I live in an area near the West Coast where we just got a Whole Foods Market and Trader Joes. Many of the people around here have been buying their free range organic eggs for $4-5 per dozen at the store. So they don't even think twice about buying eggs from me where "they know the eggs were just laid yesterday." Most of our egg buyers are people we know at work and then they spread the word. My teenage daughter printed up payment envelopes with nutritional information about pasture fed organic eggs:
Eggs from hens raised on pasture and organic feed may contain:
1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
7 times more beta carotene.
Have a healthy day!!!
Name ________________________________________________
She did a bit of clipart dancing chickens at the top of the envelope. The envelopes help to remind people that they owe us for the eggs, makes it easier for me as I don't have to track them down to let them know that I brought them eggs that day or to remind them about payment or returning egg cartons, and gives us a way to track who gets the next dozen eggs in the fridge.
I put the eggs in the office refrigerator and leave the envelope in the person's mailbox. For the neighbors I include the envelope when I leave the eggs on the doorstep and they return the envelope to a hanging basket on my front porch. At home I place their envelope on the back of the pack clipped to the refrigerator door. (all of our egg buyers bring their own cartons for me to re-use) We only have 6 RIR and can't make eggs fast enough even though my hens are laying right through these cold days.
I figured this out recently (just got my pullets a few months ago so I had no idea of the economics!)...if they lay 14 dozen eggs per month and we eat 4 dozen eggs, leaving 10 dozen to sell @ $3-4 per dozen = $35/month. I have yet to receive a feed store bill for more than $20 per month. The only other expense is running into town weekly (and I trade off with another neighbor with chickens so I only have to go in every other week) to pick up produce castoffs from the new Whole Foods store. We are able to get enough to supply our chickens for a whole week.
Given these statistics (and a daughter in college!) I have been thinking about getting 6 more pullets in the spring. I have plenty of scrap wood around here to make another coop and there is no limit in our county regarding poultry. Since the egg buyers here have a thing about colored eggs (the perspective is that colored eggs are better for you than white eggs...), and I already have brown eggs, I'm considering getting 6 EE's or americaunas.
Another thing I've discovered is that one of the RIR hens is a bit broody, sometimes not laying for a day or two, always sitting on the eggs until I take them away. I thought about trying to break this habit until I realized that in this cold weather she is doing a fine job of keeping my eggs from freezing! I think I'll just live with her occasional broodiness in return for not having to go out at the crack of dawn to collect eggs...
