Storing the eggs

[Mustardfan]

I’ve been keeping the eggs in the fridge, but I’m now thinking I should keep them out. What do others do? I’m concerned about hygiene too, mine are sometimes covered in p**. We bought a plastic egg tray, but it’s not tall enough for the big eggs. I wish I could find something pretty and easy to wash to store them in.

Have a look for an egg spiral/helter skelter 😊 they store well out of the fridge. I only put eggs in the fridge if the room is warm and I know the cockerel has been 'busy'.
Don't wash the poo off as bacteria can get in through the shell that way. If they are dirty enough that you're worried about contamination when cracking them, chuck them away (or at someone, up to you!)

Ours are on the countertop, on a helter-skelter.
I don't worry about a bit of dried-on poo

I don't worry about a bit of poo either, at least I know it's fresh 😂

We have an egg cabinet that sits on our counter like this one. Eggs really don’t need to be stored in the Fridge and if you want to bake with them they should be room temp.

Ours are kept in a small basket thing on the kitchen top, never the fridge. I wipe poo off with wet kitchen towel so that they look nice.

We have a helter skelter, it's great (and oddly satisfying getting the eggs to the bottom without breaking them!) we use a damp cloth to wipe off the muck, then give a quick rinse once the worst is off.

Wow that’s a lot of answers so quickly. I think I’ll get a halter skelter, they look good. I’m just a bit worried about the poo on them, and the possible lack of hygiene, that maybe tiny poo bits could float in the air and that bacteria could be spread. There wasn’t any poo on the eggs in the summer, it’s only come since winter. Not quite sure why.

It might be muck instead of poo. Ours are always more dirty in the winter cos the ground around the keep is muddy from then scratching. I just wipe with a damp cloth

Yeah if it's just in the winter it's more likely just grubby. Ideally you want to get them to go through clean substrate and literally wipe their feet before the nest box.

Please have a look at this if you're an egg washer, it explains why it's better not to backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/eggs-meat/how-to-wash-fresh-eggs-its-safer-not-to/

If you have dirty eggs and are worried about bit of dirt getting into food when you crack them then wash them just before cracking. It's It's washing then storing that's the issue.

Thanks, I agree that washing before cooking seems to be the best option.