neighbor wants to buy our eggs!!

[Jeeper1540]

i sell my eggs $2 a dozen regular to 3 of my neighbors. 1 buys eggs once a week, one buys eggs once every 2 weeks, nd 1 buys eggs once a month

 

[Tamrajh]

I noticed in the store tonight that organic eggs, Omega 3 brown eggs that is, are $4 / dozen. If I feed my girls layer pellets and let them free range occasionally, and they lay brown eggs, does that mean they're organic and high in Omega 3? Just wondering if I should up my prices from $2.50 / dozen including the carton.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
You have to jump through a lot of hoops to become certified organic. It's a government certification thingy, you can't just SAY they're organic. If you could, then the world "organic" doesn't really mean anything.
Unless your layer feed is organic, then no way you can even begin to claim that your eggs are organic.
The high in Omega 3 comes from feeding flax seed and/or other things to up the nutrients in the eggs. I think a lab confirms this in the eggs.

 

[DianeB]

If you let them feed in a garden or large yard, its considered pasturized not free range by the USDA. Pasturized is more sought after and thus more expensive than free range.

 

[Tamrajh]

So what's "free range"? I thought that was when they got to walk around the yard eating the grass?

 

[zazouse]

Free range means they are not contained in any manner.

None of my flocks are contained unless i have a group i am wanting certian eggs from , they do come in to roost but spend the rest of their time out in the pasture,yard or wherever they wonder, i have no close neighbors so i can do this.

 

[akcountrygrrl]

My eggs sell for $4 per dozen but I have one customer (a chef) who insists on giving me $5 per dozen "because they're worth it"...

 

[DianeB]

Quote:
Essentially, free range is non-caged. They are suppose to give access to the outdoors. Usually a door or two in a giant chicken house with literally thousands of other chickens. Pature raised is a chicken raised on pasture or mainly outdoors with space to roam. As you can see, it is very confusing for consumers and not fair to small chicken operations.

 

[Tamrajh]

So where I have an acre of grass and 15 chickens (only 6 are laying at the moment, the rest are too young and one is a roo), are they considered pasteurized? Not by USFDA standards I realize, but just casually.

 

[DianeB]

I'm not quite sure, but I think that the USDA has not yet put a definition on 'pasture raised'. They have only defined organic, free-range and cage-free.