What do people expect when they buy fresh eggs?

[paxicotrader]

We are going to start selling our free range chicken eggs this summer and would like to get some feedback from others who have sold eggs to neighbors and others in the community.

Do the eggs you sell have to be totally free of dirt/poo/feathers?

Do people expect them all to be candled?

Will most people pay $2 a dozen?

 

[Blondie]

They need to be 99% clean. I charge $3 per dozen. Why would you candle them?

Are you talking about eggs for eating or hatching? I'm talking about eggs for eating.

 

[speckledhen]

Commercial operations do candle the eggs and look for meat spots and toss those. I don't have that high powered equipment so I don't candle mine that I sell. I do make sure they aren't poopy, of course.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

It depends on how you train them!!!!

I spoiled my customers, I started washing all eggs before selling them to be eaten, and now they will "wait" for me to get them into the house and washed!!!

I don't candle, even for myself.

DH won't eat an egg that hasn't been washed, even if it is not dirty.
I actually prefer to wash the eggs we incubate also. I'm the one that has to clean out the incubators between hatches, and I hate dirty eggs after they have been sitting in 100 degree temperature for 21 days!!!! They make the incubator so messy.

I don't wash eggs by request only.
This is just what I do.
We get $2.00 a dozen for eggs to eat or hatch.
I don't make a lot of money from them, but it pays for the feed.

Jean

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

I think to have clean eggs from clean chickens/pens that are treated well and fed good foods without antibiotics or medicated feeds (I like natural foods) and free range helps.

I don't candle ... All mine are fertile eggs that are picked up within hrs of being laid every day. Some don't like that idea but there isn't a thing in the world wrong with eating a fertile egg IMO.

I sell mine for $2.50/dozen but there are alot who sell them for at least $3.00/doz

 

[Hoosierbuddy]

Don't know where you are from but you might want to check your states egg laws. I sell my eggs right from the farm where the chickens are raised so under Indiana law I am not required to have a license to sell the eggs, if I were at a farm market or I sold to a retailer I would be require to have one. The eggs should be free from cracks and should be clean (Who in the general public would want poo eggs?) I clean all the eggs and pack them in cartons then chill them to below 45 degrees.
Most people wouldn't know anything about candling or why you would do it. I sell to a variety of people from local people to people from 'the city' I am now beginning to get repeat customers and for the last two weeks have sold out of eggs on the weekends. I put the laid date on the end of each of the carton and I let my customers know that they are good for 30 days. Any eggs that are stained I use myself and don't pass along to customers. I charge $2 per dozen and have never had anyone blink an eye about the price. In the local grocery store similar eggs (free range brown eggs) sell for about $4.00 a dozen. At $2 I am not looking at making a living just offsetting some of the cost of feeding the girls and funding the chicken addiction. Hope this helps

 

[ridgefire]

I use a towel and knock the big stuff off. I tend to keep the shavings in my nest boxes clean and fresh. So my eggs are not bad when collecting. However the last couple days have been raining so we have muddy butts laying eggs. Those I still just wipe off. I charge buck a dozen to friends and 2 dollars to people who stop. My neighbor gets his eggs for free. I call it pay off. Chickens are illegal where I'm at unless you have 20+ acres.

 

[Andora]

I was wondering the same things!

How do you clean your eggs? For example when it's rainy out, the hens get muddy and then the eggs always get dirty since they all insist on laying in one nest they made on the floor in the corner of the coop. Their muddy feet and legs brush up against the eggs.

I've read not to wash eggs, to wash them it water hotter than the egg, and to wipe them with a damp cloth. So many conflicting things!

I am hoping to sell my eggs for $2 a doz. if they provide the carton, or $2.50 if I provide the carton since I can buy cartons for 50 cents at Whole Foods.

The feed store sells 25 pounds of feed for $4.25, so I'm hoping to just sell 2 dozen a week to cover most of their food, since they eat a bag a week.

 

[thebritt]

The people who buy my eggs almost expect unwashed eggs - they like to wash them themselves. Guess it feels more "organic". However, if an egg is paricularly gunky looking, I soak in COLD water for a few minutes and the gunk wipes right off. Washing with soap will affect the shell's ability to keep the egg fresh - allows more air exchange through the shell.
People happily pay $4.00/doz.!!! In fact, when this season started, my regulars insisted I raise the price from last year's $3! I don't feel too bad - at our farmers' market they charge .75 PER EGG!!!!!!!
That's California for ya!
As for candling - no - I collect every day, so no worries.

 

[SproutGirl]

I sell mine to co-workers for $3 a dozen. But there is an organic egg farmer who sells them for $5 a dozen at the local farmer's market and she sells out of dozens and dozens of eggs every week. She has beautiful cartons that her children sponge paint with chicken patterns, and the eggs are packed so that the buyer gets some of every color. She puts up photos of her chickens at her booth, and people love it. I think her customers like to pay for the chickeney experience as much as the eggs. Her booth is simple, but beautiful, and very chickeney.

Edit: I clean any dirty eggs that I might sell. The local farmer's market lady always has clean eggs. However, I find that keeping the nest boxes clean usually gives us very clean eggs. Only occasionally do we get a dirty egg. Good luck to you and your business!