How do I get started on selling eggs?

[jbabco50]

I sell my one dozen eggs for 3$. And 18 eggers for 4 or 5$. I also let people bring their cartons to me and I fill them up for them. I wash mine with washing clothes meant for chicken eggs, but it is also good to not wash them because of the natural coating from the chickens. If you do wash them do it preferably right before you sell them.

 

[WVDoug]

My neighbor bought 2 dozen from me today. They're still in the small/med range, so I told him $2/dozen, and more like $2.75-$3 once they're in the large/XL range.
He said "perfect".

 

[heiditam]

As a consumer:

I pay $6-7 dollars for a dozen 'pasture raised' eggs at the grocery. :/

Organic labeling in grocery means nothing to me, as it can mean that the chickens still eat 100% corn. If your chickens are pastured, advertise that as it really places your eggs above all those meaningless labels at the grocery, where the factory farmed eggs are $2-3 a dozen(organic, free rage, cage free-it all means corn fed to me).

Convenience is key-there are awesome eggs at farmers market, but I cannot make it there every saturday. I have a friend that has beautiful eggs but we need to coordinate our schedules better. And this is why I buy the pricey store eggs(that lack in quality too) and am going to raise chickens(price and convenience).

I love the idea of bringing your own carrier for a discount.

Good luck!

 

[RezChamp]

I traded eggs for whatever I needed or wanted eg, fresh rhubarb jam, blueberries, strawberries, saskatoons(berries), fish fillets, flour, deermeat to name a few. Sometimes people would just make me an offer in trade. Most often I would accept. If I could use it I would. If not I would trade or even give to someone that needed it.
Or sometimes I would ask to be paid for the work and cost of feed that goes into the creation of the eggs.
People that brought their own cartoons would of course not to be required to "trade" as much of their "product".
I very seldom washed the eggs. I would scrape the dirty ones or rub them on the lawn or with a towel or something. I would explain to newcomers about how washing them and letting them sit for awhile was less hygienic than leaving them "dirty" (if you will) and if they want to wash them Avery mild antibacterial hand/dish soap in warmish water will work fine.
If I outright sell my eggs they go for $4Cdn a doz.
The stores sell commercial eggs for $5Cdn for 18.
I have had people wait for up to 2 weeks for eggs. Even though my community is large most of us know eachother. At that time I had the 30 hens. Right now we are starting over because of predation mostly by feral and/or roving packs.
I do my utmost to seek out non-GMO organic feed. It's tough to find sometimes, but it is out there.
Expensive as "h, e, double hockey sticks" though.
I hope this helps you a bit.
HAGD
PS If you see spelling mistakes, please excuse me. I misplaced my glasses last night.
I don't look so very good right now .....

 

[AmericanMom]

I sell eating eggs to friends and family and hatching eggs via Craigslist...

The going rate here is $3 a dozen for eating eggs, so I sell for $2.50 a dozen (they provide me cartons).. I know, some will say that's to low but that's my market and I now have standing orders for 10 dozen a week which pays for 100 pounds of feed... Hatching eggs I sell for $1.25 apiece and that comes and goes, I may have a few weeks or even a month with no orders then get hit with a lot in a few days.. My eating egg customers know sometimes their order may be a day or two late in such a case..
I wash the eating eggs but not the hatching eggs.

I wanted to test dry incubation in my incubator so I set eggs, had 100% hatch and sold everyone of them within 3 hours of listing, had a lady contact me and she has ordered as many as I can hatch, so the Bator is going to be filled next week.. Don't know why I hadn't thought of this sooner... She put half the money down so I know she is serious

I never expect to "make" money doing this , it always goes right back into the flock but its awesome when they actually pay for themselves!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

As a consumer:

I pay $6-7 dollars for a dozen 'pasture raised' eggs at the grocery. :/

Organic labeling in grocery means nothing to me, as it can mean that the chickens still eat 100% corn. If your chickens are pastured, advertise that as it really places your eggs above all those meaningless labels at the grocery, where the factory farmed eggs are $2-3 a dozen(organic, free rage, cage free-it all means corn fed to me).

Convenience is key-there are awesome eggs at farmers market, but I cannot make it there every saturday. I have a friend that has beautiful eggs but we need to coordinate our schedules better. And this is why I buy the pricey store eggs(that lack in quality too) and am going to raise chickens(price and convenience).

I love the idea of bringing your own carrier for a discount.

Good luck!

I don't think most chickens eat 100% corn ... I believe most chickens in the USA eat some corn as part of their carefully prepared ration, even birds that are on pasture. I'm not completely sure about Canada, but my guess is Canadian commodities function much like commodities in the USA with the exception of more Canola, less soy in Canada. So ... I'm guessing most prepared poultry rations in Canada rely on corn the same way poultry rations in the USA do. In Europe they used to use wheat as the base for their poultry rations, but I believe now there is more corn in Europe, too. I know in England some major grocery chains had to stop promising to only sell Organic eggs because their suppliers couldn't find enough Organic poultry feed for the birds, and my guess the heavy reliance on corn, soy & canola (three major GMO crops) in poultry rations is the reason.

I think there is a perception coming from some food advisors that only chickens which haven't been fed any prepared poultry rations produce healthy eggs. I've heard it recommend people shop for "pastured" eggs, as if "pastured" eggs mean the chickens get 100% of their diet from forage, even "pastured" eggs at the grocery store. So I've heard it recommended to buy "pastured" eggs from the grocery store as these are the best (even above backyard/barnyard eggs). I'm a bit puzzled by this advice (I've heard it from some Paleo people, and also from some people at the Weston A. Price foundation). It isn't realistic advice. Most backyard, barnyard and small-flock "pastured" chickens are feed poultry rations. For sure any commercial egg has come from a bird that has been "fed," so all grocery store eggs come from birds that eat prepared rations for the majority of their diet, even the "pastured" eggs. It isn't that easy to keep chickens without feeding them because you need to have excellent year-round forage for the birds if you choose to not feed the birds at all ... and most of us have seasons where forage is drastically limited. And then there are chicks ...

Corn has a bit of a bad rap, but nutritionally speaking it isn't a bad choice for poultry. The issue for me is that so much of the corn grown in the USA is now GMO. My egg customers want GMO-free eggs or they want really cheap eggs.

 

[jtbass2756]

What is a good price per dozen?

Saw this the other day when I had to go to Greenville, I stopped at a Farmer's Market independent place and there in their cooler....I found these.. Might give you an idea...

 

[perchie.girl]

I think also some of the recommendations for Pastured Poultry eggs also come from the idea of getting away from battery cages. Somewhere the line was crossed that Pastured was automatically a better egg. Too much uninformed education and assumptions running amok out there.

I wanted to sell eggs. but my chickens will never be able to forage because of my predator load. though they are not in battery cages and their run will be about a 100 by 25 area of six foot fence with over head netting.

deb

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The US labeling regs are woefully deficient in their control and information on our food.
Cage free, which a lot of people look for, means they aren't in a cage but doesn't mean they ever see sunlight or take a dust bath.
Free range can mean that there is a pop door that the masses can't all possibly pass through during the day and then it may mean they go onto a porch or a plot with no forage.

 

[KellyLyn]

I began this Spring bringing in eggs to work at $2 for a dozen.. now I bring in a carton every Monday and contact my customers alphabetically - as the first come first serve method got a bit competitive, lol. I just rinse in water but have a scrub brush for stubborn stuff - and never soap. There was interesting information about how excessive washing can remove the eggs' natural protection. Everyone at work brings in empty cartons for me - and I made my label that I tape on top... It has cute pictures of my hens and phrases like: Buy Local Buy Fresh; and From Our Nest to Your Table, etc. Having a lot of fun with this. I never thought about how I might be breaking shell laws? I think I will plead ignorance and hope that I'm forgiven if I am. Enjoy your Flock!