Egg Price Profiteering Where You Live Due To Coronovirus?

[PopPop Roberts]

Where I live, the "normal" "pre-Coronavirus" price for a dozen white eggs at the big box stores was less than $1.00. I never decided to have a small backyard flock to save money on eggs. Things have really changed around here in many ways, but also with respect to egg availability at our stores (which I don't understand). Our local stores ran out of eggs, doubled the price per dozen, and limit one dozen per purchase so everyone has a better chance to get some eggs.

Anyway, Dear Wife has been previously selling our excess brown eggs to friends of the family for $2.00 per dozen, which was a good deal for me (they were excess eggs for us), but also for our friends as the pre-Coronavirus price of brown eggs was about $2.50 - $6.00 per dozen, depending on the label. Now, we still sell the eggs for $2.00 per dozen but only to our friends that were buying before this Coronavirus situation. With only 10 hens, it's not like we can supply too many families with eggs.

Somebody explain to me how in the world the price of eggs can double in the big box stores in the last couple of weeks when I have yet to hear of any chicken die off affecting availability? Are these eggs being stock piled somewhere to create an artificial shortage and drive prices up? The price of my grains and feed has not changed, so it costs me the same to feed my flock. OK, I don't need the $2.00 per dozen for my financial well being, but it helps pay for the chicken feed and my little "hobby" does not cost anything out of pocket.

I have decided not to raise my egg prices due to the Coronavirus situation, but I am sure I could get more for my eggs now that the big box store shelves are empty. Just wondering what other people with small flocks and selling eggs are doing in these times, if you are seeing egg shortages at your local big box stores, and if you have raised your egg prices in response. I'm not trying to pass judgement on anyone, and understand the price of eggs varies from region to region, but it would be interesting to hear from others who sell their eggs to family and friends how they are working through these times. Thanks for any feedback.

I live in N E Pa in Wayne county. I started raising chickens as a hobby last April with my first 18 chicks. I ended up with 4 roosters and 14 chickens. I ha e w roosters to a Mennonite family and lost 2 chickens to a Redtail hawk. My current status is 12 laying hens and 2 roosters. I collect on average 8 to 10 Brown eggs daily. My egg count has been steady all winter from 8 Asian Blue and 4 white rock chickens. I give eggs to my close family and I sell some to a few neighbors. My price has always been $3.00 for a dozen large and $4.00 for a dozen X large. I also sell half dozen cartons of X large for $2.00. Like other areas our stores are depleted of eggs also. Too compair store eggs to free range eggs, just place one of each next to each other and scramble them with a fork. Case closed!!!

 

[fawnda]

I sell my duck eggs for $5 a dozen and that's a deal, if you can even find them in the stores. A lot of people who are allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs, also many Asian people who grew up eating them prefer them to chicken eggs. All my eggs are spoken for for weeks ahead of time. A few people request 4 and 5 dozen at a time, which in the past I would allow, but then the folks who just want a dozen or two have to wait and wait, so I think I will put a limit on them so more people can get them sooner. I've also gotten many offers to buy my ducks and chickens! There has been eggs here at the store most of the time, but less than usual. I'm in SE Iowa.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Store bought eggs were $0.88/doz, brown "cage free" eggs were $2.00/doz and "organic" "cage-free" were up to $3.50/doz. I have not seen an increase yet.

Don't get me started on the BS labels of "cage-free" "organic " etc. It's just marketing.

Anyways, local farm fresh eggs can be found on almost any road you drive down around here. The locals sell for $1.50-$2.00/dozen.

I don't sell mine but give extras to friends, family, and neighbors.

I keep track of every egg laid valued at $2.00/doz and every expense. Surprisingly enough, i get enough eggs from march-october from 9 hens to pay for their feed (free range birds eat a lot of things other than feed when its available). Unfortunately, they more than make up for it from nov-feb when they eat me out of house and home. Luckily, thats when the meat harvests come in to save my budget!

 

[Mtnboomer]

I live in N E Pa in Wayne county. I started raising chickens as a hobby last April with my first 18 chicks. I ended up with 4 roosters and 14 chickens. I ha e w roosters to a Mennonite family and lost 2 chickens to a Redtail hawk. My current status is 12 laying hens and 2 roosters. I collect on average 8 to 10 Brown eggs daily. My egg count has been steady all winter from 8 Asian Blue and 4 white rock chickens. I give eggs to my close family and I sell some to a few neighbors. My price has always been $3.00 for a dozen large and $4.00 for a dozen X large. I also sell half dozen cartons of X large for $2.00. Like other areas our stores are depleted of eggs also. Too compair store eggs to free range eggs, just place one of each next to each other and scramble them with a fork. Case closed!!!

Compare free range to feed only eggs. You can't cause there "ain't no comparison." A 90+ yr old woman told me that at a farmer's market 20 yrs ago and it has stuck with me all this time....and she's right!

 

[Rutland]

Where all do you live, all your price are very low, I bought eggs from bakyard raiser in my area, they all sell 5 dollars/dozen pre and in the pandemic

 

[Ted_Harrell]

I guess somewhere there is a warehouse full of eggs and toilet paper

 

[countryladyNH]

Interesting, the pandemic has increased my egg "business" and we have more demand for eggs than my girls can supply.

Dear Wife asked me if I could get our chickens to lay 2 eggs per day because so many of her friends want our eggs now due to the pandemic! She is limiting only a dozen eggs per customer because with only 10 chickens, we just don't have too many to sell.

LOL,LOL! Why don't you let your wife know that the Hen Party Union will only let them lay one a day and by the way, they need a 'paid' vacay with mealworms each day!

 

[eulogos]

I have sold mine through a local farm store. He paid me $2 and charged $3, which people were happy to pay even before this recent supply chain disruption. He is retiring and closing the store. Usually though, I donate them, to the local “Mission” or “Rural Ministry.,” which both have a food pantry. Most recently I gave 126 (7 cartons of 18) to a family with twelve children. I like giving them away and when I was still working I could absorb the feed cost. Now that I am retired the cost is significant. But so long as I can do it, I will.

 

[Frej]

I'd been selling my eggs for $4, and still do but now I give away a lot. The pandemic's actually taken away much of my business.

I have the same situation, i was selling eggs at the school for $3 a doz, and i give eggs to my close friends. Now school is closed no sales, but beef sales for me are up.

 

[wolfwalker]

The real reason there is a presumed shortage of eggs at the store.

At any one time, up to 60% of eggs produced in laying houses are sold to wholesale customers. Which means the lines and packing equipment are far different than used for home consumption. And to make matters worse in the shortage situation on one side of the supply chain. While farms are dedicated to producing, packaging and shipping to one type of customer or the other. Most home cooks just cannot handle a 360 count box of eggs when they are used to getting a dozen at a time.

So if you have a long enough sustained run on eggs on the home side, you run out, while there is still plenty of eggs out there. Just not in packages or quantity that a normal homeowner can use.

And it is not as simple as retooling a line, which will cost tens of thousands of dollars to each line. Lets not forget once the crisis is over it would have be to be returned to the way it was before hand for an added expense. And lets be honest about it. the average Joe city folk customer would likely complain long and hard about having to bring a basket to buy a dozen lose eggs, demanding the store package them in something they are familiar with. Which government regs will not allow.

Some restaurants are getting smart and repackaging and selling items that are available in quantity in their supply chain as a way to stay afloat with their business mostly shut down and people are clambering for as there is a shortage on their side of the supply chain.