Fresh Eggs To Wash Or Not?

There comes a point when you start raising chickens that the question arises should these fresh eggs be washed or not?
The question itself will raise a myriad of answers.
First let's see what the good old government has to say on the matter. The eggs sold and considered safe in the United States would be considered unsafe in the UK and other European Nations and vice versa. The USDA required that eggs be washed and sanitized prior to entering the food market, contrarily the European countries require the complete opposite. Grade A eggs in the European market are not to be washed prior to entering the grocery store shelves.
Across the pond the basic philosophy is that when a chicken lays an egg her body applies a protective layer to the shell called the "bloom". This is necessary as an egg shell is porous. If a farmer has clean practices, the eggs will be virtually clean and protected by the bloom from the entrance of bacteria and other little nasties.  I personally adhere to this belief system.
The United States washes, sanitizes and sprays a protective coating to the eggs prior to entering the market. Does this seem illogical to you? You wash off the protective coating to sanitize it and reapply an artifical protective coating? Illogical thinking at it's best.
So under what circumstances would you want to wash them? I would say if you collect your eggs and somehow they managed to be dirty whether with chicken poop or mud you may feel compelled to clean the eggs. I can understand that thinking. If you are sharing with family and do not want to get into the whole wash or not to wash, as well, explaining the many virtues of the bloom, there are two manners that you surely could undertake to remedy the not so pretty eggs.
To Clean the Eggs
1: Sand Paper. That's right sand paper from the good old hardware store. Many people prefer this method as it avoids wetting the eggs at all. You simply take a bit of sand paper and rub the surface of the eggs until they appear pretty enough. As you now have most likely removed a bit of the bloom apply a thin layer of mineral oil for good measure to add a protective barrier. Although fresh eggs will keep out on the counter for some time without refrigeration, after the bloom has been interfered with, these are the eggs you need to pop into the refrigerator for storage and eat before your fresh unwashed eggs.
2: Wash that bloom right off of your egg! Because eggs are porous it is recommended that you use water that is 20 degrees warmer than the eggs for washing. Cold water contracts the porous eggshell and is said to draw the exterior bacteria and such inside of the egg. Pretty nasty business. So how do you know what is 20 degrees warmer than the egg? Just use hot water. Boiling is not necessary but beyond room temperature, a notch above warm. The few times I have had to do this because I have muddy ducks that will often muck up the lower nesting boxes. I run hot water bringing the egg and a fresh paper towel under the stream and rub, rub, rub.  Then dry the eggs and apply a light coat of mineral oil to reseal it and pop into the refrigerator and plan to eat them before the fresh unwashed eggs.

How can you manage to keep your eggs pretty and not in need of a wash?

1:  Keep your nest boxes as clean as possible. Plan on adding fresh shavings or your choice of medium daily. Or as often as needed to maintain sanitary conditions.

2. Check for eggs often. Get to know your girls laying patterns and be sure to check the nesting boxes throughout the day. The less time an egg sits in the nesting box, the less likely a second or even third hen will come  to lay an egg and in the process step on it the already layed egg with their dirty feet and rub it with less than pristine feathers.

3: Make sure you have sufficient nesting boxes for the amount of chickens you have. Typically one nesting box for every 4-5 five hens is the recommendation. This  unfortunately isn't always a guarantee as sometimes one of two nesting boxes get picked as favorites by the girls and they tend to stand around next to any empty nesting box while clucking up a storm to get the other girls moving along and out of their favorite box. However build them, and the potential is there for equal use.

4: Make sure the entrance to the nesting box are is clean. I have generally used shavings in the coop and just a dirt floor in the run. When my flock free ranged this worked out perfectly, however since we have been in lockdown from the fox attack I am finding this method less and less attractive as we house chickens and ducks together. I am planning to add construction sand to the coop floor and run in the next few weekends and then I will daily scoop out the run and coop of foreign matter aka poop. A clean entrance to the box helps in having less muck and yuck on the feet and feathers of your girls.

5: Try and keep your hens using the nesting boxes for laying only. A broody hen is the one area you don't particularly have control over the situation. However a broody hen doesn't lay. There will be no eggs to collect from her. Leave her nesting box be until she hatches out her little flock.  As long as the other nesting boxes are kept clean and egg free the broody hen will direct herself right back to her nesting box that she had been setting on when she exits for short spurts to eat and drink. The other boxes will be free and clean to the rest of your girls.

So to wash or not to wash? Me personally if at all avoidable, Unwashed!