Forgive the longwindness of this monologue. I am sick with the flu, can't sleep, and bored out of my gourd.... Let me begin by telling your right up front...no I wasn't thinking when I got a batch of chicks last year to keep my single lonely bantam hen company. And I blame no one but myself (and my fellow enablers here at BYC ) for becoming so intrigued with my chickens, that I added another dozen in the spring. So now I have a motley crew of 18 happy hens, most of which know their own names, crowd at my feet, or on my feet, to be petted and fussed over, and are one of the best reasons to get up early every day. I admit, I just didn't expect them to lay as often and continuosly as they have been. Even when everyone was complaining that their hens had stopped laying for the winter, my girls haven't slowed down for a minute , so I'm getting an average baker's dozen eggs a day. Even after giving a couple dozen away to neighbors each week and with what we eat, I've got at least four to five dozen left over every week. So here's the thing, I've got a local 'organic' market that wants to sell my extra eggs, but my husband is balking at the liability risks. Selling them at $2 through her market would be perfect to cover some feed costs. She knows they aren't 'free-range' in the winter, they live in a huge fenced yard. (They will be 'tractoring' in the field during the better weather months). She also knows they are not fed organic feed, but that there are no pesticides or hormones used. Also that they eat fresh greens and fruits in supplement to their feed mix (a mixture I developed after significant research- omega3 diet to lower cholesterol level in eggs). She is happy to have me label the cartons with "your farm name, when they were collected, and I guess that's it." Of course, I don't have a farm name, these are just my happy, productive backyard girls. Is there a license required to sell eggs? She didn't think so. I've done searches in our past threads on this subject, and I have to agree on the 'litigious-readyness' of our current society. And living in an area only an hour from DC that is saturated with lawyers seems to me like I'm about to take a dip in a pool filled with sleeping pihrannas. Someone mentioned getting agricultural product insurance, but I've got a feeling that selling thirty-some dollars worth of eggs a month won't cover such a policy. As it is, it would bearly cover their upkeep! So, short story long, so I sell or do I not sell? Am I over-worrying? Or is it just not worth the risk? I'm leaning toward the latter right now. If I don't sell them at her market, I have toyed with the idea of hanging a "fresh eggs" sign out front, but I'm not sure the homeowner's association ....or my huband... will go for that either. What to do.... and don't suggest: 'make scrambled eggs'! sign me, "didn't think ahead"
Well I think doing the market thing is probably safer than hanging the sign in front of the house. I mean you could argue you sold the eggs to her and what she did with them after that was her own business. Assuming you were ever questioned about it. I believe every state is different regarding the sale of produce. I pass several signs saying fresh eggs on my way to and from work everyday...but I don't sell mine. I give them away. It would be nice to sell them to re-coop the cost of feed but like you I "think" about it. I worry some sue happy person will have a complaint and where will I be then. Mostly I give to friends or neighbors....my only requirement is you don't return my carton , you don't get anymore eggs. Some I feed back to the hens and we eat a lot more eggs than we use to. Julie P.S. hope you feel better soon !!
Every state is probably different on the laws of selling eggs. In Washington you can sell them out of your home if private parties come to your home and pick them up. If you deliver or sell them to be resold you have to have an egg handlers license and all the bunk that goes along with it. I would check with your local Dept of Ag on it. Another thing, if you are going to sell for only $2.00 per dozen I would not go to the expense of labeling or buying brand new cartons, it can get expensive. If she wants a collect date on them use a marker. If you were to sit down and figure it out, I bet you would find that you would be losing you b_tt at $2.00.
jab91864, thanks! I agree, seems like it would be more of a hassle than its worth. I'm thinking I may leave well enough alone. ...sigh... too funny, chelly (wildsky)! pips&peeps, no, wouldn't dream of spending that kind of money! I forgot to mention that a retired farmer gave me hundreds of empty egg cartons. My thought was to simply print labels on the computer and slap them on. Not really so much about making money from the eggs as much as it is about not wasting the eggs.... Well, maybe I'll make a couple of pound cakes....
Someone on here mentioned donating extras to the local food pantry. I haven't looked into it yet. Seems like what I don't put in the bator get eaten around here.
Mudhen, First let me say I loved reading your post and it made me smile. I hope I'm one of those enablers. We have extras too. Right now I think we have 6 dozen in the fridge. We give them away. My wife works at a hospital and brings several dozen a week to work with her. The people she works with are a diverse group of women, some very ethnic, some health nuts, etc... The result for us has been baked goods, salsa, and probably the best, appreciation. Can I make an extra $10 a week, sure. I just don't care. These are my babies. We give them love and they give us eggs. Don
Shoot, Id sell them if I were you. My local organic produce market cant wait for me to have some hens so I can sell him eggs...he can't keep enough of them, they sell like crazy. He asked me the other day if I had hens yet; he needed 10 dozen eggs. If it buys feed for the chickens, its good enough for me. People sell eggs all the time at the local flea markets, too. They always sell out.
I plan to let my daughter sell them at our beach club in the summertime and she also sells them to her teacher in the winter. $2.50/dozen. Our food coop would take them also if we had more. I guess people could sue you for something (I don't know what). I know our eggs don't have samonella, the kids have eaten them raw in brownie batter. We don't get a lot from the eggs but even the thought of a pet giving something, anything back (excepting of course all the love and furballs that we always get) is great.
I would sell them. If you don't want to sell them, contact a local food kitchen. You can probably work out something with them where you give them free eggs, they give you a reciept for a tax write off and you get some money off your taxes and you have done a great thing in helping those in need. Either way, it is better than letting eggs go to waste.