re: Please Don't Undercharge for Your eggs!

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that poster is on a roll this mornin
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to stay on topic...... half of a business is "public relations"
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To the OP you might want to make some adjustments in your goal. When times are hard and it comes down to it people will buy what they can afford to feed themselves and the family. There is nothing wrong with country folk giving to others or selling for minimal profit, it is the country way.

Hatching eggs sell for more than table eggs. Many people do not care how a egg is raised and do not make the connection when eating eggs. But they certainly are aware of the conditions that store bought chickens are raised in. Maybe you should consider processing some of your birds. Maybe raising meat birds with your egg layers. I have not been able to find Cornish Bantam eggs and would have paid more than $4.00 a dozen for them and they eat less than your laying birds. Actually I would have paid up to $20 a dozen now that is 5 times what you are asking people to charge for eggs. The reason I picked Cornish Bantams is that not as many people are doing them. REFOCUS REGROUP and RESTRUCTURE some of the changes I suggest will not set you back much. Just a suggestion.

There is a large following of game fowl owners and not for sport, it is the beauty and hardiness of the birds. People, myself included pay good money for game fowl eggs. I have paid as much as $10 a egg for pumpkins. If what you are doing does not work do not blame others, just change focus.
 
Well I have only been raising chickens for a year and have not sold an egg yet. Personally I get enjoyment out of knowing that the eggs I give away are eaten and enjoyed by those eating them I never planned on making any profit from my chickens. Also every egg that we all give away is one less egg that those poor battery hens have to lay at least in my twisted mind.
 
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It sounds to me like you took on a business that needed a lot of work to begin with and you jumped into it with both feet. You can't expect to do that and cover the costs in one year. If you wanted costs covered for things then you should have taken a hard look at what really had to be done right away and worked on those. The rest you find ways to make do with and slowly as time and money allows make the changes.

Before you go jumping on me, I know what I'm talking about. DH took over the "family farm" after the old man almost ran it into the ground. We had some really rough first few years but, managed by doing what absolutely had to be done for repairs and then slowly, as money allowed, did the rest.

Management is key in any business to making it. If your decision was to sink everything you had into the business right away then you need to realize what that will mean for your business and be ready to deal with it. I sincerely hope that you can make a go of it and wish you all the luck you will need in this time of bad economy.
 
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My husband has lots of medical problems and it has really amazed me how much my chickens help reduce my stress. I just love watching them do their chicken things.
And they are not that expensive. Cat food for the kid's cats cost much more than my chicken feed.
 
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I'm sorry you're having a tough time with the business - I can well understand how the last year comes as a very very unpleasant surprise, especially if you for some reason chose not to hold back savings to live on through 'down' years. I hope you can get things figured out -- maybe reduce the number of chickens? find new sales outlets? find additional ways of making money? -- and things improve for you.

At the same time, though, it seems to me that if your overall goal is to have everyone eating eggs from happier hens, you should remember that most of US want that TOO. And are doing our part, by trying to make these eggs widely available.

Really, if there were enough backyarders raising their own eggs and making them available to others on an at-cost or low-profit basis, that would solve the whole humanely-raised-chickens issue pretty well, right there
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Pat, willing to take nominal egg money from DH's well off colleagues at work, but generally giving away our extras free, because it just seems like the right thing to do.
 
Like your point! I agree totally with you. We sell ours for 3.00 a dozen but if you sit at the farmers market people are paying 5-6 bucks a dozen here. They guy had 12 dozen eggs and he said they sold out in two hours! ALL at 6.00 a dozen! People are willing to pay higher prices you just have to find the right people I guess. I don't have any trouble getting 3.00 a dozen
 
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