Eggs....prices and prep!

[JodyJo]

So I just ordered, 10 chicks from the Country Store in Elizabeth Colorado....5 EEs and 5 Cuckoo Marans....(all pullets, fingers crossed) anyone have experience with these types...I know you all do, I see posts all the time.

What do I have to expect with temperament etc. I am excited to have the colored eggs, and already have people waiting to purchase...

so onto question #2....how much do you all charge if you sell your eggs, and how do you clean them before selling? I have read that you aren't supposed to clean them, it removes a protective layering.

Then last question...how long can an egg stay unrefrigerated before you have to put it in the ice box?

 

[OkChickens]

I have 6 EE's and I do get blue and green eggs, they have no temper but mine are jumpy and can be really flighty. They are great egg layers and out of my 5 hens I get usually 3-4 eggs a day.

I sell a dozen large brown and colored mixed for $3 a dozen and 18 ct for $4. I sell brown jumbos for $3.50.

I have left the eggs out overnight on accident and they were fine. I hope this helps!

-Nate

 

[Fred's Hens]

Your customers are likely to expect clean eggs. If your nesting boxes are kept clean, you should expect that your eggs will require only a small amount of cleaning. Most just rinse them clean under water as hot as you stand. Air dry. Done. Some do a quick dip in a mild bleach solution. You'll find your best method.

Selling eggs with dirt, poop, or goop on them? No. Isn't likely folks want their eggs to be THAT organic.

Selling is an art and a science. The market in one's area can only support what it can support. What others get in their area is almost irrelevant.

 

[JodyJo]

Fred's Hens :

Your customers are likely to expect clean eggs. If your nesting boxes are kept clean, you should expect that your eggs will require only a small amount of cleaning. Most just rinse them clean under water as hot as you stand. Air dry. Done. Some do a quick dip in a mild bleach solution. You'll find your best method.

Selling eggs with dirt, poop, or goop on them? No. Isn't likely folks want their eggs to be THAT organic.

Selling is an art and a science. The market in one's area can only support what it can support. What others get in their area is almost irrelevant.

note

Noted with the cleaning....I would never sell a dirty egg, I had just read not to clean them too much, hot water sounds good to me...and you are correct, it doesn't really matter what other s get for their eggs....just curious what others are asking and getting on a regular basis...thanks for the advice...​

 

[briteday]

We are in northern NV near Tahoe, Reno, and Carson City. Last year I was charging $2/doz. And I had more customers than I could handle. Last Fall with the rise in the cost of feed I upped it to $3/doz. At first I was buried in eggs and considered lowering the price. But now, again, I have more customers than I know what to do with. Most of it is by word of mouth. 1-2 happy customers can take care of all your sales needs by mentioning things to their friends. Also, I often treat my doctors, dentists, financial advisor, hairstylist...to free eggs once each year and that has really brought in a bunch of business too. These people see tons of other people every day and often get into conversations where your eggs could come up. Right now the receptionists and assistants at my dentist's office get 5 dozen per month, our financial advisor office gets 2 dozen per week, co-workers and their friends get another 5 dozen per week, a neighbor buys one dozen per week...I'm maxed out right now and trying to collect fertile eggs for incubation at the same time!

 

[obaan1]

Briteday, you are good at egg networking. Kudos.

 

[Judy]

I wash poopy eggs under warm running water, don't wash the others, but I don't sell them, we eat them or I give them away. If I did sell them, I'd do well to get $1.50 a dozen here. Be sure if you do wash them, that the liquid is warmer than the egg. This causes bacteria to move out of the egg instead of into it.

In Europe they don't refrigerate eggs at all before they are sold. Mother Earth News did an exhaustive study about storing eggs a few years back, easy to find via Google. Bottom line, about 6 months max, refrigerated. They last pretty well at room temp but better refrigerated. Certainly they are fine for a day at room temp, probably several weeks.

My EE's were fair layers, 4-5 a week, till the 18 month molt. I've gotten 2 blue eggs in the last 4 months. They are flighty and I can't get near them except on the roost, and then they struggle. My Speckled Sussex are very friendly and easy to handle. Other people, I read, have much friendlier EE's sometimes. Just depends on the chicken. Never had a Cuckoo Maran.

 

[classicsredone]

Price varies depending on the area. One of the CSA's around here is selling a dozen free range eggs (not organic) for $7! I think I'm going to charge $4.50 for a dozen organic eggs, or $4.00 if they return a usable carton to us. That's enough to cover our feed and bedding costs and have a little left over.

We don't have any eggs yet, but my cousins used to just rinse or wipe off those that were a little messy. For the messier eggs they had one of those bubbling egg buckets to clean the eggs.

 

[spartacus_63]

$4.50 for a dozen organic eggs, or $4.00 if they return a usable carton to us.

That's a pretty good discount for a carton. I haven't ordered any in quite a while, but they cost less than .50. Good incentive to return cartons though. My customers get a .25 cent refund per dozen per carton My cartons cost me .42 when purchased in lots of 100 (only my cartons qualify for the discount).​

 

[blueseal]

i sell mine for 2.50 a dozen here. i went up 50 cents a dozen about a month ago because of chicken feed skyrocketed. in the spring and summer i cant keep a egg long enough in the fridge with the demand. in the winter it slacks a little but thats ok because my chickens take a break from laying.