How much do you sell eggs for?

How much do you sell your farm fresh eggs?


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SheepGirl

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I just bought my 16 week old pullets Southern States layer feed... cost $13.50 for 50 lbs. The last bag of feed I bought was 25 lbs of chick starter and it lasted them 24 days. I'm not sure how much feed they will consume as layers. But from five days to ~16 weeks (109 days), the five pullets ate 75 lbs of feed, which is 15 lbs per bird, or 2.202 oz per bird per day. It costs about 4 cents per day per bird from hatch to 16 weeks. Altogether it's about $4.05 per bird to feed to 16 weeks. Assuming that these birds will produce 27 dozen eggs each in their lifetime (two productive years), the cost to raise the birds spread out over the eggs the five of them produce adds $0.15/dozen. You also had to buy the birds. I paid $3.50 for each pullet at the feed store, so $0.13/dozen. Assuming the five hens will consume 1.75 lbs of feed per day, the cost from 16 weeks to 104 weeks would be $291.06. Spread over the 27 dozen eggs per hen, that adds $2.156/dozen.

Now for lights, you need to add on the electricity. We used one 250 watt light bulb from hatch to 6 weeks. Say you have one 40 watt light bulb in your chicken house from 6 weeks to end of production (two productive years). In our area, electricity costs $0.06577 per kwh. For the brooder, 0.25 kW x $0.06577 x 24 hours = $0.39462 per day to have the heat lamp on. So from five days old (when they were purchased) to 6 weeks, would cost $14.60. For the chicken house, 0.04 kW x $0.06577 x 14 hours = $0.0368312 per day to have light out in the chicken house. Let's just say we provide 14 hours of light year round to make it easier. So the chickens from 6 weeks to 104 weeks would need light. So 98 weeks = 686 days x $0.04648 = $25.27. Adding brooder and daily electricity would be $39.87. Spread over 27 dozen per hen x 5 hens, the additional cost for each dozen would be $0.30/dozen.

Plus equipment ($100) and housing ($250), will really increase the prices of the eggs. However you can expect housing to last about 10 years or more ($25/year or $50/flock) and equipment needs to be replaced every 2-4 years ($50/flock). So $100 spread over the eggs would add $0.74/dozen.

I think I included most of the costs, so essentially for my own flock I should be charging $3.48/dozen just to break even. (I did forget to include labor costs to care for chickens, collect/clean/package eggs, and the cost of the egg cartons.) My hens are in their house all day so I can't market them as anything special, other than they lay brown eggs.

If I had more chickens, housing costs per chicken would be lower, as would feed costs because there is a discount when one buys one ton at a time (40 bags). Economies of scale will allow one to produce eggs more cheaply.

Just some things to think about when figuring out what to charge for eggs....
 
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Bossroo

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Sheepgirl ... CONGRATULATIONS !!! :thumbsup You are one of the very few that has a handle on the COSTS of production that everyone else just have their heads in the sand about. :bow USDA statistics show that the VAST MAJORITY of small farmers are loosing money in their farming ventures every year. :th Don't forget to also add in the costs of your farm ( mortgage/ rent , taxes, insurance, transportation, your and family / labor, marketing, etc. ). Also , don't forget that the so called "dual purpose" breeds of chickens means that they are mediocre at egg and meat production :he while the competition is using the specialty breeds such as the Leghorn and Cornish X which outperform the " dual purpose" birds hands down. :eek: This equates to more return on money invested and since they can take advantage of volume scale discounts of purchased feed, housing, equipment, power, labor, etc. , they can sell their product for far less and still make a profit. Then add the selling costs and profit margin of the grocers and the selling price to the ultimate consumer is still lower than what everyone else is able to sell their produce for. :caf
 

mysunwolf

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Now just try explaining that math to customers and watch their eyes go blank and fall out of their heads o_O Or every week explaining that you are losing money on all your products, but that it really helps out with the taxes :he And then they still have the nerve to complain about the prices and remind you how cheap they can get it at Walmart... :barnie
 

sdcharger

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I am still building up my laying flock so I don't have too many extra eggs yet. When I have an extra dozen I often give them to friends and family. I live outside of the metro area but I work in town. Sometimes I sell them to people at work who I know really like the fresh eggs and grew up in the country but now live in the city. This is the farmers market crowd I think you want to be selling to. I tell them $3 and they give me $4 or $5 lol.
 

Finnie

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I just bought my 16 week old pullets Southern States layer feed... cost $13.50 for 50 lbs. The last bag of feed I bought was 25 lbs of chick starter and it lasted them 24 days. I'm not sure how much feed they will consume as layers. But from five days to ~16 weeks (109 days), the five pullets ate 75 lbs of feed, which is 15 lbs per bird, or 2.202 oz per bird per day. It costs about 4 cents per day per bird from hatch to 16 weeks. Altogether it's about $4.05 per bird to feed to 16 weeks. Assuming that these birds will produce 27 dozen eggs each in their lifetime (two productive years), the cost to raise the birds spread out over the eggs the five of them produce adds $0.15/dozen. You also had to buy the birds. I paid $3.50 for each pullet at the feed store, so $0.13/dozen. Assuming the five hens will consume 1.75 lbs of feed per day, the cost from 16 weeks to 104 weeks would be $291.06. Spread over the 27 dozen eggs per hen, that adds $2.156/dozen.

Now for lights, you need to add on the electricity. We used one 250 watt light bulb from hatch to 6 weeks. Say you have one 40 watt light bulb in your chicken house from 6 weeks to end of production (two productive years). In our area, electricity costs $0.06577 per kwh. For the brooder, 0.25 kW x $0.06577 x 24 hours = $0.39462 per day to have the heat lamp on. So from five days old (when they were purchased) to 6 weeks, would cost $14.60. For the chicken house, 0.04 kW x $0.06577 x 14 hours = $0.0368312 per day to have light out in the chicken house. Let's just say we provide 14 hours of light year round to make it easier. So the chickens from 6 weeks to 104 weeks would need light. So 98 weeks = 686 days x $0.04648 = $25.27. Adding brooder and daily electricity would be $39.87. Spread over 27 dozen per hen x 5 hens, the additional cost for each dozen would be $0.30/dozen.

Plus equipment ($100) and housing ($250), will really increase the prices of the eggs. However you can expect housing to last about 10 years or more ($25/year or $50/flock) and equipment needs to be replaced every 2-4 years ($50/flock). So $100 spread over the eggs would add $0.74/dozen.

I think I included most of the costs, so essentially for my own flock I should be charging $3.48/dozen just to break even. (I did forget to include labor costs to care for chickens, collect/clean/package eggs, and the cost of the egg cartons.) My hens are in their house all day so I can't market them as anything special, other than they lay brown eggs.

If I had more chickens, housing costs per chicken would be lower, as would feed costs because there is a discount when one buys one ton at a time (40 bags). Economies of scale will allow one to produce eggs more cheaply.

Just some things to think about when figuring out what to charge for eggs....
Interesting looking at this old thread and egg prices from 7 years ago. I’ve had chickens for 6 1/2 years now. From the beginning, I have kept track of every expense (not including electricity or gas to go buy chickens and feed) and counted every (good) egg that I have collected from them. I subtract any money I get from selling birds, but I do not subtract the egg money that comes in. If I want to know how much egg “money” I’ve received, I take the total number of eggs and multiple by $3.5. The way I see it, whether I’ve sold the eggs, eaten them, hatched them, given them as gifts, or fed them back to any animals, I still received value for them, just not necessarily in cash. Also, I keep track of coops and buildings separately, because the hens will never be able to pay for what I’ve spent on those.

I started out selling eggs for $3 per dozen, plus 50 cents carton deposit, unless they exchanged an empty one. After a few years I raised it to $3.50 per dozen with carton exchange, or $4 without. I did not raise it during the pandemic just on principle, although I will probably raise my price eventually.

If I take the net amount of money I have spent on chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, feed and equipment minus sales of birds, and divide it between how many dozens of eggs my girls have produced (2,142 dozen to date!) then I figure it has cost me $6.51 to produce each dozen. It used to come in around $8/dozen, but I had a really good year for selling birds last year.

So I have always had a good grasp on the fact that for me, this is just an expensive hobby, and selling eggs really only helps reduce the expenses somewhat. The only real way to make any money is through sales of birds, but it is a lot of work (and housing) to make sure the eggs are purebred. Oh, and this is all assuming I don’t take any wages for the work. Speaking of which, I also don’t count what I pay for chicken sitters if I have to leave. I count that expense towards my husband’s vacation budget, if he’s going to insist I go places once in a while! 😂

PS: I also forgot to figure in the 37 pounds of chicken meat we’ve eaten and the endless supply of chicken broth.
 

farmerjan

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I used to run 100-150 hens on free range pasture. I bought the pullets ready to lay @8.00 each and then the price went to 10.00 each . But I was not tied up with baby chick raising and waiting 16-20 weeks to get eggs. Still, that is about what it costs to raise a pullet from baby chick to laying pullet so I just cut out that step as it allowed me to see an immediate return on my cost.
I sold for 2.25 wholesale to the food co-op and then 3.00-4.00 here at the farm. I made a little, but it did allow me to absorb the costs of my purebred show birds in the feed costs. I just like the chickens, and they were performing a service out on the pasture with running loose and fertilizing and scratching up the cow patties. This was in 2010. I did it for several years until I started having trouble with an eagle that decided that it was just too easy to pick up a chicken every day.... I lost 122 over the course of a year and other than keep them confined... which negated their free range status and benefits... there was little else I could do except vary their times to be let out and such. Replaced about 25 2 different times that year but the predation was too much and the neighbors all were so in awe of the eagles and ooohed and aaahed over them... plus the fact that many are chipped so no way was I going to risk the eagle "disappearing"..... so at the end of the fall, I gave it up. I listened to these high faluting neighbors in their 350,000 + dollar homes on 2-5 acres in their exclusive subdivision with all sorts of restrictions, complain about the price of the eggs.... and I just said, screw you. Now I don't have to worry about them, and I eat good from my own purebred birds. I raise a bunch of cornish x for meat and occasionally kill a few extra roosters if needed... eat from a neighbors garden since I moved and am planning to have both knees replaced this fall... then next year hope to be back to doing for myself better and more... I would like to sell some produce in season if all goes as planned with the garden... we will see how the knees do. I might sell a few eggs again, but will not go back to the size that I had because it is too much work for the return. Have thought about raising some pullets up to sell as ready to lay as they have gotten pretty expensive here now... Maybe next year, i will think about it. Need to have them ready to lay in the spring so would have to raise them up through the winter when costs would be higher... but I could raise different breeds to be offered for sale...Considering my options.
 

Mini Horses

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I have only a few customers and they are ones who like the taste over store bought. A fresh, free range egg is a more intense egg taste. It's hard to get customers when commercial is sold for a $1 per doz and ours are more. However -- in store the free range are $3-4 per doz and we know they're not as fresh. Plus commercial free range only means they have access to an area outside the house. They sure aren't "free ranging" like ours!! I get $3 a doz. Doesn't always cover feed now with fewer to buy them but, I like my chickens and their bug eating, manure scratching, fertilizing features. 😁 Unless I'm baking, I rarely use 2 dz a yr for myself. Need to eat more of them...theyre a healthy protein.
 

Bruce

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I sell to people down where I used to live and still go down once a week. $4/doz delivered to their homes.
 
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