Duck Egg Prices?

[BirdNerd101]

Wondering what a good price is for a dozen and a half dozen eggs is. was thinking $5.00 for a dozen and 3.50 for a half dozen. all answers are appreciated.

Plus,
How do you guys clean your eggs? how about for incubating?

Thanks

 

[Kevin565]

It will vary depending upon your area. In my area duck eggs often sell for 8+ per dozen due to the large demand.

 

[ChickenLover200]

I have Pekin ducks now and I'm not sure whether to sell them or not... but i live in PA but i am not sure for how much to sell for a dozen? i was hoping you could help me

 

[Going Quackers]

Definitely depends on your area, i sell my scovie eggs for 4$ a dozen. I would scan through local ads and see the going rate, in some areas they are in high demand and the price goes up accordingly.

 

[Kevin565]

I have Pekin ducks now and I'm not sure whether to sell them or not... but i live in PA but i am not sure for how much to sell for a dozen? i was hoping you could help me

Have you scanned your local craigslist to compare prices? Pekin eggs are quite large so if you're just selling them for eating you might be able to sell them for even more.

 

[ChickenLover200]

Ok....

 

[learycow]

Agreed. Check local prices on craigslist and such first and go with that. You can always lower it if they aren't selling.

Here in ME i get $5 per dozen for eating eggs. Hatching eggs vary. I get $8-10 for mixed breed eggs, $20-50 per dozen for pure eggs.

If you can keep nesting areas clean (use hay/straw and shavings and clean bedding in nest areas once a week for best results) then you won't have dirty eggs and won't need to clean them. I understand that ducks are messy and some lay in random areas. These eggs I (this is what I do personally) I wash with warm water and a scrubby brush. I keep them for myself/family as I don't like to sell eggs that were dirty. And any that are COVERED and extremely messy, I wash off and cook to mash up and feed back to the ducks. I don't sell or use those as egg shells are porous and there's a bacteria risk with really dirty eggs.

That being said, you can wash eggs you are going to incubate. I try not to (again, clean bedding should result in clean eggs) but I have successfully hatched eggs that were dirty beyond all get-out. Try to wash them with warm water, don't use a scrub brush if you can help it as the eggs have a mucus coating that helps protect it from bacteria during incubation. A brush will easily scrub this off. But you don't want any chunks of feces or dirt on the eggs as it can contaminate all of the eggs in the incubator

 

[ChickenLover200]

there are no listings on craigslist for my area but i checked another site and found them for $5 a dozen...

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Because I believe I'm competing with grocery stores instead of other farmers, I called around to the grocery stores in the area that sell duck eggs ... not many do, they all seem to come from the same source, they are about the size of a Large chicken egg, and the cheapest sell for $6.50 per dozen. In my experience, customers in my area looking for my category of product (not organic, not corn or soy or GMO free) want farm-fresh eggs to sell for *less* than they will pay for "naturally nested" eggs at the grocery stores, which isn't realistic (I'm trying to explain this to them gently ... and I remind myself that I also have that kind of sticker shock when I look into buying farm-direct products).

Regardless, I just set my price for duck eggs at $5 for a mixed dozen of larger and smaller, green and white duck eggs (I have three breeds of ducks: Runner; Khaki Campbell; and Rouen/mix). I haven't started to seriously market the duck eggs yet as most of my ducks have only recently started to lay. At that price it will take a while for each duck to pay for itself, let alone its feed.

But I do need to check the Craigs List ads for my area ... that's always a great tip. There are also some websites where farmers can advertise their products and buyers can search by product and area ... also good places to do research ... sites like "Eat Wild" ... google can be helpful.

 

[ringaring]

Please say what area you are selling eggs in. I am in the Portland Oregon area. Duck eggs sell for a low of $4 a dozen to a high of $4 for 4 eggs (yea, $1 an egg!) The average price is $5 a dozen. When I was in Burlington VT, I was told at a farmer's market that duck eggs were difficult to sell; the vendor "couldn't give them away". Hard to believe! I am always encouraging people to try new things, like duck eggs, at the farmer's markets. I even hand out little informational cards to those who express any interest or curiosity. Feel free to copy the following and pass it on:

"Duck eggs contain twice as much potassium and vitamin A, 3x as much iron and 5x as much vitamin B12 as chicken eggs. They also are higher in these nutrients: protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, thiamine, niacin, Vitamin B6, folate, and retinol. They contain twice the amount of monounsaturated fatty acids which lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) . Their cholesterol content is approximately 2x that of chicken eggs. They have more albumin (protein) which gives them more structure - more fluffiness in baking. Free range eggs have significantly higher vitamins and Omega 3 fatty acids while less fat and cholesterol. Reportedly, most people who are allergic to chicken eggs are able to eat duck eggs without allergic reactions. "
infor per: local harvest.org; buzzle.com; itdfarm.com; 101sweetpastry.com; Wikipedia.org; newagrarian.com