Too MANY eggs?

[chickenpredatorkiller]

This may sound weird to some people but I have an unusual problem. I have 11 hens, and they produce on average 9 eggs a day. My plan was/is to sell the eggs to help pay for feed.... the problem is I can't find enough customers and my mother doesn't wan't random people coming to our house. As a result, I have over 21 dozen eggs in my fridge... The hens were laying only 2 or 3 eggs a day at most since the daylight was becoming less and less every day, so I put a light in the coop. That worked.... a little too well. Now I turned it off but they aren't slowing down! They just keep on producin them eggs. Any suggestions for making them lay less or for uses for eggs?

 

[bellschick]

I sell my eggs by word of mouth and I have 49 hens and I cant keep up with customers . If u drive put out an add saying u will deliver within so many miles of ur house. Sell them at church. Sell them to ur friends... their mothers.. aunts..uncles.

 

[StruckBy]

I used to just bring eggs into work & leave them in the breakroom. Honor system with people bringing their own cartons & leaving a dollar for the eggs. (chicken eggs were $1 but everyone gave me $2-3; duck eggs were $3 but everyone gave me $5) People usually paid far more than I asked. You might be better seeing if there is someone who wants to barter you for them...I trade duck eggs for wild mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, basil, etc. I even had a farrier for awhile who gave me a discount on my horses in exchange for the duck eggs. If you use facebook, you can post when you have eggs...you may be surprised which of your more casual friends are interested. Or, depending on how picky law enforcement is in your community, drive down to a popular corner once a week & put a sign up & sell them out of your car. With that few eggs it shouldn't take long.

I'll be honest though...with that few eggs it's going to be tough for you do build a real customer list because your supply is going to be too erratic. It's much easier to do it casually. A lot of people around here build boxes at the end of their driveways with flip signs they put up when there are eggs. They leave the eggs in the box & a jar for people to pay in. Strictly honor system. Everyone I know says on average they end up with more money than they should have at the end of the day because people overpay rather than underpaying.

If you are serious about building good customers, I would get rid of (cook them up & feed them back to your hens) the eggs you have now. 21 dozen would be 28 days old...that is NOT farm fresh! People are not going to buy eggs from you a second time if you give them eggs that are even staler than the grocery stores'. If you've been selling eggs more than a week or two old, that's probably why you have no customers while most people can't begin to keep up with demand. Folks who spend the time & energy to buy farm fresh eggs can tell the difference in freshness and won't go back to you.

Good luck!

edited for a major typo! oops!

 

[DCchicken]

You might also look into Farmer's markets in the Spring or finding a local community/art center. I will give them to the community center and tell them that they can sell them for whatever they want and split the profits. Most community centers are non-profit and would enjoy working with a local egg farmer or hobbyist.

 

[donrae]

For selling eggs I've always found word of mouth works best, then it's not "random" people. Work, school, church are great places to sell eggs. I usually give the first dozen away, then charge after that. Nice little marketing technique I learned from the friendly neighborhood crack dealer

gifting eggs is also good. I've given away so many eggs this last year, I couldn't even begin to count. I gift to individuals, but you might try the local food bank.

There are several threads in the recipe section for using eggs.

If you just flat have too many, sell some hens.

 

[SilkiesForEver]

For selling eggs I've always found word of mouth works best, then it's not "random" people. Work, school, church are great places to sell eggs. I usually give the first dozen away, then charge after that. Nice little marketing technique I learned from the friendly neighborhood crack dealer

gifting eggs is also good. I've given away so many eggs this last year, I couldn't even begin to count. I gift to individuals, but you might try the local food bank.

There are several threads in the recipe section for using eggs.

If you just flat have too many, sell some hens.

Good post.

We're adding about 13 hens to our layer flock right now because we just can't keep up with the demands! Especially around the holidays, when people are baking.

We've never sold to 'random' people. Word of mouth is excellent, and our friends buy as many as we can give them.

 

[member 142084]

Sometimes I have too much, then other days I don't have enough. Let the people you know try a few eggs as a test they will come back for more.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Look further, people always want fresh home eggs.

You could also make scrabbled eggs and feed them back to your girl, although that will help them continue laying.lol.

 

[Sjisty]

I would look into a feed bank or a local church. There are a lot of hungry people out there who would love to have some of those 21 dozen eggs. Then start over and sell only fresh eggs.

 

[member 142084]