How do you clean your duck eggs??

[rfwombat]

We got our first 3 Scovie eggs this week! But they are disgusting! They should be white, but they are a mottled gray because of all the dirt and poo. So here are my questions:

1. How do you clean them off so you can cook with them? We tried sandpaper, but it doesn't work well when you have to sand the ENTIRE egg!
2. Do ducks eggs have the same bloom that chicken eggs have? Do I need to be worried about losing the bloom and if I do does that mean keeping the duck eggs in the fridge as soon as they are clean?
3. Do I need to be worried about washing them in water and the resulting osmosis like you do with chicken eggs?

Thanks everybody! I really want to bake with the duck eggs but they are so gross I can't imagine cracking them into a bowl and not ending up with dirt and poo in my food!

 

[tazcat70]

I did a search on here and someone said they used a vinegar solution and a cloth. Use the search function and you may have to go through a couple of posts but you will find lots of useful information.

 

[greyhorsewoman]

Most of my duck eggs are disgusting too. I wash them in warm water and a scrubby. Their shells are tougher than chicken eggs. I do refrigerate the duck eggs after washing.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
We used a white (no strach) Scotchbright pad and the same detergent used for chicken egg cleaning. If you don't have the egg detergent try a solution of dry dishWASHER detergent. water should be warmer than egg to prevent the cleaning solution from being sucked into the egg the "osmosis" you mentioned. Ducks usually have more bloom on their eggs than chickens due to the water problem with waterfowl. The best storage for eggs Is a cool HUMID place.
Did you get your dirty eggs from nests? once Muscovy hens start to nest they usually keep their eggs as clean as chicken eggs! When they first start they just dump them often where they took a dump LOL! To encourage nesting find a good nest site out of foot traffic and with privacity, make a small nest and leave one of those nasty eggs in it (think of it as bait to get the bird to use your nest BTW the one you leave is known as a 'nestegg'. check daily and remove only the new (hopefully clean) egg and leave the nestegg. Older girls will each have their own nest but young ones often will share a nest, often the bird will cover the eggs with litter after she has laid and that helps keep other's poop off the egg. In our Muscovy egg system we used to get about 80 eggs/day and usually only 8-10 took any more cleaning than wiping off with a damp rag. Nice big pearl white eggs with a shine that chicken eggs don't have.

 

[Willowbrook]

No doubt that duck eggs are nothing like chicken eggs as far as cleanliness goes. I eat, cook and bake with duck eggs. I wipe of the worst of the mess and put them in the refrigerator that way. When I want to use them for baking or eating, I wash them on a "need-to-use" basis. This way the bloom/protection is still on them and they remain that way until the time I use them.

 

[Barred Rockstar]

When I keep their coop clean and provide plenty of fresh straw the ducks eggs are much cleaner. Also, not having water available in the coop keeps them from making it a muddy mess. Other than that I just use a rag and some warm water for the nasty ones.

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

Quote:
Same here. I used to cringe when my MIL would come over and want to "help fix" dinner.

She's a pretend clean freak and I would keep a partial dozen of clean chicken eggs on top of the duck eggs, in an effort to keep her from running from the room and calling the health department (only partially joking here).

 

[pirtykitty]

I rinse mine in a little water then dry with paper towel and put in fridge.. I also mark in pencil the date layed.. I hope the bloom is still on them..

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Should be, that is part of what the bloom is there for, water protection. If you want to check use a little food color in water or easter egg dye. it should bead up and roll off areas where the bloom is.