What price do you get for your eggs?

[AxisOfBeagles]

Those of you that sell 'farm eggs / free range eggs / etc' - what price are you getting per dozen?

Does egg size / color / breed make any difference to that price point? What about how you raise / keep the birds?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Wow. That can really be all over the place. Mostly it depends on supply and demand.
I have been getting 3 per dozen for a long time.
I see them on craigslist for 2-2.50 frequently.
I've had some people say they would pay more.
Mine free range on organic pasture, I don't include very small eggs in the carton and I have charged 4 for jumbos when I have enough.
I just started a flock on organic feed. After a while, I'll raise eggs from them to 4.50.

 

[GaryDean26]

I had this discussion with the Austin Backyard poultry Meet-up group a while back. Most of the folks in Austin were selling organic eggs for around $5-$6 a dozen. We have egg contest sponsored at a lot of the poultry shows by the local poultry club. Those that have the grand champion eggs can demand a higher price, but no one seems to paid more for colored eggs or eggs from certain breeds (although a colorful carton of eggs does help you sell more eggs than a one color carton of eggs). I live an hour from Austin out in the country and can't get that price for farm eggs. The supply to demand ratio is a lot more lopsided in a big heath conscious city. I know someone that sell farm eggs for $7.00 a dozen in San Francisco where the demand is high too. I sell for $3.00/dozen.

I have done taste testes between different breeds and prefer the Marans eggs to anything else I have tried, but I don't have the time to educate all my customers on the differences in shell composition from one breed to another of the difference in diet from a battery hen to a free range hen, etc. So I just price my eggs to sell and am never surprised when new customer come back the next week after taking a dozen eggs to buy three more dozen saying they were so good they went through them all in two days. I don't make money on the eggs. Chicken are just a hobby for me and if I can sell eggs I can afford to keep more chickens.

 

[GaryDean26]

Where I live, the farmer's market sells eggs around $5 to $6 a dozen...and to me they look mismatched and odd sized and often not very clean, but they appear to be selling eggs......

I make sure my eggs are clean and well sized...overall large to extra large. (I use a postal scale to weigh my dozen to make sure they are above the minimum for large and usually they are to the minimum for extra large). I only sell brown eggs currently, but I will be including blue/green eggs hopefully soon (if the EE's chip in come spring).

As far as marketing goes, I would bet that they vendors of "vegetarian" eggs are getting $5.00-$7.00/dozen. I live in the outskirts of northern Virginia. The prices for free range, pastured eggs at local farmers markets varies from $4.00 - $5.50/dozen. The closer you get to Washington DC the higher the prices. While I would like to sell my eggs for that amount, I do not have or want the volume to support travelling to get top dollar. So I sell to neighbors and local folks for 3.50/dozen and to a farm-to-table restaurant for $3.00/dozen. The important thing is to move the eggs such that 1) I do not face a huge number of eggs in my refrigerators and 2) the chickens essentially pay for their feed and maybe a little extra.

 

[AxisOfBeagles]

Many thanks to all who replied. As well this forum I was asking around some other folks and the responses were similar.

* Egg sellers on the west coast and in the NE seem command a higher price for 'farm eggs' than those in the south or midwest.
* Neither egg size, color, nor breed seem to make a great deal of difference in price other than the perception that "farm eggs aren't white".
* The main criteria that drives price differential seems to simply be 'farm eggs' or 'organic eggs' - with very little understanding of things like true free-ranging, non-GMO feed, avoidance of antibiotics, etc.

That latter point is the one that I find most perplexing. I would have expected there to be greater market sensitivity to food supply issues - but by and large people selling eggs seem to care a lot more than the people buying the eggs.

For our part, Mrs Beagles sells to friends and acquaintances for $5 a dozen (northern california, where that price compares favorably with similar product in the organic foods markets) - and we emphasize that our chickens are free-ranged, with all-natural non-GMO feed supplement etc. But most people seem oblivious to anything other than that these are fresh farm eggs that aren't white and have dark yolks.

 

[rosewellfarm]

Woo hoo! This is my very first post, I've been lurking for 2 years and this site has been my "go to" for help/asnwers.

Anyway, we just started with chickens in 2012, and this was our first farmers market year. I sell our pastured eggs for $4/ dozen. We are in Frankfort, KY. In the winter, we do egg shares, so folks pay up front either on our website or by check (they fill out an online form) and we get about $3 per half dozen and $4.70 for dozen. The egg shares include delivery, but Frankfort is a small town so it's not that big a deal.

I can't imagine for selling them for any less. We won't do anything but pastured, and any less money isn't worth the trouble. We have a waiting list of dozens of folks for our shares, so I'm thinking of raising the pricing. If you have the option, a share system sure is nice because it gaurantees cash up front and you aren't overwhelmed with eggs. We are one of the few places where you can get eggs in the winter, so I think that helps us.

Thanks!

 

[igrowgrass]

I plan on charging $4.00 a dozen for mine once I get up and running.

I buy eggs at Walmart and they're $2.18 a dozen.

If my antibiotic, hormone free eggs from chickens that eat an all natural diet aren't worth an extra $1.82 to the customer then they are not the customer that I want to market to. I can't be Walmart. I have to find the customer that appreciates what I am selling and understands the difference between my eggs and Walmart's eggs. These people will pay a little more for eggs that they see as superior.

You have to market your eggs though. I recommend facebook and word of mouth. See if you can leave literature in health food stores or vitamin shops that don't sell eggs. Talk to people who are into holistic stuff, like yoga instructors and see if they will let you put something in their newsletters or email blasts. Free advertising is the best kind and word spreads fast in these circles. If you play your cards right you will be sold out of eggs all the time.

 

[chickkrzi]

Same as you 2.50 doz 3.00 18 count. Duck eggs 3.50 doz. That just pays for all 14 hens and 2 roosters feed bill. The rest of the expenses is out of my pocket.

 

[aart]

Depends on your market....look at craigslist and see what they're going for nearby.

I sell for $3.50, not organic, as that's a median price around my area.

 

[tadpole98]

I sell mine for $3 a dozen. It really just depends on what people will pay for them