How to Clean Hatching Chicken Eggs

Poultry producers disagree over whether it is a good idea to clean hatching eggs. On the one hand, cleaning the eggs removes bacteria, which can work their way inside the shell and contaminate other eggs that the dirty eggs touch. On the other hand, the process of washing can remove protective layers that keep contaminants from penetrating the shell, especially if the eggs are cleaned improperly. The best way to keep eggs clean is to keep them from getting dirty in the first place by maintaining strict hygiene in the nesting area.

Instructions

1. Clean your chicken coop regularly, providing your birds with fresh, deep bedding so that dirt and waste will not collect. Provide ample nests for your flock: at least one nest for every four hens. Construct the floors of your chicken coop so that dirt and waste can fall through cracks, using materials such as wood or plastic slats, or wire. Exclude chickens from the nesting area at night to keep nests cleaner and keep hens from brooding, or staying on the nests for extended periods of time, enabling dirt to collect. Keep bedding dry.

2. Wash your hands well before handling eggs. Use a sterilized tray to carry the eggs you gather. Collect eggs frequently, at least four times a day. Keep cracked or dirty eggs separate from clean ones, and don't incubate these at all.

3. When you do need to clean eggs, use water that has a temperature 20 degrees warmer than the egg temperature, and at least 90 degrees F. Use a sanitizing solution of one tablespoon of bleach for each gallon of water. Avoid immersing the eggs, but rather place them in a colander and run water through them, moving them gently so you can clean all of the surface area without cracking them.

4. Cool washed eggs immediately after cleaning them. Avoid unnecessary changes and temperature because repeated warming and cooling causes condensation on the surface of the eggs, which can compromise their quality. Store hatching eggs at 68 degrees F, and 75 percent humidity.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have customers who prefer unwashed eggs, you can remove specks of dirt gently with sandpaper.

References

• Mississippi State University: Washing of Hatching Eggs
• Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association: Cleaning, Grading and Hatching Eggs
• University of California: Producing Clean Eggs