How to Clean Dirty Duck Eggs?
Ducks are fantastic though dirty birds. Ducks enjoy rolling on dirt, and filthy places, such as sewer lines and compost heaps, where we can’t go. Furthermore, ducks lay their eggs in dirty areas. While you can easily collect their eggs, you still have to clean their eggs before cooking or incubating the eggs.
Fortunately, you can clean your dirty duck eggs if you follow the proper procedure.
Cleaning Dirty Duck Eggs – Step by Step
Duck eggs are highly susceptible to dirt, debris, mud, and dirty water since ducks lay their eggs in dirty and odd places, unlike chickens. Nevertheless, you can clean your dirty duck eggs before consumption or before incubating the eggs. Here is a simple process you can follow while cleaning dirty duck eggs.
– Put the dirty eggs in warm water
Warm water can help remove the dirt in dirty duck eggs. The warm water you used to clean the dirty duck eggs should be warmer than the temperature of the duck eggs. Put warm water in a container or a bowl, and then soak the dirty duck eggs in the warm water.
Soaking the eggs will help remove the dirt on the eggs, making it easier to clean the duck eggs. Clean the eggs with soft clothing after soaking them for a couple of minutes.
– Dip the eggs in cool water
Remove the duck eggs from the warm water and put them into a bowl with cool water. Cool water cools the yolk in the duck eggs before consumption or incubation. Wipe the eggs gently with soft clothing after rinsing them in cool water after ensuring there is no dirt on the eggs.
– Rinse the eggs
It helps to rinse the eggs after soaking them and dipping them in cold water to ensure there are completely clean. The best way to rinse the duck eggs is by running them under running water until you are sure they are completely dry.
– Dry the duck eggs
Your duck eggs are now clean and completely free of dirt. Now it is time to dry eggs as you prepare them for storage or incubation. Take soft clothing and gently wipe the eggs until they are completely dry. Don’t store or incubate the duck eggs if they aren’t completely dry.
– Use or refrigerate the duck eggs immediately
Your dirty duck eggs are now clean and dry. You can either refrigerate the eggs to keep them at a stable temperature. Alternatively, you can use the eggs immediately by consuming them or incubating the eggs to a brooding duck hen as you wait for the duck hen to hatch to increase your duck flock.
Should You Wash Duck Eggs Before Incubating?
Washing is essential before incubating your duck eggs. Nonetheless, washing can remove the eggs’ protective coating, making the eggs less likely to hatch. Furthermore, hatching will expose the eggs to organisms and bacteria, stopping them from hatching.
While it’s essential to clean the eggs before incubating, avoid rubbing the eggs while washing them, since they will lower their hatching chances. Simply put, it isn’t necessary to wash your dirty duck eggs before incubating the eggs.
Unless the eggs are extremely dirty, avoid washing the eggs to reduce the chances of the eggs hatching.
Can You Soak Duck Eggs in Water?
Yes, you can soak duck eggs in water, especially if the eggs are pretty dirty. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t soak duck eggs in warm water if you are cleaning the eggs for incubation. In addition, avoid soaking the duck eggs in cold water for a long duration.
The cold in the cold water can reduce the chances of the eggs hatching. Furthermore, cold will reduce the effectiveness of the minerals and nutrients in duck eggs.
Can You Use Vinegar to Wash Duck Eggs?
Yes, you can use vinegar to clean duck eggs, especially if the eggs are pretty dirty. Wipe off the stubborn dirt on the eggs to remove stains and dirt before washing the duck eggs with vinegar. Avoid soaking all the duck eggs in vinegar, no matter how dirty the eggs are.
Instead, dampen soft clothing in vinegar and then wipe each duck egg gently with the clothing. Avoid soaking the duck eggs in warm vinegar since it will destroy their mineral content. Soaking duck eggs in warm vinegar can also ruin their protective membrane, hindering the eggs from hatching.
How to Keep Duck Eggs from Getting Dirty?
Duck eggs are bound to get dirty since ducks lay in dirty places. Keeping duck eggs from getting dirty isn’t an arduous task for duck keepers. Check these ideas on how you can keep your duck eggs from getting dirty.
– Encourage the ducks to lay in their nest boxes
Ensure you have nest boxes in your duck coop before your duck hens start laying eggs. Ducks, like chickens, prefer laying in quiet places. Having clean net boxes will ensure your ducks lay clean eggs. Therefore, encourage your ducks to lay in nest boxes by making the nest boxes clean and comfortable for your ducks to lay.
– Have multiple nest boxes
Apart from encouraging your ducks to lay in nest boxes, it would help if you had many nest boxes to avoid incidences of some of your hens laying in dirty places due to a shortage of nest boxes, ultimately making the duck eggs dirty. Having several nest boxes ensures each duck hen has a clean place to lay.
– Collect your duck eggs daily
Duck eggs, like chicken eggs, are more likely to accumulate dirt if they stay for several hours without collecting the eggs. Collect your duck eggs daily to prevent the eggs from getting dirt, which you will spend plenty of time cleaning.
– Have bedding in your ducks’ coop
Clean bedding will ensure your duck eggs are clean throughout, even if the birds lay in dirty places. Clean bedding ensures your ducks are clean, and thus they can’t make their eggs dirty while laying. Consider having sawdust bedding in your coop. You can also put a stray or a wood shaving bedding in the coop.
Conclusion
You could be collecting dirty duck eggs in your yard since ducks will lie in odd and dirty places. Nonetheless, cleaning your duck eggs doesn’t have to be complicated. You can clean the eggs if you follow the proper process. Moreover, you can prevent your duck eggs from laying in dirty places.
