# selling chicken eggs



## D1 (Jan 10, 2013)

Long story short.........I have been approached by a convience store wa nting to purchase fresh free range chicken eggs.......at first they mentioned 5 dozen a week to start now wanting half dozen/6 count size as well about 4 of them per week to see how they sell......I sell eggs for $2.00 a dozen just to people I work with and they provide the carton...... I understand thet they are in business to make a profit, as well I am too.......those who sell comerically,how much, approximately, does it cost to package 1 dozen eggs and get them in the store WITHOUT your profit?



just trying to figure out how much I should charge per dozen





also what, if any, regulations by the states(MS hopefully) should I be aware of(licenses/permits are involved) and any other cost I may not be thinking of?



thanks


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## pridegoethb4thefall (Jan 10, 2013)

Don't know what state you  are in, but in Ca, you now have to have a 'egg handlers' license to sell eggs commercially, even to a local feed store that is going to re-sell them.

That said.. Normal retail procedure is to mark up any item by at least 50% from what they paid for it, so if they sell eggs for 4 dollars a dz, you should be getting about 2 per dz from the store. Consider your cost to produce the eggs, cost for cartons, maybe the store will provide those since I imagine they want some kind of label with their name on it? 

Also, cost depends on your marketing hook- are you selling as organic, free range, farm fresh, or just regular eggs? Is size a claim you want to make?

Free Range, organic, farm fresh, jumbo eggs should retail around 5 to 6 dollars a dozen, especially in a small shop, IF they can legally claim all those items, so you should get about 2.50 to 3.50 a dz.

If your eggs are from hens fed store bought feed, kept in a tractor and are usually medium in size, the retailer might sell for 2.50 to 4.50, you should get about half of the retail price.

Just ask the guy how much they are going to sell them for retail, then charge them about half that, with maybe a discount for bigger orders. Also ask to have your email info on the label so people can order from you directly. 

And CONGRATS on getting your eggs to retail!! Thats not so easy these days!


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## Royd Wood (Jan 10, 2013)

We sell our free range eggs for $6.50 per dozen and sold out every day. Do the maths to purchase chickens, feed, bedding materials, preditor kill replacement, processor costs, new replacements, feeders and wateres (not cheap) then your time and effort. Why should someone be able to rape and pillage you for 2/3 bucks per doz when they are the best eggs in the world and the big stores are charging at least $6 for free range eggies which might be free range (if you know what I mean wink wink)
I really wish everyone would stop selling them for $2


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## pridegoethb4thefall (Jan 11, 2013)

Royd Wood said:
			
		

> We sell our free range eggs for $6.50 per dozen and sold out every day. Do the maths to purchase chickens, feed, bedding materials, preditor kill replacement, processor costs, new replacements, feeders and wateres (not cheap) then your time and effort. Why should someone be able to rape and pillage you for 2/3 bucks per doz when they are the best eggs in the world and the big stores are charging at least $6 for free range eggies which might be free range (if you know what I mean wink wink)
> I really wish everyone would stop selling them for $2


I think a lot of people sell them for around 2 because-

A. They are selling to friends and family and don't want to feel like they are 'over-charging' friends and family. F&F can get eggs from store around that price, they (F&F) don't usually know or understand the cost and effort involved. A simple case of being mentally divorced from where our food comes from kind of thing (IMO), therefore, they don't see a reason to pay more. 

B. The market is flooded with people selling their eggs already. A quick check on Craigslist will show what  people are selling eggs for on a private party level in any given area.

I personally think people with more than, say, 25 egg laying,TRULY free ranging hens, is over charging for eggs at $6.00 per dozen. But thats just me. Its not been my experience that keeping a backyard flock of egg layers is all that costly. I think its the initial investment that can be pricey, but not too pricey.
I mean, how often do you have to buy feeders and waterers? Even plastic ones will last years if cared for properly. Clean habits lead to healthy poultry and reduced costs of production. Hens are often self-replicating, so you don't HAVE to always buy new stock, and laying age hens can be found and bought fairly inexpensively if you don't want to raise chicks. Feed costs are easily reduced with true free ranging, table scraps and occasional use of coupons and sales and feed mills for bulk purchases. Egg cartons can even be re-used, cutting costs again. (Ive found them free on CL as well)
Deep litter methods in coops, frequent moving of tractors or just true free ranging, reduces bedding costs.

I find having less than 25 hens is not cost efficient when selling eggs though. Seems like I can never have enough eggs to meet my own use, fill orders and have those orders pay me for my time, efforts, gas if I deliver, or even supplement my feed costs. It can be a delicate balance. 


Royd Wood- Im curious about your selling market.  Are you selling from home, farmers market, retail, word of mouth, F&F? What area? Is there little competition, or is that the price the market is bearing where you live? I would LOVE to be able to sell my flocks eggs for that price, but everyone out here that isn't at a farmers market sells for 3.00 a dozen (feed store only pays 2.50, then re-sells for 3.50 a dozen) Maybe you can give us some pointers on up-selling a bit?


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 11, 2013)

Royd Wood said:
			
		

> We sell our free range eggs for $6.50 per dozen and sold out every day. Do the maths to purchase chickens, feed, bedding materials, preditor kill replacement, processor costs, new replacements, feeders and wateres (not cheap) then your time and effort. Why should someone be able to rape and pillage you for 2/3 bucks per doz when they are the best eggs in the world and the big stores are charging at least $6 for free range eggies which might be free range (if you know what I mean wink wink)
> I really wish everyone would stop selling them for $2


I agree 100%

I see eggs in the store for 2.50-2.75 a doz and for the "free-range" and "cage-free" it's 5.00 or up. Those are might be called that but really, they aren't or at least are not even close to an egg from mine or your chickens. I hate to see people selling these great eggs for these low prices too because it hurts everyone in the end. Selling eggs can be a great way to at _least_ offset the price of chickens and the feed. A see real farm eggs down to as low as 1.50 which is CRAZY!!

Also, sure, if selling to friends then why not sell at a lower price. We actually give away alot of eggs to friends and family and that's great, but selling them to others....no....the price goes up for sure.

btw PGB4TF
We have 200 or so chickens here so not just a little 25 laying birds. lol


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## Royd Wood (Jan 11, 2013)

pridegoethb4thefall said:
			
		

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A / Thats fine to buddies and brothers as long as they understand the eggs are hevily subsidised

B / Selling eggs on craiglist can also allow someone to buy lots of eggs from you and then they resell around 5 to 6 bucks a dozen Trust me this happens around here on kijiji 

C / We are full time farmers (yes thats no day job in the city) so please fogive me for trying to make a living and charging a realistic price for a extreamly good healthy product 

We have a farm store with a full range of meats, eggs, jams, bread and baking. All our products are grown / made / laid right here in a old fasioned way. Location is important so yes living within 5 minutes of a prosperous town with a population of 30,000 really does help


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## pridegoethb4thefall (Jan 11, 2013)

Royd Wood said:
			
		

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Sorry if I offended you- sure didn't mean too! I have nothing but the utmost respect for good farmers, and I would never begrudge them the right to make a decent profit.  I do understand the  *reasons* for charging 6 per doz for eggs for most bigger farms that are doing things exactly as they claim, it just hasn't been my experience that its so expensive to raise chickens, plus Im not into that big scale farming so I don't have a total cost picture. 
And yes, farm eggs are better- No argument there. But I think the general (uninformed) public is totally unaware of that fact, thus they are not so willing to pay such amounts for eggs they can buy in the store for 1/3 of that 6.00 price. It takes time and a real effort by many people to make a change in public opinion. And there will ALWAYS be someone who will under-cut you price wise , and ruin the pricing for others. So I think we smaller guys sometimes underprice just to get the eggs sold and to compete with stores that are everywhere. There are still a lot of folks out there that think farm eggs are dirty somehow, unsafe... Sometimes price can be a way to change someones mind (especially when money is tight)

I didn't even account for people buying cheap and then re-selling... Would these be people who sell at Farmers Markets? No one on our CraigsList sells for more than 3.00 per dozen, and 4.00 per half dozen of duck eggs. No one that Ive ever found. Cant say Im happy to even think people would do that. Seems kinda wrong somehow? Maybe thats just part of being in a 'free market'?


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Jan 11, 2013)

I work in an area where people are joining CSA's and paying $5 an $6/ dozen for eggs.  No wonder they are all jumping to purchase my eggs at $3 / dozen.

For me, laying pellets is $15 for a 50 lb bag.  This time of year, the girls are not producing as much as they do in the summer, so I have considered raising the price.  I have friends that sell their eggs for $6.50 per dozen and have no problem selling them. 

I say, what the market will bear.  Isn't that economics.


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## FahrendorfFarms (Jan 11, 2013)

I sell for 2.00 a dozen, and dont make a profit but the chickens pay for there own feed and there electricity, not to say if i went up over 30 hen i wouldnt make a profit, but we dont free range for longer than 2 hours due to predators. I have trouble selling eggs sometimes, then others i dont have enough.


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## pridegoethb4thefall (Jan 11, 2013)

ThreeBoysChicks said:
			
		

> I work in an area where people are joining CSA's and paying $5 an $6/ dozen for eggs.  No wonder they are all jumping to purchase my eggs at $3 / dozen.
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> For me, laying pellets is $15 for a 50 lb bag.  This time of year, the girls are not producing as much as they do in the summer, so I have considered raising the price.  I have friends that sell their eggs for $6.50 per dozen and have no problem selling them.
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> I say, what the market will bear.  Isn't that economics.


What is a CSA? 

I agree- those sold by small, private backyard hobbyists sell at the price market will bear. Where I live, if you aren't selling at an established Farmers Market, you are getting 3.00 per dozen. Thats our local economics... not everyone else's, just ours.

Its even more of a hassle now that Calif has required ANYONE selling eggs must have an Egg Handlers Permit, and MUST have label on their cartons, and Must classify their eggs by size/weight, and you can get in trouble if you sell eggs under the wrong weight/class label. Most PP's don't get the permit though, they risk the fine.

I think I almost want to get my permit and TRY to sell our eggs at the 6.00 price point and see what happens. Don't have enough to supply a distributor even at Farmers Market level, but purely private party CL. I for one wouldn't mind getting a few more bucks per dozen (even though I still think for my size operation, I would be slightly over charging. But Im no farmer, just a hobbyist doing it for my own eggs and the love of poultry. $Bottom line is not as important as it could, and maybe should, be) Be interesting to see if my market would accept it, maybe even start a trend amongst the other sellers.

At this point for me, selling chicks is far more lucrative. I raise and LOVE my pure bred, non-hatchery, Blue, Black and Splash Jersey Giants. VERY hard to come by around here (at this quality) so I get 5 to 8 per chick, and up to 60 for a laying hen. 4 H is big out here too, so chicks tend to sell well. Even with people buying hatchery stock to re-sell, private breeders are still able to keep their higher quality stock selling for better prices than the hatchery chick re-sellers.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Jan 11, 2013)

CSA - Community Supported Agriculture.  

Basically, it is becoming a really big thing in the area where a I work.  So you pay to belong to a CSA.  Depending on the CSA, you may be able to purchase Chicken for $4 / lb.  Or Beef or Pork or Goat or Lamb at the going rate.  Some sell eggs.  Others only do vegetables.  I have a co-worker that belongs to a CSA and weekly, she picks a share of the weeks garden produce.  Many different things.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 11, 2013)

Did you know that the average store egg (here in the Sates at least) is 49 days old when it gets there? Yep that true. And they do not have an expiration date on eggs so they can keep them there a long time. Also the Grade the get, that is when they send them out in most cases and alot of times they are just BARELY still Grade A when you eat them.


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## ThreeBoysChicks (Jan 11, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Did you know that the average store egg (here in the Sates at least) is 49 days old when it gets there? Yep that true. And they do not have an expiration date on eggs so they can keep them there a long time. Also the Grade the get, that is when they send them out in most cases and alot of times they are just BARELY still Grade A when you eat them.


Tell people that all the time.  People ask me how long they will last.  I say, well given that they were laid yesterday, you have a couple of months.


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 11, 2013)

ThreeBoysChicks said:
			
		

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Yep. It's funny if you tell someone they have been in the fridge for three weeks (doesn't happen much here. We sell alot of eggs and eat a TON) and they think they are old. haha Try store eggs. They are at least twice that by the time you finish them.

Oh and also, does it not KILL you when you see eggs upside down in the carton?? Fat end up people!


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## pridegoethb4thefall (Jan 11, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

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I always thought it was only fat end up if you are trying to keep them in good shape to incubate? Didn't know it affected the eggs meant for eating. What is the difference, I mean, why big end up for eating eggs?


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## bonbean01 (Jan 11, 2013)

Big end up and keep them longer if you want to boil them and peel them without losing half the egg.  The air sac is on the top...you need to let that dry for that reason.

And yup...reason you can boil and easily peel eggs from the store is because there are so OLD!!!!


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## promiseacres (Jan 11, 2013)

bonbean01 said:
			
		

> Big end up and keep them longer if you want to boil them and peel them without losing half the egg.  The air sac is on the top...you need to let that dry for that reason.
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> And yup...reason you can boil and easily peel eggs from the store is because there are so OLD!!!!


Omg I never knew all this....only after making deviled eggs this past holiday from my fresh e will beggs and about 1/2 the time they Would not peel nicely.... will put those big ends up....


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## Royd Wood (Jan 11, 2013)

Straw -     Fat end up    My kids hate it when I have a breakdown because they put the clean eggs in any old way

Pride Goeth lol offended me  not in the slightest - all I will say is PLEASE PLEASE go with a modest price increase which you deserve then the buying public will get used to it. Why sell at 2 bucks when a store charges 6 for a free range dozen - your eggs are way better and fresher


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 11, 2013)

Yep, big end up ppl! That's where the air sac is so the large end goes up. And yes, the reason you can peel the eggs are because they are so old! The fresh "real" eggs you have to do all kinds of stuff you peel them without shredding them to bits. 



> My kids hate it when I have a breakdown because they put the clean eggs in any old way


I go crazy in the grocery store when I see them in the wrong way. I always tell people that it's wrong. haha


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## pridegoethb4thefall (Jan 11, 2013)

Straw Hat Kikos said:
			
		

> Yep, big end up ppl! That's where the air sac is so the large end goes up. And yes, the reason you can peel the eggs are because they are so old! The fresh "real" eggs you have to do all kinds of stuff you peel them without shredding them to bits.
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  My kids KNOW to put them in 'pointy side down' from when I was hatching ALL the time- any egg was subject to hatching, including those in the fridge! But I DIDNT know about big end up for ease of peeling after boiling.

I have found that fresh eggs peel MUCH easier if you wait to put them in the water until AFTER its is at a rolling boil, and add a pinch of salt.  Much easier, but still not as easy as icky old store bought eggs- which my kids no longer want to eat but have had to since my hens have quit laying for the moment. (bad combo of stress from moving to a new home, and change of seasons)  Normally they lay huge eggs right on through the winter with minimal drop in production, but this year has been tough on my girls. (poor little princess's!)


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## animalfarm (Jan 11, 2013)

I sell mine for $5.50 a doz. $7.00 for duck eggs. There is an additional charge for the cartons. Kinda like bags at the store. The price will be going up if people want to keep getting eggs. I am with Royd. People need to stop giving eggs away for less the cost of producing them. I find it hard to believe that feed costs alone allow for a $2.00 doz. habit.

My customers want true free range. Free range chickens does not translate into no feed chickens. If you want them to lay well, they still must be supplemented and they do eat their fare share even with free range. Chickens don't range all that far; the ones that do are coyote/racoon/hawk food and another one bites the dust. A flock of 50 hens can take out every bug around in short order. I have mobile coops  but they still cannot be placed out in no man's land. A pile of feathers does not return to the coop at night and lay an egg the next day.

Chickens are not miraculously self replicating in a manner that keeps the eggs coming. When they go broody, they don't lay eggs for months. No eggs to sell. They still eat. They don't free range. 

One can hatch replacements but that requires paying the electric bill for the incubator and the brooder box and then those chicks eat for 6 months. No eggs to sell from them either so those costs must be included in producing the eggs that are for sale while this is all going on. It is a fallacy that hatching chicks is free. 

If I were to buy ready to lay hens at say, $10.00/hen, 100 hens would cost $1000.00 and I would need to sell 5 doz.@$2.00 doz. eggs for each hen before she covered her purchase price and meanwhile she is still eating without yet turning a profit. Thats a total of 60 eggs or 2 months production if the hen in question dutifully lays one egg per day. Multiply that by 100 hens. I use 100 hens as that is the max. #we are allowed to keep for egg production here. So, not much of a living to be made even at $6.50 dozen and a maximum of allowed layers.

To sell a spent hen as a soup chicken, I must pay for government approved processing. $6.00 per chicken; meaty or spent layer hen. That price goes up every year as the processor wants to keep his living wage intact too. So, very difficult to use that as an avenue for recouping expenses as no one wants to pay that much for a soup hen and I sure as heck ain't giving her away. I would like to stay out of the poor house for a few more years.

If one is seriously selling eggs to make a living, the hens must be replaced more often to keep the egg production up to scratch or, if keeping hens longer, or without winter lighting to satisfy the customers desire for humanely kept hens, the price of eggs must reflect that as well. At $2.00 a doz. I would be down sizing drastically and only producing the amount of eggs that I personally needed. Small farmers, and I do emphasize small, simply cannot make poverty wage working 24/7 with that kind of pricing. 

I have 50 hens counting point of lay replacements that I hatched myself so I know I am going broke faster then I care too. 


By the way, when preparing to boil freshly laid eggs, put the eggs into boiling water; not cold, and cool them down under running water when finished. Most of them will peel cleanly without a fuss.


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## D1 (Jan 11, 2013)

anything over $2/ dozen here and you cant sell as the market here is not stong enough and so many people selling them.

not thinking selling them to the store is gonna happen after getting the requirement for selling in the retail market and even at the farmers market.


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## Royd Wood (Jan 11, 2013)

D1 said:
			
		

> anything over $2/ dozen here and you cant sell as the market here is not stong enough and so many people selling them.
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> not thinking selling them to the store is gonna happen after getting the requirement for selling in the retail market and even at the farmers market.


Well dont do them then at 2 bucks 
lol - I can remember the local feed store guy telling me that everyone was talking and laughing about our place because they heard we were charging back then $4.00 a doz even our neighbour said its too much which my reply was "I'll pickle any spares"  I'm not trying to be a smartarse here but just really work out your costs and why do everyone a favour by giving your chucky eggs away for a measly 2 or 3 bucks
Its like one member posted on here how rediculously cheap hay was at 3 bucks a bale and you know what They were right


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## animalfarm (Jan 12, 2013)

Yep, the famous I can buy them at Wallmart for a $1.50 or the Amish for $2.00. What are you doing in my driveway then? I have some pigs willing to eat expensive eggs. You have some driving to do. I also have a great pickled egg recipe.


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## Royd Wood (Jan 12, 2013)

animalfarm said:
			
		

> What are you doing in my driveway then?


   

True story
Wife sends husband on a simple mission to buy eggs from us for baking, 
Husband asks Royd "How much are these eggs thinking the $6 price tag was wrong
Royd replies $6
I can get them from Food basics for $1.99
Yes you can Royd responded but they just aint the same
Man leaves empty handed for Food basics
Man returnes 1 hour later and buys 2 dozen eggs and complains his marrige was nearly over when he tried to discuss the price of our eggs


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## Straw Hat Kikos (Jan 12, 2013)

Royd Wood said:
			
		

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## Pearce Pastures (Jan 12, 2013)




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