The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: andy harris on February 25, 2011, 08:11:27 am
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We have 19 hens in all .When we first started there eggs were going like hot cakes .Now is a diffrent story we are not selling nowhere near as much .We wont drop the price of the eggs cos £1.20 for half doz is bloody good here in west midds .What can we do ?
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We had a slow down in egg sales the other week and I just happened to say on my facebook page that we had eggs for sale and sold out in one day. now have several mums from the playground who've placed a regular order.
I'm in W.midlands too (worcs) and some local farm gate sellers are selling at 90p for 6 grrr. I've kept my prices at £1 a box but thinking of increasing that inline with increased chicken feed prices.
other thing you could do, is perhaps give away the odd half dozen (if you have a glut) to neighbours (just the once!). then, they might realise how gorgeous our eggs are compared to many supermarket jobbies and become regular customers. After all, a lot of people don't realise the difference until they try.
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I find egg sales are slow at this time of year. They usually pick up again at Easter. :chook:
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I think £1 for six is plently. Do you tell the tax man about the income and pay tax on it, do you have any marketing costs, shop rent, liability insurance, parking provision or any of the other things that supermarkets/shops have to pay. You are not paying a margin to your suppler, it is nearly all bottom line. You are probably even getting people to give you their old egg boxes.
Why be greedy, you should be able to sell them all day long at £1/half dozen. Can you take them into an office, send them to school, sell them to neighbours. You have to remember, they may be lovely, but you are competing with the supermarkets in the middle of a recession.
If you need to then cut your overheads by finding a paper shredding company and get you bedding from them or speak to your local shoot and ask them if you can buy some wheat from them. Supplement this with greens not sold from the grocer and give him a box or two of eggs each week in exchange
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We found that if you give someone their first half dozen eggs for free, it's a way of letting them know they're for sale and giving them a price at the same time. Very often you will have to stop them from paying you. Our favourite line is "You haven't tried them yet, if you like them, then buy some more" along with the kind request to keep their old egg boxes.
Ask you friends and family to spread the word to their friends and family. You'll soon be having a waiting list for them :)
All the best!
John
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do not reduce your price, you need to do some marketing and advertising, or look into other outlets like markets, but then I think you need to be a registered producer and packer.
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I don't think you're being greedy at all, it's perfectly reasonable to want a decent price for a good quality product, it's not as if you're hurting the supermarkets :D
We pay £1.40 a dozen to a lady here in Herts, and it's worth it.
:wave:
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I agree, nothing greedy about wanting to at least cover rapidly increasing feed bills!
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If you can't sell you reduce your price - fact. If you sell in a big way, someone will tell the authorities - fact. If the authorities hear of it they will require you to follow their regulations if you don't already - fact.
For what it's worth I'd do the same as Slavo and Shrekfeet, and keep them at £1 a half dozen.
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£1.40 a dozen to a lady here in Herts, and it's worth it.
:wave:
£1.40 a DOZEN??
Ian
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its no wonder most smallholders do not make any money, you have to cover your costs at least, don't reduce your price, just try to find more outlets, yes do things by the book if you are crossing that threshold.
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Eve - £1.40 a dozen. That's my point £1 for half a dozen is plenty. Owrk out how much it costs to feed your cucks and at £1 a half dozen you are making a tidy profit. If your eggs are good and you can't sell them then you are trying to charge too much or you are not making enough effort to tell people they are for sale. Better £1 for 6 and people coming to you rather than £1.20 and you having to chase people
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I only charge £1.40 per dozen, they are worth alot more, but at the end of the day it pays the food bill, so I'm happy as my chucks are for my pleasure not profit.
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So sorry, it's £1.40 for 6! SORRY!!! :-[ :-[ :-[
So £2.80 for a dozen. Owwwww, dreadfully embarassed! :(
But we live just north of London, everything's more expensive around here. Organic supermarket eggs aren't any cheaper, they start at £1.45 for a pack of 6 (I think, could be more!) and I just prefer to buy them from someone whom I know looks after her chickens really well (and it's very small scale), even though the feed may not be organic. Plus there are some little blue eggs in her boxes (I'm a sucker for differently coloured eggs :)).
That's the second time this week that my typing is faster than my brain...again, so sorry, dreadfully embarrased!
Someone in Bucks, nearly an hour away from us, sells them at £2.60 a dozen, and that's from a 'proper' smallholding (rather than the back garden). Could it be location, location, location?
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just think how many eggs you would need to sell for the tax man to be intrested. at our price we would need to sell 35000 just to hit the 7k tax allowance. when you have worked out the real cost of the eggs you sell your not in fact making anything or so little that you would be wasting the taxsmans time. and yes we do report it as part of my tax return.
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So sorry, it's £1.40 for 6! SORRY!!! :-[ :-[ :-[
So £2.80 for a dozen. Owwwww, dreadfully embarassed! :(
No need to apologise or be embarassed Eve. Just a typo :) and it gave us something to discuss ;)
I sell my eggs for a pound for six. Personally, I believe that to be about right and the price is also about perceived value and 70p for six is way too little for the effort put in from the owner AND the chickens
Ian
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Are your hens free range? Can people see the hens? How do you advertise eg - sign at the gate or what? What size are your eggs?
Sorry for all the questions, just trying to see if there is any particular reason your sales have dwindled.
I have noticed free range eggs in the supermarket are quite cheap at the moment - special offers on packs of 15. Perhaps people are just buying these bargain eggs at the moment?
I leave my eggs by the gate - £2 a dozen. Mixed sizes, but most are large. I have probably 60 laying hens, and 20 banties and silkies (bantam eggs sell for £1 dozen). My hens can be seen from the lane, obvious they are free range. I could probably sell double the amount of eggs. I have lots of regular people who come every week. They know we do not have eggs in winter, and once my sign went out last week, every box has sold.
There are 3 other people close by selling free range eggs too .....one sells his for £1.50, but there seems trade for us all.
I would consider dropping your eggs to £1 for 6, to see if that makes a difference......it may do.
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Right here is the full pic.....we live in a small grove in the middle of a small town we have a notice outside saying we sell eggs.most of the eggs are very big but we bought 4 blackrocks last year and the are just comming in lay now.They can be seen in the garden if not then people can hear them.We are paying £7 for a 25kilo sack of pellet & mash when i go to get the food i always buy 2 of each (£28) and that lasts about a month .If we can cover the food bill each month then iam happy with that .
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I charge £2.50 a dozen and have no problem selling them.
In our local co-op they sell for £2.97 for 12 and they are the 'free-range' sort.
Anybody selling eggs need to think how much work for both hen and keeper goes into producing 12 eggs.
I can't really afford to subsidise other people's breakfast by selling eggs cheaper than I do. If people want cheap eggs let them buy the foreign imports or come around and help me clean chicken s**t out of the runs.
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all my friends were happy with the increase in price to £1.20 for 6 - I just explained that the feed prices had gone up by a lot (%20). Keep it personal if you are not a business, mums at your kids' school, workmates, are usually really happy to buy a quality product from happy animals! Say that the price is only to help with the feed costs and that you don't pay yourself for your work...last year someone actually thought £ 1 was expensive - these are the people who think if you keep hens they feed themselves by running around in your garden ::) :&> :chook:
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at what point do u need to follow any regulations when u start to sell eggs. we were thinking of selling at gate and to friends. do u need to vaccinate for salmonella or anything like that? could you offer them to the local shop or would you need to be regulated for that?
also how much land do the hens have to have to be called free-range? as mine have to be fenced in cos of foxes. :wave:
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at what point do u need to follow any regulations when u start to sell eggs. we were thinking of selling at gate and to friends. do u need to vaccinate for salmonella or anything like that? could you offer them to the local shop or would you need to be regulated for that?
also how much land do the hens have to have to be called free-range? as mine have to be fenced in cos of foxes. :wave:
have a look on defra's site, as far as I'm aware you can sell as many as you like from farm gate, over 50 chickens and you need to register,(you can register anyway. IF you sell to shops, or food outlets, then you need to register as a producer and packer and grade the eggs. check the DEFRA site, they are always changing rules and regulations, the Soil Association also has a good poultry section.
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do rember you can only sell from your door unless registered you carnt go round selling them! they have to come to you we have campers in the summer that buy most of ours at £2.60doz but untill the site is open we are selling for £2 doz as they have all started laying and we have to sell them or eat them and we have far too many to eat thinking of doing it proply and stamping the eggs ect so we can sell other than from the door. so not a good idea selling at schools ect! sell to other mums and that just they have to come collect from the house door! otherwise why should others bother doing it by the law!
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and another law ::) :&>
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luckily I don't go round selling at school - they order and pay me at my house ;) that's the selling part dealt with
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I suppose it is a case of market forces, much as I hate the term. We pay about £7 for a 20Kg bag of feed and we currently get £3-20 a dozen for our eggs.
Dave
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You've got it made, Dave. ;) ;D I pay £8.75 for a 20kg bag of food and only get £2 a dozen! ::)
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We charge £1.80 a dozen, we live down in the south, near bath. But we have a lot of poultry so therefore maybe we are able to sell cheaper..
As for food, we feed corn and pellets, but also are given lots and lots of unsold bread from the local bakery, so this accounts for a lot aswell..
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I charge £1.40 for half a dozen, which ties in with the low-end of the supermarket free range price.
Don't under-value your product - they're going to be top quality compared with the pale and pasty looking things the supermarkets trot out.
Larger producers can cut their over-heads by buying feed in bulk, rather than 20kg bags.
There's also the 'happy hens' factor to take into account. Our buyers can see our hens, and in some cases I can tell them which hen laid a particular egg. They seem to like it.
One of our local hotels has recently started taking our eggs. They're keen to use local produce and like the idea that they can point out the window and show their guests where the food they're eating was produced.
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If you are only wanting to cover your feedcosts, how are you ever going to buy/raise replacement hens?!
We are charging 1.80 for six, for sale to colleagues in Edinburgh and also to our neighbours. That does cover our ongoing costs and also raising some replacements. Why would I charge less than supermarket prices when I have a far superior product? Any egg sold in the supermarket - organic, freerange or otherwise - is at least over a week old. I will never sell eggs over two days old! (I just have a cake/icecream/omelette making frenzy instead!)
And I don't give a discount for multiple boxes either, and only one person has ever asked me for it, and she doesn't buy very often anymore.... (sorry BOGOF's are pet hate of mine!)
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and all the other costs which are not including any start-up costs! DE, wormers, grit, ocasional vet, insect powders, poultry spice. bedding.... I'm sure there is something I;ve overlooked.... Make sure you get for your eggs what they are worth! :chook: :&>
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Electric netting - but you will never really recoup the costs for that!
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the last few posts on this have actually really reassured me. I've gone from feeling 'greedy' for wanting to make a few pennies profit (after all those costs) to realising that I'm still almost giving these eggs away. I WILL be putting my prices up a few pennies, in line with inflation.
I've held my soap prices despite the VAT increase but only because my main supplier also did. When you are looking after yourself and a family why should you not try to make some money while providing your customers with eggs that were laid in happy surroundings.
My husband goes to 'free range' poultry farms with work - get one bully hen in the doorway of that barn and those hens never get to see natural light as they can't get out. I'd rather buy eggs from hens who's health is checked daily, hens who actually get cuddles (!) who's water is fresh, who enjoy a dustbath in the sunlight...
wow, for a soapmaker, I really can use a soapbox!! its ok, i'm getting off now ;)
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All the poeple who buy are eggs have seen our hen and there surroundings....and ive not put the price up even though the food has gone up now i understand how hard it is for other people like me and farmers.
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We are in Worcestershire/West Mids and easily sell eggs for £1.30 1/2 doz £2.50 doz. just seems when they try them the realise how nicer they are from the supermarket. Plums where about in Worcs are - you we are in Churchill.
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We are in Worcestershire/West Mids and easily sell eggs for £1.30 1/2 doz £2.50 doz. just seems when they try them the realise how nicer they are from the supermarket. Plums where about in Worcs are - you we are in Churchill.
We are in The Littletons, near Evesham :)
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think off this Hatching eggs were sold to £100 for a dozen of copper blue/black Marans and also selling for £100 was a dozen light Sussex eggs.thats good http://www.livestock-sales.co.uk/2011/rare_breed/0226.html (http://www.livestock-sales.co.uk/2011/rare_breed/0226.html) 12 chocklate orpingtons 45 pound e bay sales so get the better breeds and make the best price for youre eggs .i could sell some off my fedaration winners eggs for £10 each but iff some 1 comes for a tray or 2 il give them