How much do you sell YOUR eggs for?

[Anna_MN]

I will have 16 layers VERY soon and the chickens I have lay an egg a day, every day. Even if I get a dozen a day, that's A LOT of eggs for me and my family. I will have a wide variety of eggs- white, light brown, medium brown, dark brown, blue, pinkish. I will be feeding them cracked corn and flax along with organic hen feed so they will have nice dark yolks. I plan on selling most of them and I have a few questions-

1.) How much do you sell very large sized brown/white eggs?

2.) Do you charge more for Maran or Auraucana eggs?

3.) Where do you try to sell them?

4.) Is it necessary to wash eggs with a special "egg soap" if you plan on selling them?

5.) How do you advertise your eggs and does advertising really work?

6.) Is it a good idea to buy new cartons when selling to customers who are strangers instead of using re-used ones?

 

[partsRheavy]

I am contemplating these issues also. Some ideas:

1) You should make a label or stamp that says your eggs are "Ungraded." That way you don't need to grade/sort them. Many backyard layers lay big Jumbo-sized eggs but what if you throw some sorta=medium Easter Egger eggs into a carton with some BIG brown eggs? The mix is great at a farmers' market but is NOT consistent in size or weight - therefore just label the eggs as ungraded.

2) If you free-range and avoid antibiotics/worming the price should be $3.50/$4.00/dz depending on location and time of year. Sell as natural/free/range/farm-fresh. You will LOSE money to feed/care if you charge below $3.00/dz. Mix-in the Maran/Ameraucana/Araucana eggs with brown eggs for a variety.

3). New unused cartons are best for strangers.. Factor the cost in to what you charge. Cartons are a big part of why the cost goes up from $2-something to $3-something. Best to stamp your name and address on them....

4) Organic certification is quite difficult and a LOT of paperwork plus expense.

 

[Kevin565]

Quote:
I use clean reused egg cartons

 

[Moogie]

1. I sell mine for $3 a dozen. I checked and our CraigsList sellers go for $2 to $4/dozen, so I went for the middle. Mine are bronze, brown and blue large to jumbo (2.7 oz) eggs. One customer offered to pay $3.50 a dozen, since that's what she had been paying.

I checked Walmart's and their organic "free range" eggs sell for $4.50/dozen.

2. no

3. I put an ad on CraigsList with some pics of my eggs and chickens and sold my entire inventory (6 dozen) in 12 hours. I now have 2 regular customers who want to buy 16 dozen a month.

4. I don't wash mine, but do use a damp cloth to wipe off any smudges

5. Just the one time ad on CraigsList

6. My customers showed up the first time with lots of egg cartons, which I greatly appreciated.

7. I'm going to have a tough time keeping up with the demand for fresh eggs... So I now have a great excuse to buy more chickens!!

. Even my husband agrees that more chickens would be a good idea!

I have been amazed at the response for organic, free range eggs. It's encouraging that people want to buy local, high-quality food products. And I'm happy to get enough return to pay for feed, upkeep.... And more chickens!!

 

[Kevin565]

Quote:
You sell organic? Was it hard to go through all the paper work? I've been looking into getting certified.

 

[mnabity]

I'm still waiting for my hens to lay but here's my plan.

1.) $3-$3.50 (discount if they bring their own carton)

2.) No.

3.) I live in a small town so word of mouth has already got several customers waiting for my hens to get a move on. Also the local feed store allows us to put up signs as well as the post office and local bulletin boards like that.

4.) The bloom that's on the eggs when they are laid helps keep them fresh longer so unless the egg is dirty I leave it alone. If they are dirty I take a slightly wet paper towel or washcloth and gently wipe it off. I do let customers know they are not washed.

5.) Between WOM and local bulletin boards I have plenty of free advertisement. A friend of mine put a notice on facebook and within one day she had 30 requests

6.) I encourage customers to bring their own cartons(small discount). If they don't I do have some I purchased but most will bring their own. I do put labels on the carton with my contact info regardless of where the carton comes from.

Best of luck to you!

Miki

 

[clairabean]

We also only feed organic feeds.


1.) How much do you sell very large sized brown/white eggs? We have small EE banties, plus a few larger browns- $3 dozen

2.) Do you charge more for Maran or Auraucana eggs? N/A

3.) Where do you try to sell them? Mostly through friends. If I have an unusual amount I advertise at our bulletin board in town

4.) Is it necessary to wash eggs with a special "egg soap" if you plan on selling them? No

5.) How do you advertise your eggs and does advertising really work? Of course it works. How else will people know you intend to sell?

6.) Is it a good idea to buy new cartons when selling to customers who are strangers instead of using re-used ones Always the environmentalist and frugalist I reuse. There are enough used cartons floating around to house every egg out there. No need to buy new

ETA- you are going to get many answers, as the answers vary greatly from area to area.

 

[Moogie]

Quote:
There is a difference between foods that are USDA certified organic and those which are organically produced or grown. The first involves meeting strict gov't regulations and requirements in order to label the product as USDA certified organic.

But organically grown (non-certified) is a commitment by the farmer to not use pesticides, growth hormones, GMOs, regular and/or indiscriminate use of antibiotics, chemical fertilizers, etc in the production of their food products. Braum's is a good example of this - they're not certified as organic and yet their dairy products certainly meet that commitment.

I use organic feed, and the chickens free range. Since I'm also a beekeeper, we do not use any pesticides or chemicals anywhere on our acreage. Yes, our eggs are organic, they're just not certified organic. From what I've read, private or individual gardeners/farmers are not certified -- it's probably just too cost prohibitive.

 

[m_shuman]

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[nuttyredhead]

Quote:
NO. I HAVE FAMILY SAVE THEIRS AND I USE THOSE.