody mess they make  ( I still  The little buggers). At the moment I just wipe the eggs off with a  cold damp bit of kitchen roll. Is there a quicker way?

[lord flynn]

I'm not sure you should tbh-I've always been told not to, there's a risk of driving bacteria through the shell unless the egg is quite a bit colder than the water you use. Can you not just use the mucky ones yourself and sell the clean ones? I have one hybrid that's fairly insistant on not perching unless I include a lower perch for her (she's bigger than my purebreeds). Maybe try different perches or pop them on a perch once they've gone to bed.

[little blue]

I use a new dishcloth (or a piece of one) rinsed in boiling water ... if & when I wash them for selling.
or toilet roll if they are dampish or not too mucky

[Clansman]

I think wiping them will be the quickest way Bert.

Washing them isn't good for hatching eggs, its does as Lord Flynn says, removes the proctective layer and allows bacteria in.

In commercial breeder flocks we used to use a wooden block wrapped with fine sandpaper just to rub the dirt off.

Easiest way round it though is to keep the birds out the nestboxes at night and keep the next box material clean.

[Stereo]

I was told to wash the eggs as quickly as possible under a tap as hot as your hands can stand. Hotter the better. That's what I was told anyway. We don't get many mucky ones and tend to use them ourselves after washing and just sell the clean ones on the gate.

[Victorian Farmer]

Hi Bert iv had the same problem I put a lot of Damascus herthh in the nest onley to dust them of .They moved out the nest box haws the wether Bert .very happey with no sign of freeze all the best.

[zarzar]

That battery farms by us wash them in a big round machine that shake whilst in water with some solution init u then take them out and dry but they sell them seperatly and not to the shops

[HesterF]

This is interesting - I thought there was some legislation against washing them so happy to hear that even the big producers do wash. My duck eggs often come out absolutely filthy and now I've got the two youngest hens sleeping in the nest boxes too so I have the same issue with chicken eggs. If they're really bad, I wash them in warm water but I'm happy to use mucky ones for our own consumption (unless it's for boiled eggs!).

H

[chrismahon]

Last time I checked the small producer legislation, you were certainly not allowed to wash eggs for sale Bert. You were only allowed to pick off the worst of the muck. Effectively that means you can't sell dirty eggs as no-one will buy them. As said, the water must be hotter than the egg otherwise bacteria gets through the shell. Washing reduces the storage life because the natural surface sealing is washed off. We put a lot of effort into keeping the nest boxes clean and collecting eggs regularly, because a hen with dirty feet will step on eggs already in the box.

[Bert]

Thanks everyone  . Very helpful info.