How do you deal with people who "expect" free eggs?

[faykokoWV]

Quote:
I agree giving things is fun and most people give back. The problem I have is when the giving is expected and not appreciated.

 

[vtchickenlady]

Ask her for help drafting a will, and see if that's free.

When you get the $200 bill from her, send her a bill for $200 eggs. There are plenty of people here with $200 eggs to defend your pricing!

Personally, having worked with attorneys for the last 30 years, I like this response best!!!

 

[Wifezilla]

My neighbor is a first class animal spoiler. She has been giving me veggie and fruit scraps ever since she found out I had ducks. To thank her I gave her a giant colander full of grapes right off my vines. She, of course, made grape jelly and gave me a jar. She is on my freebie egg list if the girls ever start laying...LOL

Maybe we just need to clone my neighbor?

 

[Jenski]

One thing I have realized in dealing with interested "non-chicken folks" is that they simply do not know about egg production. I answer questions like:

- - "How many eggs a day do your chickens lay?"
- - "What do I do with these eggs? How do I keep them? Can I eat them the same way I do store-bought eggs?"
- - "So how are these different than store-bought eggs?"
- - "How many roosters do you have? What, you mean you don't need a rooster to have eggs?"
- - "I never knew eggs came in all these colors. What breeds lay all these different colored eggs?"

I write all this to say that many folks have only thought about chickens as egg machines. They simply do not know how many eggs to reasonably expect from a chicken, or how the process really even works.

I personally think it's very cool that people get excited about home-grown eggs. There are lots of ways to inform people about your own little operation, and once people understand what you can/can't do with regard to egg production, most people are very nice about it. I always try to remember that I am an ambassador for suburban farming, and the more folks I can teach, the fewer will be calling to complain about what they do not understand.

 

[DawnSuiter]

Quote:
I have one of those too!!! It's great..

She came over to complain about my dog, I asked her for training advice... She left with a handful of freshly picked strawberries.

Then she brought me 15 strawberry plants, we gave her some eggs
She offered up horse poop (big deal for me), I was so happy!

I took one of her baby kitties, she's bringing more poop soon! OH.. and some flowers she'll be splitting in the fall

so far, so great!

 

[txchickie]

Maybe I just have good friends & family, but I've never tried to charge for eggs or veggies from our garden. I try to send eggs with anyone that comes over

I have a surplus.

Most of the time, they leave a $5 the next time we see them, or bring treats for the chickens, etc....People bring me their leftover egg cartons and I fill one up and keep the extras. My sister's kids love to come over and feed the chickens treats, so she never shows up empty handed, and always leaves with a dozen eggs

My mom will find some cutsey chicken craft of sort and get it for me, I give her eggs all the time. It works out well for me!

 

[ShaggysGirl]

Ours haven't started to lay yet. I have many on our free egg list who I think will use them up it I do have extra after that I might sell them at work.
The ones on the free list have helped DH and I with a lot of projects around the house including fixing the coops up

and never would take money for the work they did. Then there is DM, DF & DD

 

[daisy_dukers]

I have 25 ISA browns that I got this spring.....still waiting on the first egg but I already have customers lining up to be put on a egg list...

Strangely the price range offered has been from 3-5bucks a dozen....

I am only giving free eggs to my parents and the in-laws, and my in-laws out rank my parents as they are always sending home treats for my chickens and the FIL pretty much built my coop for me.

I have had a few hints at work regarding free eggs and I tell them that all extra eggs will be sold to recover the hundreds of dollars I have invested in this hobby...

 

[Chicky Tocks]

Hook her with a half a dozen. I have broken a couple of my cartons in half and sold them for half of what I get for a whole dozen. If I give any eggs away, generally it's by the half dozen.

My egg clientelle has grown and I don't have enough girls to meet demand. I would tell her that I have paying customers who are on a waiting list and I'd be more than happy to add her to it. And then go on to tell her how wonderful it is to have pets with benefits.

 

[canada-goose]

Smack her on the head!
Okay, I guess you might get in trouble for that. We sell eggs for $4 a dozen and we never got complaints! And (I think) some people sell eggs for $7 a dozen!