I may, just MAY, have too many chickens! Eggs overload!

[gritsar]

I love chickens. I crave more chickens. When I get new chickens my mind doesn't follow the natural course that with chickens comes eggs. I have 22 hens that are "eligible" to lay, plus three more girls that will be starting in a few weeks. Someone forgot to tell my girls that it's 90+ degrees outside and the humidity makes it feel much worse. Someone also forgot to tell my brahma girls that they were supposed to be slacking off now that they are three years old. Their getting older was the whole reason I bought more pullets. I've averaging 16 to 18 eggs a day. I keep the smaller eggs for us and the dogs, but still get a dozen or so a day to sell.


I have six regular egg customers that buy every two of weeks, usually 5 dozen at a time - four my DH works with, two are neighbors. He also has co-workers that will occasionally buy some. Still I'm overrun in eggs.

I can't sell from the house, for several valid reasons. I only sell to the two neighbors and DH sells the rest at work. We have to go to the farmer's co-op tomorrow so I am going to see if they have room to sell some for me; depends on how many suppliers they already have. I'm in the process of finding out what all is entailed in selling at a local farmer's market.

Still, right now I have 13 dozen eggs in the fridge and just looking at them is

In a little while here I am going to call the local senior citizen center and see if I can bring them some. They can't serve them to the seniors at the noon meal they provide (liability issues) but I believe they can let the seniors that want or need the eggs to take them home. No charge.

Other than getting rid of some of my hens - and I would only be willing to let some of the younger hens go, not my brahmas - I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

 

[Wendy'sChicksRock]

I cook up my extras and feed them back to the birds! with that many birds they would eat 2 doz every few days.. might help ya get rid of some..or scramble them up (un cooked) and freeze them in twos for baking later..

 

[justtoni44]

Same here.
My hens obviously did not read the part in the chicken book that they should slow down at three .
Maybe because I give them the winter off, I don't know but they are going strong.
I have a core base of year round customers and some hit and miss ones..........
To many eggs for sure and we do donate to our local food bank.
I have posted at local business.(one store, one tavern, three churches lol )
My phone # tags go quickly but no one calls.................
Oh well................I have a lot of fun and adore my chickens...........
It would be O.K. if they never laid an egg......

 

[redhen]

We cook up our extras and feed them to the animals.(dogs, pigs, chickens, geese..kids..

) They go fast here.

 

[Sparks]

I have a neighbor that works @ a paper co. We barter. I go out to the garage refridge and find toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, tissues etc. Is there someone you can barter with? Also I always have a doz. boiled eggs in the fridge. (I steam them really..works great with fresh eggs).

 

[gritsar]

I am feeding some back to the chickens. While we were gone in vacation in April I explained to my housesitter (stepdaughter & her DH) on how the eggs were dated for sale and in which order to sell them in. I think she got the idea, but he didn't. I came home to find 8 dozen eggs, date tags missing and all in a jumble. When the neighbors stopped by her husband just grabbed cartons, not looking at dates.

In my mind I know those eggs were still good - unwashed and refrigerated - but I wouldn't sell them to my customers without knowing how old. I made huge batches of scrambled eggs and the girls just finished them up the other day.

I just talked to the director at the senior citizens center. She said the seniors would be more than happy to have them. Giving them away beats having them go to waste.

 

[Judy]

Feeding them to animals and giving them away are my only reasonable options, too. I never have too many -- I just scramble a lot of eggs....

Wish there were a senior citizens center close by -- there was, some years ago, but it closed.

I do have one "financially challenged" senior who gladly takes them, though.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
My DH has asked me to please not cook anymore eggs for awhile. I tried to slip some in by making a breakfast skillet, but he caught me.

 

[BooBear]

Can't wait to have that issue. Only getting 1 egg a day right now due to girls gone broody. Rita & Blueberry my silkie girls just turned 6 month old, but no eggs yet.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I keep asking Ellie Mae the silkie (that will be a year old in a few days) if she's given any thought to going broody. She says no, she's too busy doing chicken things.