On the fence about selling eggs, risky?

[EKlinds]

Hey Everyone!

hope you and your flock are having a great day! I’m looking for some opinions or personal experience with this. Our ladies have been laying consistently for a few months now (woo hoo!) and since we’re a small family of 3 we love giving our extra eggs to family and friends and they rave about them! I’ve been told a few times that I should start selling them too which I’ve thought about before but it makes me a little nervous. I live in New Hampshire on a country road and it’s common to see eggs being sold by the road around town. On one hand I love the thought of having “regulars” that enjoy them as much as we do but on the other hand, even though I know my chickens are clean and healthy I would never ever want to be accused that my eggs made them sick or something. Am I over thinking this? Maybe I’ll just stick to family and friends lol Thanks in advance!

 

[Lizzy733]

A shaded honesty box wouldn't hurt, or you could find a farmer's market in your area and sell direct.

I live in NZ and eggs here are never refrigerated, even in grocery stores. They're kept out on shelves 24/7 with no ill effects. My own eggs tend to go 2+ months before I start getting stinkers. A close sniff of the egg can uncover those before there's a fiasco.

As long as they're around 1 month or less old, I couldn't see it coming back on you. Have you or your family ever come across a bad egg from your stock?

In general, if you don't wash them (or let them get wet) and let the natural bloom do its job, you shouldn't run into issues.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I use a soft #2 pencil to record the date it was laid on each egg.
If you decide to go with an honesty box, having each egg dated will help you determine which eggs are going back into your home for consumption, as people tend to open the cartons to pick out the largest (etc.).

 

[LizzzyJo]

When it comes to the worry about any potential health problem being blamed on the eggs - I'm with you. For me (flock of 8 still laying) selling on the road is just not worth it. I wouldn't make enough money to be worth the hassle of putting them out and in and having someone bark at me for their upset stomach. I would sell to people I know, but I agree that the hassle of strangers may be too much. I'm an anxious person, though.

 

[EKlinds]

When it comes to the worry about any potential health problem being blamed on the eggs - I'm with you. For me (flock of 8 still laying) selling on the road is just not worth it. I wouldn't make enough money to be worth the hassle of putting them out and in and having someone bark at me for their upset stomach. I would sell to people I know, but I agree that the hassle of strangers may be too much. I'm an anxious person, though.

Yesss! I didn’t mention in the post but I’m a super anxious person too and usually think right to worse case scenario lol. And yeah maybe if we had a giant flock it would be more worth it but the amount I’d make on only putting out a few cartons at a time probably isn’t worth the anxiety.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Some states require NPIP certification and an egg selling license along with certain egg washing/refrigeration procedures that have to be followed so I would just be aware of that. Personally I just give extra eggs away, but I did tell my kids if down the road they wanted to sell eggs and keep the money for themselves I would be fine with it. However, I want to be NPIP certified beforehand and I'm getting a stamp for a disclaimer to go on the carton. If you look even at grocery store egg cartons they have disclaimers stamped on every carton.

 

[EKlinds]

A shaded honesty box wouldn't hurt, or you could find a farmer's market in your area and sell direct.

I live in NZ and eggs here are never refrigerated, even in grocery stores. They're kept out on shelves 24/7 with no ill effects. My own eggs tend to go 2+ months before I start getting stinkers. A close sniff of the egg can uncover those before there's a fiasco.

As long as they're around 1 month or less old, I couldn't see it coming back on you. Have you or your family ever come across a bad egg from your stock?

In general, if you don't wash them (or let them get wet) and let the natural bloom do its job, you shouldn't run into issues.

So far no bad/weird eggs and ohhh farmers market I like that idea I’ll have to look into that, thank you!!

 

[raingarden]

We have a very small family farm and are always looking for a new crop that might make a little money on the side. But, we avoid selling anything used for consumption. If we were to make somebody sick we could loose everything in a lawsuit. It's not worth the risk when you live in such a litigious society.

 

[EKlinds]

Some states require NPIP certification and an egg selling license along with certain egg washing/refrigeration procedures that have to be followed so I would just be aware of that. Personally I just give extra eggs away, but I did tell my kids if down the road they wanted to sell eggs and keep the money for themselves I would be fine with it. However, I want to be NPIP certified beforehand and I'm getting a stamp for a disclaimer to go on the carton. If you look even at grocery store egg cartons they have disclaimers stamped on every carton.

Aww I love that idea for the kids! I’ll have to keep that one in mind. I’ll definitely do research on my states requirements so I’ll know if I decide to sell down the road, thank you!! For now I’ll probably stick to just giving them away and having happy friends and family “customers” haha

 

[CoconutCoffee]

May want to check if permits or something are required. IIRC, in my area I dont believe I can sell eggs as it would be considered "commercial".