i noticed the price at the grocery store has gone down. but my customers have never compared my prices to that, like they don't compare the quality, so why would they compare the price.
delivering the eggs [at my convenience, as part of my normal errands] adds value to my product. since i currently am lucky to have 2 doen a week to sell, i have ceased washing them, just keep any dirty or crakced ones for myself. my customers are avid farm-egg people, and know to wash the eggs as they are ready to use them.
when i start getting new customers, i plan to hand out info on a flyer like i did in the beginning [need to FIND that]. basic egg info, my contact info, and what it is they support by purchasing my hen's eggs.
also have in mind a label to print out and put on the egg cartons...
still gonna charge 3 a dozen. if anyone complains they can eat store obught eggs, or there are plenty of folks around here who sell eggs for less...
tf
Price for eggs?
TF - how do you wash your eggs?
thanks for bumping tf. Awesome information
oh, glad you asked, I have the same question jasmerr.
i was using industry standards. MistyMeadows-Kathy would remember more... it's vey important that you use water warmer than the inside of the egg to prevent bacteria from getting in through the pores. [when the egg comes out of the hen it is shiny, always let it dry before collecting, that is the protective coating] so i be sure all my eggs have cooled to room temp, IF they seemed warm from just having been laid. then i float test in bearably hot water, the poop comes off easily [i NEVER scrub], and i set them on a clean towel to air dry, or on a raised cooling rack, depends on what is handy. then into the cartons they go. kathy also candles. i would always candle a suspicious egg, or toss it in the compost pile if i didn't have a candler... i NEVER want a customer to get a SINGLE egg less than my standards...
keep in mind i haven't done this in OVER two years. so forgive my imperfect memory, feel free to correct me anyone.
the float test is important to be sure your eggs are fresh. also important to collect more than once a day, only from the nests, and check for cracks. the washing process is a fast and easy way to check for cracks and bad eggs all at the same time.
at the time i wasn't selling enough eggs to be required to do this. but i also am not required to have my birds tested yearly for pullorum-typhoid, and i do it anyhow. i don't have to let my birds free range and risk predators and neighbors killing them, and i do it anyhow. i don't have to use natural methods to keep them healthy, and limit the amount of corn they eat, etc etc etc.
decide what it is you would want from your own eggs, express that to your customers, and make that your pledge of quality. that is what they are paying for, and then you set your price and don't come down from it.
tf
Hey tf....you're name dropping again, ha, ha....
I soak my entire wire of basket of eggs in very, very warm water in the sink for about 5 minutes. I had a soft washcloth and use Palmolive antibacterial soap. DO NOT PUT SOAP IN THE WATER AS YOUR EGGS ARE POUROUS AND WILL ABSORB IT. I have relatively warm water that I am washing and rinsing in. I lay mine on a towel on the countertop with a fan blowing on it to dry it as quick as possible. Then I do candle every one of them (mostly because that's how I've always done it and it is so quick). I can see cracks that I missed in the washing process and, yes, if you have a cracked egg it will bubble in the water.
NEVER, EVER, EVER GATHER EGGS FROM THE GROUND AND EXPECT YOU OR ANYONE ELSE TO EAT THEM. TOSS THEM IN YOUR COMPOST. DON'T TAKE A CHANCE. ONLY USE EGGS FROM THE NEST BOXES.
tf, do you think I said that loud enough, ha, ha.... have you ever had an egg that the shell didn't harden all the way and it was like jelly or putty in your hand. They are pretty need. I've been told that that happens because as the chicken is laying the egg it ejects something that when mixed with the egg makes it turn hard. I liken it to liquid chocolate hardening up on the ice cream :)
And we think so much alike. I will never sell anything to a customer that I wouldn't eat myself.
I don't gather eggs from the ground, but am wondering why. I assume its because of the possibility of bacteria; is that why?
What temp do you think the water should be when washing eggs? I'm afraid I may have it too warm and start cooking the eggs!
Also, if you're only gathering fresh eggs what are you looking for when candling?
Thanks for all the help,
Jody
Hey Jody,
Yes, definitely bacteria and as said, eggs are pourous. But also, you can't always be sure how long the egg has been there. Even the best of scouts could miss some, but you won't miss them in the nest boxes.
I always put straight hot tap water into the sink with the basket in it. It cools down quickly with the eggs in there and I've never had any cooked. I used to worry about that too, (cooking the eggs) but you need the hot to kill bacteria.
I am looking for floaties and cracks. If I see something float in the egg and no cracks, we save them for us. I have a rule of thumb....
"When in doubt, take it out." I would think the worst thing would be, is someone opening an egg with a big blood spot (city people are real squeamish about those things).... they wouldn't buy eggs from me anymore. Or worse yet, a partial chick........and I have had that happen........I won't say anymore about that, except I never want to see it again.
:) Kathy
Thanks, Kathy.
Kathy, how is it you just show up whenever i call you name?
yes, we have had a few of those shell-less eggs.
and our floor is clean, but don't know how long it has been on the floor. or when you find a nest outside, that is when you find a hard piece of ground and pitch them to break so the ducks can eat them [and cats too!]
when you consider the density of the egg, it would be impossible to cook it.
our shells are so thick and the membranes too, that i have to instruct our customers to hard boil FIFTEEN MINUTES.
consider also, that in order to preserve that nice small air cell, which is part of what makes your egg come out looking so fresh, you need to get them chilled to between 40 and 55 degrees...
tf
Kathy is on an egg timer. LOL
Yes, Chele, and "old" egg timer.....
Gosh, I've been doing chickens for over 20 years, now I feel old, thanks a lot....I hadn't stopped to think how long I'd been doing this!!! :)
tf, I think that little birdies tell me to check on DG...
We have outside dogs and they love the eggs that we don't eat. And I throw them a ways away (just in case)....sometimes they can smell to the high heavens.
Speaking of egg shells, if your shells seem too thin, feed them some oyster shell. It helps their digestive system and does something to the egg shells to make them stronger. (just thought I'd throw that in there).
Awe, old egg timers are good too, especially if they still work. ;) Experience is good! Someone has to help us new people. I've got a whole year under my belt now.
Speaking of oyster shell and egg shells. Why do you get an egg from time to time that has deposits on it, like extra bumps of egg shell?
Speaking of oyster shell, where do you get it?
These feed stores around here are sooo basic, but
I would think oyster shell is basic. I have read that
ground limestone is good for egg strength. If this is
true, I live on ground limestone. I didn't know about this
possibilty before, and our one hen never got calcium
supplements from me, but always had great shells.
I pick mine up either at Agway feed store or TSC.
Of course we are lucky to have a TSC. I will check with
them. Thanks. Anyone read anything about limestone?
nope. mine eat rocks, gravel, etc... and the high protein in a free range diet plus sunshine helps to digest the calcium making for thicker shells and membranes, and a higher grade egg...
i bought a second bag of oyster shell. it is still sitting there, i am sure i wasted my money AGAIN. maybe i will find another use for it. oh well, better safe than sorry?
tf
Yeah, I guess so. I read all the supplements and
worry- am I providing well for my chickies? And,
then remember how well Blanca did and the quality
of her eggs and remind myself all is good.
when i find info about limestone, i will pass it on ^_^
The oyster shell is a little pricey, but will go a long way. It's not something to put in their diet every day. TF, you should give truest your bag of oyster shell if you're not going to use it, ha, ha (or sell it).... ;)
You know if your chicks are free-range they are going to get what they should be getting. It is in confinement that I would worry about them getting supplements.
You know I'm not sure about the bumps....I'll check with DH and see what he says. I'm inclined to think that it is exactly that, calcium deposits. WE get them too. ;)
Thank you! That is what I figured. I don't put them in with the sale eggs because they "look funny" but the eggs themselves are fine. ;)
My chickens have a very good diet of worms, bugs, perennials (hosta are a favorite!), layer mix, shells and some grit and table scraps for fun. LOL It's amazing one of the barred rocks has not been killed as her favorite spot is ON my shovel!
Chele, My eggs are in such a demand, that even if they are funny looking they go in the cartons. The "flat" ones stay home because they don't fit right and if they are real tall and long they won't fit in the cartons.
I have learned to leave the bumpy ones there and the ones with "wrinkles" and even if they have spots I can't wash off, it's just on the cover...
:) Kathy
gives them a more farm=y look. many customers love to open the carton and look at all the different eggs, esp when there are new ones!
i never sort mine by size or color. they go in the carton left to right the way they came out of the basket.
very funny, like how much would it cost to ship a small 40# bag of oyster shell?
we are building pens for next years breeding, so i will need it then.
you know, there are some rations, like layer pellets, that say do NOT offer oyster shell with it because it's in there.
whenever a human gets calcium build up like stones, etc, it is generally because we aren't consuming/assimilating enough, and our body has to pull it out of our bones, then it is the wrong type and builds up in our system. so, perhaps, when hens lay eggs with calcium bumps, they may need MORE calcium, but in the proper form. try eggshells themselves, or calcium rich greens. clover is growing wild right now, and they LOVE that...
My chickens get leftovers - last night, left over dirty rice - I save the egg shells and add some crushed up ones to leftovers, and the chickens love it.
My chickens free range every day - from 6:00 am until sunset.
I do have one chicken who lays very dark brown eggs, they are often spotted. Her eggs have the deepest color yolk of any of them, and they make the very best poached eggs imaginable.
None of my other hens lay eggs like that, so this week, I've been putting her eggs in the incubator in hopes of getting more of her.
Some people complain about how hard my hen's eggshells are. Is that a concern?
well, they have to whack them harder! and boil them longer... and it could be a problem when hatching. i had several that never pipped and drowned, yet when broke out i could find nothing wrong. my DH pointed out it may not be such a good thing to be inside one of those shells trying to get out. my membranes are thick as well.
i am experimenting with lower humidity so the air cell grows at the proper rate. hoping that helps with the next hatch.
all this information!
am feeling quite the novice.
Is it true that usda free range standards are 15 minutes in grass a day? That is preposterous!!! I mean whats even the point of that. Poor little caged chickens I hate to think about them. But it makes me happy to be able to do it the right way!
meg, that wouldn't surprise me. That's why we don't certify organic with them. We do everything better than their s tandards. Their standards are for the big companies so they can "squeak" by!
Mine are out all day long and everywhere! They are free-range in all the true senses! I think we are going to put up a fence so they can have their part of the farm and I can have mine! They pip on everything. Don't get me wrong, we have very green grass ;) but I'd like to walk where it is not a mine field sometimes.... I'm always grateful for the rain, God's way of washing the earth. :)
i bleive the organic free range standards for ANY animal i just access to "outside"...
we just finished a new pen, with so many breeds and big roosters we found a need to separate them. those older hens of mine wlaked the fence and complained! they will be on a ranging-rotation, which will include not being out while the corn is declaring LOL
i really loved it when all of mine were outside all the time. but a bad neighbor, dead chickens, lawsuit and 200+ feet of fence later, oh, and did i mention a security camera? and we are very careful about each one of our chickens every day. we have puppies that bark and we always have a gun ready for un-neighborly dogs... ;-(
kathy, would you belive it is rainging here? so hard it's keeping me away from my chicks at the PO...
meg_e. I think "free range" is worse than that, they only have to have "access" meaning a door open to a grassy strip in the last couple weeks of life for broilers. But they don't go out--they are afraid to. And no one wants them to go out because they are so vulnerable to disease crowded together without medication. Poor creatures.
TF--what kind of weather is rainging? It never rainges here:0)
This message was edited May 7, 2008 9:32 AM
it is raining on the range LOL "the rain in the high plains falls mainly on the range"
funny, according to industry standards, the new pen could hold 150 chickens, i just could not imagine that. i put 5 bantams and 7 hens in with Jaco. one escaped. looks full enough to me!
Yes but tf you plan for your chickens to actually walk around!
MollyD
Just reinforces why we should all know our farmers....know they're routines and ask questions! Local is the way to go.
:) Kathy
TF, keep the rain, PLEASE. We don't need anymore, got 5 inches Friday night and it's not good!
I'll take your extra rainge, TF! We are just 'ok' on
rain, but gardening through last summer was a
pleasure around here, plenty plenty. DH put up a new
rain gauge for us, and I want to see something quantifiable
in there.
I think you will need your oyster shell, too, Tf. Of course
it will keep forever! I am very happy that all the chickies
are doing so well with free ranging. How can an egg or
chicken taste bad if the bird is that happy? It's so hard
to be patient waiting on those first eggs. I'm expecting
they will be 10 feet tall and fireball orange! LOL
what an image...
Does the Lochness monster lay eggs?
Misty, the last time I looked at the Loch Ness Monster, it had some giant green eggs under it, so you can assume it does...LOL
GG^_^
Fireball Orange with green eggs....that's some image.
Well, we do have some good imagery here, don't you think?
GG
♥^_^♥
Sounds like fodder for a good 'B' movie, don't ya think?
No one ever saw the thing before last week- and even
then, they never knew how it got there. It would just
appear suddenly out of the mist, and woe to anyone
that dared even whisper it's name under their breath,
for you would be whistling away on your way to collect
eggs, round the corner of the chicken coop- and there it
would be, mouth gaping, heaving as it struggled to
breathe under it's own weight, and the smell...
We'll let TF be the egg gatherer ***snicker, snicker***
Who wants to be the monster chicken?