Just put in my order for 20 chicks! Needing some egg selling advice!

[LittleRedCoopLady]

So, I just put in my order for 20 chicks! I've never raised chicks before, I've always bought pullets. I'm so very excited to start this journey! I'm wanting to sell eggs (there is a market in my area for fresh eggs), so my breed choices reflected that. Does anyone have any advice/knowledge to share about how they started selling eggs (breeds that worked well, how many chickens worked well for you, price you charge/doz, egg colors your customers like, etc.) Thanks!

 

[Chicken Cryptid]

Neighbors will be your customers at first, if you want to progress further than that you’ll need a permit. I really love ISA Brown chickens, but if you’re looking for a dual-purpose breed so that you can sell the hens that quit laying when they get older, maybe go for Rhode Island Red. I have a couple of Easter Eggers to add in some color. My customers love it when they get a blue egg or two! I charge 3$ a dozen. Depending upon the demand in your area should determine your flock size, I think! good luck!

 

[sarah4hchickens]

I sell eggs too! I used to sell to neighbors but as supply allowed I have made sales on Facebook marketplace. I charge $3 per dozen and have a variety of good egg breeds. I usually only have brown and white eggs but am adding in some colored egg breeds. Also I am 13 and have 50 chickens. Good luck!

 

[iwltfum]

Neighbors will be your customers at first, if you want to progress further than that you’ll need a permit.

Neighbors are the best egg customers! In some states you only need a permit to sell at a grocery store. We had an egg permit in Colorado where I first started raising poultry - it was 25 dollars/year (I think) and just required an over the phone conversation and for me to sign and fax a form into the Dept of Ag. In maine, we don't need a permit at all. If you're focused on making a profit, I would suggest to scale up your number of hens as much as you feel comfortable with. Too few birds can eat into your profits for a number a reasons. We started with a flock of 40 birds in Colorado, selling at farmers markets. Now we have a flock of 160 layers in Maine. At this point, I would not be making enough money if the number of hens in my operation was less than 100, but I would not want to have started off with that many.

I have noticed that some people love a variety of egg colors. We always have at least three different colors of eggs to keep those people happy. For some reason it seems like if your eggs are too uniform, people don't appreciate them as much. I'm not going to go into pricing on here, but you should know your costs (including your labor hours) in order to price your eggs properly. Start the price higher than you think you'll need it to be, because there is no raising the price once people have already bought from you.

 

[LittleRedCoopLady]

Neighbors are the best egg customers! In some states you only need a permit to sell at a grocery store. We had an egg permit in Colorado where I first started raising poultry - it was 25 dollars/year (I think) and just required an over the phone conversation and for me to sign and fax a form into the Dept of Ag. In maine, we don't need a permit at all. If you're focused on making a profit, I would suggest to scale up your number of hens as much as you feel comfortable with. Too few birds can eat into your profits for a number a reasons. We started with a flock of 40 birds in Colorado, selling at farmers markets. Now we have a flock of 160 layers in Maine. At this point, I would not be making enough money if the number of hens in my operation was less than 100, but I would not want to have started off with that many.

I have noticed that some people love a variety of egg colors. We always have at least three different colors of eggs to keep those people happy. For some reason it seems like if your eggs are too uniform, people don't appreciate them as much. I'm not going to go into pricing on here, but you should know your costs (including your labor hours) in order to price your eggs properly. Start the price higher than you think you'll need it to be, because there is no raising the price once people have already bought from you.

Those are great points! Thank you

 

[gfallonn]

So, I just put in my order for 20 chicks! I've never raised chicks before, I've always bought pullets. I'm so very excited to start this journey! I'm wanting to sell eggs (there is a market in my area for fresh eggs), so my breed choices reflected that. Does anyone have any advice/knowledge to share about how they started selling eggs (breeds that worked well, how many chickens worked well for you, price you charge/doz, egg colors your customers like, etc.) Thanks!

We sold our eggs to a local farm that then sold the eggs to her customers, so that was nice. Like people said above, neighbors are great.

For me, I love araucanas for egg layers. They lay all year round and are really good in the cold. When we were selling eggs, we have about 20-25 hens. Customers loved the blue/green of their eggs. We have some pretty old araucanas (about five or six) that are still laying, so they're really worth it.

 

[LittleRedCoopLady]

We sold our eggs to a local farm that then sold the eggs to her customers, so that was nice. Like people said above, neighbors are great.

For me, I love araucanas for egg layers. They lay all year round and are really good in the cold. When we were selling eggs, we have about 20-25 hens. Customers loved the blue/green of their eggs. We have some pretty old araucanas (about five or six) that are still laying, so they're really worth it.

Did your Araucanas lay daily?

 

[Parront]

So, I just put in my order for 20 chicks! I've never raised chicks before, I've always bought pullets. I'm so very excited to start this journey! I'm wanting to sell eggs (there is a market in my area for fresh eggs), so my breed choices reflected that. Does anyone have any advice/knowledge to share about how they started selling eggs (breeds that worked well, how many chickens worked well for you, price you charge/doz, egg colors your customers like, etc.) Thanks!

I buy my neighbor's eggs - - $3/00/doz. She has been selling them to friends for years. I have some new chicks on the way! We are in Arizona, you should put your location in your profile so that you can get better answers to your questions.