What Would You Charge?

[kpsullivan]

My hens just started laying and we are now getting 4 per day. Eventually I would like to build a clientele and sell my eggs. I just don't know what to charge for the eggs! Large brown eggs go for $3.18 per dozen at the store. I think farm fresh eggs are better than storebought and $3.50 to $4 per dozen isn't unreasonable. My husband disagrees. He thinks people are looking to pay less for eggs than the store. What do you think?

 

[leadwolf1]

I do think people are willing to pay more for farm fresh eggs. I have been paying 3 to 3.50 for my farm eggs, my girls are too young to start laying yet, but yesterday, I found them for $2! I think $4 a doz is a bit high and probably wouldn't pay that much for eggs. I guess it depends on your local pricing. Here, I can get 18 count of Egglands best for 3.98. That's the most expensive eggs that my store carries. Good luck in your egg selling quest

I'm hoping to join you in a couple months!

 

[ThomsonCentennialFarm]

It really does depend on where you're at. Local farm eggs at the grocery store or farmer's market are $4 a dozen. We pay $1.50 a dozen from a lady at my husband's work (because ours haven't started laying yet) which I think is super cheap. I plan on charging $2 a dozen.

 

[southerndesert]

Here in AZ we get 2.50 a dozen with trad in carton or 2.75 without....

 

[SamuelMcF]

It depends on where you are! around where I live its real rural southern oregon. and if people want fresh eggs they get their own chickens. So I sell mine for 2.50. But up in Portland I went to the farmers market and they were selling farm fresh eggs for 6.00! So it all depends on what kind of market you have

 

[sonew123]

I sell them for 4$ a doz in my MIL's store and 3$ to true blue clients...

 

[Illia]

I'd say compare with your local prices. Also consider your hens' diet. I would not pay any more for local fresh eggs than storebought if the hens ate nothing but hen feed, because there's little difference there (sorry) however if the hens were pasture raised, free ranged, fed a local diet, etc - I think it is perfectly fair to price them at $3.50 and some people do indeed pay $4. When I sold eggs out here, I sold them at $3, which was an average price. I free range my girls on a huge wild pasture and feed them my own produce, but I want people to be able to afford good food. It doesn't cost me more to do so, in fact it costs me less, so why overcharge for better food?

 

[SamuelMcF]

Quote:
Agreed!

 

[Gerry2011]

Don't know what's going on with the price of eggs around here, but in the past couple of years the local farm egg prices have plummeted. They were going around $4+ a dozen and now they're running mostly $1.00- $1.50 and the people are bring them to town! I know the price of feed and supplies haven't gone down, so guess it's the economy, stupid, huh?

 

[alicefelldown]

Your eggs should cost more than store eggs - hands down no question.

Tell your husband that there is a BIG difference between factory eggs (and yes "cage free/free range" eggs from the store are still factory eggs - legally the term doesn't mean what it sounds like, per the FDA) and your backyard eggs.

* Your birds get to go outside, and eat grass/bugs. Factory eggs do not.
* As a result of going outside, your birds get more vitamin D than factory eggs. They will also have higher beneficial Omega levels (3&6) from a natural free range diet (bonus if you add flaxseed, but they will get more than enough from green grasses/plants and bugs).
* Your birds are likely to be fed more calcium (from nature and your lay pellets, and if you supplement with oyster shell). Your eggs will have thicker shells, which helps to keep them fresher.
* You don't wash your eggs in chlorine, as the factory does to remove the poo. Your 'bloom' (egg cuticle that protects the contents by blocking bacteria from entering the shell's pores) is likely intact, and you can safely eat 2-3 month old eggs.
* Your birds will be getting more carotenoids (from nature and their feed), which is what gives them that bright orange yolk.
* Your eggs are FRESH! Crack one of yours in a pan, and crack a store egg next to it. Which egg white ran all over and is a big mess? The factory one will, every time. This is how you can tell the egg is older. As it ages, the white evaporates and becomes thin.

It all depends on your market - if you have other backyard sellers on craigslist and farmers markets, try to price in the same range as them. Don't undercut them too much (it's rude, and benefits no one). Find the most expensive eggs at the grocery (omega "free range") and base your price around them.

Make signs to hang up at the feed store / your work / community bulletin boards / et cetera extolling the virtues of true pastured eggs - and watch the customers start lining up! PM me if you want copies of the adverts we use - we get 5$ a doz for multicolored free range eggs.

Good luck!