I don't know about the price thing... People will pay what they want based upon their beliefs, if they think that the eggs are worth $4-$5, they will pay it. The average person has no concept of what "cage free" means, so when they see it slapped on a carton, they break out the big bucks. I suspect that when they can see the chicken roaming in the yard, they are comfortable with the idea of the chickens being actual "range free" chickens, humane, and producing a more natural egg.
Plus, if the eggs are close and the $2-$3 eggs are across town, the $4 eggs may seem cheaper overall. And if cost were an issue, buy them at Smiths.
Right now I give the eggs away, but I (the hens actually) only produce about 3-4 dozen a week. Soon, I (the hens actually) will produce 2 dozen per day. My daughter will sell the eggs to offset the cost of feed. I was looking at $2.5 per dozen. If we don't sell them, I will break them up, scramble them and feed them to the chickens.
Really, this is not a money maker in my eyes. We have the chickens to teach self reliance, respect for animals, responsibility, stewardship, food for ourselves, and empathy. Besides, chickens are interesting, great fun and a very productive pet.
Without doing a dollars and cents review, I think that $2.5 pr dozen is breaking even. The real question is if anyone has ever looked at the cost per dozen of yard raised birds? We tend to have chickens we like, varieties kept for looks/show and not production. We feed hens that are poor layers because we are attached to them. We cater to their personalities and raise them with love rather than an eye on the bottom line... all this makes for a very, very bad profit ratio. To make a profit, I think that $3-$4 a dozen is about right.
So, have any real business people done the math on yard birds?
