Eggs not selling

plowjockey · #1 06/09/12, 02:27 PM

Everybody begged for large brown eggs and purchased all we could spare, when we did not have many, now with new hens and lots of eggs, people are not interested anymore.

We did raise prices to $2.50 (fron $2) some time ago, which people seemed ok with, since they like the eggs and understood production costs going up - big time.

I even recently offered a $1.50 special on Craigslist, getting one response, who never did purchase. Things are mostly a tad better around here, so I don't even think it's the economy.

We donated over 50 dozen to the food bank.

Anybody else see a downturn?

chickenista · #2 06/09/12, 02:34 PM

It comes and goes...
Of course, the demand is highest in the dead of winter, don't you know.
But for a while I will be drowning in eggs and then drowning in customers and then switch back again.

What you may need to do is put the word out in a different area or in a different way.

I deliver my eggs on Fridays.
I go to mostly businesses (though I do have one 'client' who just about takes all of my eggs) and bring the eggs to them.
I get new customers (back when I was looking for new ones) by paying for something and saying something about it being 'egg money'.
'Oh! Do you sell eggs?"
Yes. And I deliver in this area on Fridays.. etc... new customer.

The library is a good place to do it as well.

whodunit · #3 06/09/12, 03:02 PM

Maybe you could freeze or dry some?

We've heard of people in other areas selling fresh eggs for over $3 a dozen, but here people squawk like a wet hen if the price goes much over $2...quality and nutrition apparently just isn't THAT important to them, I guess.

Same with raw milk- anything over $3 a gallon and they started complaining. AND many of them semi-expected it to be delivered to church or town when we were going anyway. We used to trade off with someone else driving well over 40 miles a roundtrip to pick up really, good raw milk.

celina · #4 06/09/12, 03:10 PM

and here i am , not able to buy eggs from anyone...(i think they are afraid to get sued...they give to their friends..but won't sell to me..) so i keep searching

bigmudder77 · #5 06/09/12, 03:21 PM

To me the only way to make money on chickens in sell them as layers or sell them as peeps

I use to have a fridge full of eggs that just wouldnt sell not even for $1 a dozen and that was just 2 years ago now we just have enough laying to get eggs for us and family 10 layers 4 of which have nests now there free range so no feed cost great thing

But laying hens sell pretty good and quick for $8-10 each at 16 weeks old or i sell for $5-6 for year olds and try to sell the day olds for $1 each straight run only which at a dollar each you cant even buy roosters at a hatchery that cheap unless you get 100 of them and get there discount

Thats the only way i found it to be worth making any money with chickens in my area cause auction eggs go for. 30 cents to 1.10 a dozen and theres always hundreds of dozens at the auctions white eggs bring more cause mostly all of the eggs are brown

And with egg cartons around. 29 cents each or sometimes find a deal on craigslist or somewhere but how much are you really making when selling eggs if you gotta buy cartons

chamoisee · #6 06/09/12, 03:35 PM

I don't think you should drop your price. That only devalues your product and makes it seem inferior. Around here, farm eggs are 2.99- 4.00 a dozen. That is what I am paying for them, and they're worth it to me.

Maybe you should change your venue. Is there a farmer's market there? Health food stores? Flea markets? Also make sure the eggs are fairly clean- people do not like poop smeared eggs. Are you selling them locally or is there a larger town or city nearby where they can be marketed once a week? If you have a friend who does a farmer's market in a city, are they willing to sell your eggs there in their booth in exchange for a cut of the profit or for some of the eggs? The eggs would have to be kept in a cooler. Some of the people here put an egg carton with rocks on top of their table to show that eggs are available- when you see the carton and ask, they then give you eggs from the cooler.

oregon woodsmok · #7 06/09/12, 04:12 PM

If you can't provide eggs when the buyer wants, they find another source, so when you do have eggs, you've already lost them.

I tried selling eggs and decided it was a lot less trouble and a lot less expensive to only keep the number of birds that lay what my family can use. I save money by not having extra birds and not selling eggs.

pancho · #8 06/09/12, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

Everybody begged for large brown eggs and purchased all we could spare, when we did not have many, now with new hens and lots of eggs, people are not interested anymore.

We did raise prices to $2.50 (fron $2) some time ago, which people seemed ok with, since they like the eggs and understood production costs going up - big time.

I even recently offered a $1.50 special on Craigslist, getting one response, who never did purchase. Things are mostly a tad better around here, so I don't even think it's the economy.

We donated over 50 dozen to the food bank.

Anybody else see a downturn?

Now you can see the problems all of those people who tells us how much we can make with laying hens don't know.
Sales and prices of eggs go up and down. We still have to feed the chickens.
Usually when you have a lot of eggs so do everyone else that has chickens.

Ohiogal · #9 06/09/12, 05:48 PM

I went through a similar deal - I have anywhere from 16-20 dozen eggs in the fridge at one time. ONE regular customer at this point. The grocery is selling them for .99 a dozen on sale, and its a price thing not a nutritional thing. A couple of my customers wanted me to call them to remind them to pick up eggs....uh no. I do not provide that service. I do however, find that people go in spurts, the hot Summer months when hens lay less, seem to demand more eggs, into Autumn, through the holiday. Then nothing post-holiday and in Spring when the hens lay 2+ dozen a day. So I've decided this year to downsize to 15 hens, sell or butcher the rest, and have enough eggs to provide for my ONE customer and my own family and dogs.
I figure if the consumer is going to be so fickle, then I can do the same and its no skin off me to have less stress managing the finances/flock.

At 2.50 a dozen, which is what I sell them for, I barely break even. Selling birds is the best way to generate $ to cover grain and carton costs, IMHO. I've made good money selling turkeys and poults, but that market dried up too this year.
I think overall, whomever is going to have birds has them. As soon as the economy does another dive downwards and food prices come up again, eggs will be popular again if priced cheaply and the layers will be in demand once again because those that haven't planned for that and want to protect themselves on food prices will be hunting for adult birds.

wolffeathers · #10 06/09/12, 05:55 PM

Laying hens demand top dollar right now.

I had increased my flock hoping to sell the extra eggs and use the birds for a breeding project. I was feeding tons of feed and then drowning in eggs because nobody wanted to pay for farm fresh eggs. Sold off my extra prime laying hens for $15 and sold out in the first 45 minutes of the flock swap(bet I could have sold them for $20, but was determined to not stay long). These were just regular ol' rhode island red layers, nothing special.

Sell the your extra hens, feed less with your smaller flock and pocket the cash.

Judy in IN · #11 06/09/12, 10:37 PM

Yep, it's hard to get much over $1.75 here. I did put a note in the fridge asking for cartons. I now have a ton of cartons.

During the winter people wouldn't get out of their cars to get eggs. I sold my layers and just keep eggs for family now. It's not my responsibility to lose money and invest my time so these cheapskates can have good quality eggs. When there's a salmonella scare, they can just enjoy their cheap store bought eggs.

ranger4327 · #12 06/10/12, 09:04 PM

question: How old are store bought eggs? From the time they are laid to arrival at the store........

GBov · #13 06/11/12, 12:22 PM

Why not feed your extra eggs to a pig?

We feed EVERY scrap to our pigs and if the eggs havnt sold by three weeks, out they go to the pigs.

Our eggs sell well when we are short and dont sell so well when we are rolling in them but over all, a months egg sale pays for about three weeks worth of feed so by the time I factor in what it would cost in gas adn time and the price of good quality eggs if I had to buy our own eggs, we break even with the flock.

And now that we can keep a rooster, we can sell/hatch fertile eggs

Farm swaps, they are great! Try there if you have no one else. Even at $1.50 a dozen you should be able to get rid of your backlog.

LonghornGardens · #14 06/11/12, 12:49 PM

I also feed my extra eggs to my pigs.

ranger4327 · #15 06/11/12, 01:06 PM

shells and all ? LOL

wintrrwolf · #16 06/11/12, 03:37 PM

Having a problem here as well with selling my extra eggs. But just moved to this area too. I have always asked $2/dz for the last 3 years, I have watched the store prices on farm fresh eggs so if someone states they can get cheaper eggs at the store they better not be comparing my farm fresh eggs to those commercial white eggs.
Have taken some of my extra eggs and popped them in the incubator so I will have chicks to sell. Haven't found a nearby farmers market in this area which is frustrating so far.

GBov · #17 06/11/12, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranger4327

shells and all ? LOL

Yep, shells and all!

PD-Riverman · #18 06/11/12, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GBov

Yep, shells and all!

One of my hogs would try and catch some when I was throwing them in the pen. I started laying them inside the fence easy and that hog would pick them up one at a time easy----hold her head up then crack the egg and let it ease to the back of her throat and swallow-----Gave me a good laugh watching her!

eclipchic · #19 06/12/12, 08:03 AM

I'd look for an ethnic market, especially if they are free range or pastured....maybe find the local international market and put up an ad. I find that immigrants really miss their eggs from back home. They get so disappointed with store bought eggs that I'm selling eggs to folks that live 25 miles away because they want that taste of back home. Even the farmer's market eggs aren't the same dark yolks that my free range girls have....and they buy a LOT...2,3,4 dozen at a time.

commonsense · #20 06/12/12, 11:37 AM

I have huge demand all the time for eggs, the customers tell me they are better than other farm eggs they buy. I've had to go check under hens for fresh eggs to fill out a dozen or half-dozen for a customer. I sell them for $3.50/doz but could probably go $4.50 and still sell out.

It's important to market to the right group. You want people who are concerned about healthy food and responsible, sustainable farming practices to buy your eggs and to spread the word.