Selling Backyard Eggs in Missoula, Montana

[k8marie213]

Hi all! I'm new to BYC and have 13 free-range chickens in my backyard that have yet to start laying. When they do, I'm hoping to sell their eggs in order to break even - I'm feeding them Scratch and Peck's Organic Grain Feed (corn and soy free), so it ain't cheap!

Can anyone provide me with info on laws I need to follow? I'd love to sell eggs to neighbors and also out of my PT clinic to patients who are interested.

Thanks for any info!

Kate

 

[I Love Layers]

Hi all!  I'm new to BYC and have 13 free-range chickens in my backyard that have yet to start laying.  When they do, I'm hoping to sell their eggs in order to break even - I'm feeding them Scratch and Peck's Organic Grain Feed (corn and soy free), so it ain't cheap!  

Can anyone provide me with info on laws I need to follow?  I'd love to sell eggs to neighbors and also out of my PT clinic to patients who are interested.

Thanks for any info!

Kate

I live in the SW side of North Dakota.


There's a rule that in order to label your eggs as 'Organic' you must strictly follow the guidelines of the National Organic Program guidelines, established buy the United States Department of Agriculture(USDA). Information about this can be found on the USDA's web site.

To qualify as organic eggs, your hens must be raised from chicks in a completely organic matter, including parasite control, and other health care. All feed must be organic. Any land your chicks have access to must be certified organic, which requires no use of prohibited materials for at least 3 years. Any products used to clean eggs must be approved.

To qualify as organic, you must document everything you do by keeping careful records such as the source and age of your pullers, all feed and supplements you use and were you got them, and health products used and their source, vaccinations, any deaths, what access your layers have to the outdoors, how you clean the housing before bringing in replacements, and your egg sales.
If you wish to be formally certified as organic, you must sign up with a certifying agency selected from a list maintained by the USDA, fill out a farm plan, and be inspected annually. Following all these regulations results in higher costs, making organic eggs more expensive than conventionally produced eggs.


COPIED FROM STOREY'S GUIDE TO RAISING CHICKENS

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

It wouldn't hurt to contact your local ag department and ask some questions. They have the answers you are looking for. When I looked into it here... I found it is ok to sell as long as you have less than 100 chickens and they don't cross county lines. That was for meat as well as eggs.

I think you can clarify "raised" not certified organic.

Also those in the know, free range is a nice word but PASTURE raised is what I like to see.

 

[k8marie213]

Thanks! Guess I need to think about a label - think it's ok to put "pasture" raised if it's just a large backyard? Also, is it ok to reuse cartons?

 

[k8marie213]

Thanks! Not looking to label organic - I know that's opening a can of worms

 

[I Love Layers]

Thanks!  Guess I need to think about a label - think it's ok to put "pasture" raised if it's just a large backyard?  Also, is it ok to reuse cartons?

I reuse cartons all the time. Just make sure they aren't damaged, and that they look new.
About the pasture raised, this is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Pasture raised or free range to me means allowed to go anywhere, like my chickens, they can roam wherever they want, even across the road.
Yours would be called fenced range, to me, because they can run around but still surrounded by a fence.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The reason I say pasture raised is because it is a valid, regulated by FDA term or USDA (not sure which). I do think it's ok to put pasture raised even if it's your yard as long as they are not confined (my yard is 1 acre, it is a yard to me but a pasture to them). In the industry, they can call them free range even though they are crammed by the thousands into a large building and may never see the light of day! They call them cage free also.

I also think it's ok to reuse cartons as long as they are clean.

Organic is.... an interesting subject. My argument is... even dog poo, crude oil, and arsenic are organic. Not ALL organic stuff is "good" for you or the environment. I don't actually use chemicals. I do vermi-composting and use the worm castings/tea (it's actually a bin not a can)

. But who knows what the people who lived here before me did? I found dumped oil on the property when we first bought around 1.5 years ago. Seem like in Ca for a crop to be certified organic you had to know what was used there for the previous 10 years. Different certifications have different requirement and a lot of people just read the word organic and think they are what they expect it to be but may not. Plus I wonder if people on city water with chlorine and who knows what else ( lead comes to mind) count as organic?

Try to find out if there are regulations you need to follow, for instance... do they need to be washed before sell? Most of them do, I always requested my eggs unwashed because they last longer

I don't care, my chickens are living the good life for real and I am not supporting the appalling chicken industry. And we LOVE the entertainment value

I do by some organic stuff and am not a hater, I just think SOME of it is hype.

Have fun selling your eggs and such. I am looking forward to selling some of mine, since chicken math got a hold of me and I don't even like eggs! Started with 3, said I might add 3 more when the laying slows down. That was in February. Now I have at least 13 pullets, 5 straight run, 14 bantams coming in 2 week and 20 coming from a breeder in August. I don't need to make $, but I do need to feed them. I was always told do what you love and money will follow. I might actually sell pure bread chicks to in the future. I am having so much fun!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

There are very specific federal regulations on labeling eggs, and terminology used. Many states disallow reuse of cartons for eggs that are sold. You need to contact your county extention or state dept. of agriculture for local requirements.