A few ?s for those who give away/sell eggs

[JusticeFamilyFarm]

So... today I got my first egg!

Had to share that.

This brought up a few questions, because I have 12 hens and a few friends who are wanting to buy some eggs from me once I start getting too many for my family.
1. Do you put a date (like lay/collected date) on the carton?
2. Do you tell them to store them counter top instead of in the fridge? (I have heard that this is the preferred method of storing fresh, un-washed eggs)
3. Do you tell them that they are not washed (for longer freshness) and that they should wash them before use?
4. Are your eggs fertile (do you have a roo in with your hens)? And if so, is there anything different about the eggs or anything/reason to tell the buyers? Typically store bought eggs (even free range) are not fertilized, is this correct?

Hmmm... I feel like there was more. I guess I'll have to add later if I think of anything else! Thanks for your input!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Everyone will have a different answer, but what we do is this;

1. Date; I use a rubber stamp to date the carton the day the eggs are collected. If I have less than a full carton I still stamp it with the date I start the carton so that the oldest egg in the carton will be no older than the stamped date. I do have one super picky hatching egg buyer that I stamp each egg with a rubber stamp, but for all my sane buyers, I just stanp the carton.

2. We store our own eatting eggs on the counter, but all our sale eggs are kept in a refridgerator until sold.

3. We don't wash the eggs we sell, any that are soiled we just keep and eat ourselves after washing them. I don't tell the buyers that they are unwashed eggs unless they ask as we live in a farming community and it's just a given thing here. I do have a sign on the refridgerator door saying they are unwashed. I think very few of our customers eat the shells anyhow.

4. All or eggs are fertile and there is no differance in them than in any unfertilized eggs. They seem to keep the same, look the same, taste the same and sell the same.


Maybe that helps.

 

[JodyJo]

1. I don't date them...they are definitely fresher than store bought...no need to date them.
2. Mine are in the fridge...unless whomever I am selling to, drives hours away, like my sisters who live 5 hours away...
3. I do tell my customers to wash before using...it is recommended.

** I do not wash mine, this removes the bloom which causes openings in the pores, which starts the aging process...
(others have a different opinion)

4. yes they could be fertilized, but doesn't effect taste or anything else...if you collect them, and the hen isn't broody, they won't hatch anyhow.

 

[lizO]

beautiful egg! here's what i do. I'm in a suburb and when i have eggs available, i put out a little sign that neighbors and friends know to look for when they drive by. I leave a doz or 2 or 3 in an ice chest on the front porch, they leave me $4 in an envelope. Here's my answers to your great questions:



1-nah, they are all fresher than anything you can get at the store. Even if you get the eggs the day they are delivered, they're probably 2 weeks old by then.
2-I store mine in fridge.
3-YES! i say don't wash until you are ready to use them, and wash your hands after handling eggs.
4-no roo. Rumor was around that some eggs from Trader Joe's are fertile, and people hatched some chicks from them!

***5-only sell to friends. I re-use cardboard cartons, which is probably more illegal than selling drugs.


6 hens (mixed), cocker spaniel, cat with 7 toes all around, icelandic gelding, and ditto the husband.

LizO

 

[kuntrygirl]

1. Do you put a date (like lay/collected date) on the carton?
No, I don't put a lay/collected date on the carton.

2. Do you tell them to store them counter top instead of in the fridge? (I have heard that this is the preferred method of storing fresh, un-washed eggs)
No, I don't tell them how to store them.

3. Do you tell them that they are not washed (for longer freshness) and that they should wash them before use?
No, I don't tell them that they are not washed and they should wash them before use. I wipe mine clean before storing in the egg carton and selling them.

4. Are your eggs fertile (do you have a roo in with your hens)? And if so, is there anything different about the eggs or anything/reason to tell the buyers? Typically store bought eggs (even free range) are not fertilized, is this correct?
Yes, I do have roosters with my hens but this have never come up with my customers. They really don't care. My customers are those who know the difference and quality of fresh farm eggs as opposed to yucky store boughts eggs and are only concerned with that. Store bought eggs are not supposed to be fertilized but there are a few people on BYC who have bought store bought eggs, incubated them and have hatched babies. Who knew.

Good questions. Can't wait to read what others have to say.​

 

[wbruder17]

Ok, here goes:

#1: no date, as the eggs are almost always under a week old and my friends scarf them down immediately. Eggs stay ggood for a very long time.
#2. I rinse my eggs with warm water and just rub and dirt/ poo off. I store them in thee fridge, for lack of counter space, but go through them so fast it wouldn't reallly matter where I kept them.
#3: washing them doesn't have anything to do with freshness, imo.
#4: Store bought eggs most certainly can be fertile. Ask people who hatched Trader Joes eggs. Mine are fertile, and my customers know that. If you collect daily, there should be nothing to worry about. I tell them if they see a bullseye, then its fertile. Some people care a lot if its fertile, none of my friends do.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[ceeceeholt]

Love all the answers, thanks for the thread! I just got my first full dozen today

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I do wash and refrigerate all of the eggs that we produce. My customers pay more for my eggs than what they can buy them for from the grocery so I want them to have good eye appeal. Florida is hot much of the year and eggs lose quality faster at warm temperatures than they do at cool ones so in the fridge they go.

I did not use to date my cartons, but more and more of what we produce are now being sold indirectly so now everything gets dated. I use Avery 5163 labels and leave the date portion blank and write that in when we pack the eggs. For a handful of hens and eggs that I'm going to sell face to face I wouldn't bother. For folks who may be buying my eggs that I'll never meet I think it's important.

Most of my eggs are not fertile, but the yard hen flock does have roosters in with them. They all get mixed together. I don't mark them either way and have ever only had one customer express a preference because they were vegetarian. I told them that some of the eggs were fertile but they decided they liked the eggs so much that they'd eat them anyway.

 

[Fred's Hens]

We don't date our 30-40 dozen we sell each month. They simply aren't around long enough and our customers are getting fresher eggs, by weeks, than they would otherwise buy.

We wash. We refrigerate following the washing. Our customers are picky and hey! It's THEIR choice, so we aim to please. isn't likely the dozen will be "held" for more than 3 days. We do not instruct the customer on what they should do or not do. We do not discuss whether or not the eggs are fertile, as it simply depends on our schedule and our time of year.

 

[jerseygirl1]

I wash, and pencil the day of the week on the egg the day they are collected then in the carton into the refrigerator they go.