Pricing Eggs For Sale

[kathlynr8]

The carton says free range eggs. Grade A nest run. and the carton actually says $5. but I think I paid $6 but not totally sure. I will also price out other local egg sellers in my area. But one of the really big ones is selling in the fancy grocery stores - so I assume they take a cut.

 

[kathlynr8]

I hadn't really thought of my chickens bringing in any income, until I bought these eggs today.. what are people's thoughts on the viability of selling eggs?

But they are pretty special - I totally buy pretty fresh eggs and think its a treat!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The carton says free range eggs. Grade A nest run. and the carton actually says $5. but I think I paid $6 but not totally sure. I will also price out other local egg sellers in my area. But one of the really big ones is selling in the fancy grocery stores - so I assume they take a cut.

$6 is on the high end for eggs that aren't organic (which is usually the biggest driving point on price, due to cost of the feed plus certification) but prices vary wildly by area so that may well be the norm for your region.

The same farm I was buying my eggs from are also sold by a local grocer, and they mark up the price about $1.50. So that's the store's cut.

I think you need to have pretty high volume and the willingness to cull birds as they age out of the system to actually turn a profit. I've seen at least one post on here where someone tried to calculate the cost of their first backyard eggs, and yeah... it's cheaper to eat an egg made of gold (granted that's including everything from the coop and run to the brooder set up to the feed, etc.) Hopefully someone can weigh in with their experience with selling and how to manage costs and such.

 

[kathlynr8]

Yah - I think my area may have high egg prices..

Interesting....

 

[aart]

Yah - I think my area may have high egg prices..

Interesting....

With only 4 birds
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coop-design-points-for-chicken-health.1209366/
you won't have a ton of eggs to sell.
I have 8 pullets and 8 hens and am barely keeping 5 customers supplied, plus myself, right now. I just sell to friends, not the general public, it barely covers feed and supplies annually. Certainly didn't cover the expense of building coop and run.
I charge $3.50dz, which is about the same as the 'cage free' eggs at store.
See my other post in this thread.

 

[gadus]

I started selling mine last year at $3 and it felt embarrassingly high. My third customer offered $4 and I said sure. The original customers still pay 3 but new customers are four. The birds are free-ranged often and well-cared for with plenty of space but feed is nothing special.

The local farm stand gets $5/dozen and I don't think they are organic. A local health food store gets $6 or 7, I can't remember. This is in Downeast Maine where a lot of fancy people are willing to splurge on good produce, organically raised meat, etc. (let's face it, organic produce from the farm stand is mostly for wealthy people).

Organic and free-range designations aside, I find there is no comparison between a locally grown egg and a mass-produced egg-so I say, whatever the market will bear and whatever you're comfortable with. When customers give their empties to me I always pay attention to the eggs they buy outside of what they get from me; that's a sure way to know whether or not what you are charging is reasonable.

I can't see myself making any kind of profit; it would seem like most months I at least keep up with the feed costs but I doubt if the other stuff-the shavings, grit and oyster shell-are always covered. The cost of building my coop will never be recovered. Fortunately, I have birds that provide my family and I with eggs every day if we want them, they will eventually feed us in other ways and the experience of caring well for living things, especially for a young child, is something incalculable.

 

[tigger19687]

I have a guy in my town that will buy my organically raised and fed, ranged small/Med eggs. I drop them off to him ( 1 mile away) when I have a dozen extra. $4

 

[Wise Woman]

I sell my eggs for $4 a dozen when I have them. Haven't had enough to sell for a couple of years though. At one point in time, I had people beating on my door for eggs. I do not have enough chickens to make egg selling profitable. I just like to sell my overflow to help with feed costs.