The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Big Light on March 15, 2012, 05:03:42 pm
-
Hi :wave:
Egg numbers are probably rising for everyone and there are only so many you can eat/hatch/sell/give away at times.
I eat them boiled/fried/poached/eggy bread/omelet/egg fried rice/ pasta carbonara / meringues and the odd cake. The incubators busy also.
What does every one else do?
And anyone got any great recipes for using up eggs / or other innovative ideas for using them?
-
Sell is our first priority. Then use, then give away and then scramble and feed to hens. Need to limit the amount as there is too much protein in them. We have had a lot of omlettes recently as the canal tourist traffic alongside us has been low, but its picking up now. Sold two dozen and didn't even have the signs up!
-
Also when selling what does every one sell for we do £3 a doz and reckon it does no good to under sell especially with food price now adays
-
I sell mine as well at £3.00 per dozen.
-
Sell.
I I don't sell, I make brioche and then sell that!
-
Sell 'em at work.
I sell for £2.50 a dozen hens and £3 a dozen ducks.
-
We used to sell loads but my husband has a different job now, if we end up with too many I will do what I did last year, freeze them, all you do is crack them and mix them and put them in a plastic box in the freezer, a good idea to put how many so you can whip them out for cooking, no probs and handy instead of buying them in the winter!!
-
I sell mine at £2-40p a dozen, duck eggs at £3 a dozen. It doesn't make me a fortune but it means I can give eggs to family and have ours for free (well at this time of year anyway ::)) Though I'm thinking now that it wouldn't harm family to put, say, 50p in the egg money tin or buy a bag of layers pellets now and again :-\ This would feed the hens when not laying.
Otherwise I like a poached egg now and again or a quiche but I'm not a great egg lover, I prefer to eat the cockerels :yum:
-
We had a huge glut of eggs last year so I made them into yorkshire pudding and fed them back to the hens :chook:
-
Sell for hatching, sell for eating, use them ourselves and finally we boil the excess up about once a week and feed them to the pigs. And before anyone shouts up yes I'm well aware of the rules relating to feeding pigs.
-
Selling for £1.38 (to the village shop who sell them on for £1.60) for 6. Ducks eggs, which are now retreiveable, long may it last, I'm selling to shop for £1.75, they're selling for £2 for 6. Can't imagine feeding them back to the poultry or other beasts, it seems a terrible waste. Love the brioche idea, must try it! When my little girls bake I get really cross if eggs get wasted due to them not following a recipe, as that's money I could be earning, even though the ruined mixture will get eaten by either chooks or dogs. Can't bear waste.
Sometimes the shop has some left over, mostly they can't get enough of our eggs. Had an SOS yesterday asking for more as a lady had reserved 6 and they'd run out. I love that people are now demanding my free range eggs, and choosing them over the commercial ones. I was thinking of selling my 10 new chookies, but now I don't think I will as they'll pay for themselves very quickly. Clever girls! :thumbsup:
-
How many are you producing, Big Light? How are you selling them?
-
Sell at £3 a dozen :thumbsup:
-
We sell at £2-00 per dozen and £2-60 per dozen for duck eggs. There's loads of eggs being sold at the gate round here so anymore than that we'd not sell any. Most of our customers are at work.
We eat them, bake with them, make tortilla, quiche etc etc
-
We sell to friends and colleagues at £1.50 for six, but I'm starting do doubt that we're even going to break even this year :-\.
It's definitely worthwhile keeping an eye on supermarket egg prices over the next few months though. The EU ban on battery eggs has severely reduced imported supplies, and is thus forcing up prices. (More info in this report from the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17336478)).
I have to say, the shocking thing for me was seeing just how cramped the NEW style 'colony' cages still are. Yes, better than battery farming, but it must be said, only just >:(.
-
We only have 1 chicken now (Penny) who is 10 years old. so her egg(s) we eat.
Our Call duck eggs get sold £1.00 for six.
And we give some away too. (pay it forward idea) :&>
-
i sell my eggs (well my chooks eggs) for £1.50 per dozen carnt keep in with them and getting about 3 dozen aday
:chook: :chook: :chook:
-
Dizzy,
getting 25 odds a day just under half from the breeding pens so they are going into the incubator / the other half we sell some at work / give some to family and friends / eat some but usually some excess - but really not sure what to do with the excess eggs when we have hatched enough - Possibly might dip the toe into selling on ebay.
Hows the sheep - Ours are looking pretty round but no action yet - reckon the boys have done the job - or the ewes have a secret chocolate stash :D
-
why have mine suddenly stopped laying if all of yours are doing so well??? ???
I've had one duck egg a day for a couple of weeks now if I'm lucky, even the hens are letting me down!
At better times I sell for 2.40 for hens' and 3.20 for ducks' dozen. If there are not many extra expenses feed costs are covered. I make lots of cakes normally, quiches, pancakes, spanish omelettes from what doesn't sell. :&>
-
I know we are not supposed to, but I weigh all ours and sell small at £1.10 half dozen, medium £1.30 and large at £1.60. Good point by Womble about supermarket prices. If they go up ours will as well, which will reduce our annual loss. Having said that we sold 112 lbs of Cherries last year so broke even (£2.00 /lb). Although it does take 1 hour to pick, sort and weigh 3 lbs so its not a big earner! Kept us very busy for three weeks though.
-
I bet you are nowhere near me or I'd buy a wagonload of your cherries, Chris! :yum: :&>
-
Your incubator must be going flat out, BL! ;D I'd definitely look into selling eggs on ebay, esp your rarer breeds.
Sheep are looking a bit scruffy, not as scruffy as their paddock, though! Going to move them once they've lambed.... if they lamb! Surely they must be in lamb....? I haven't checked them, they look much the same as usual to me, but Alex reckons they're larger than usual. He was away for a month so I suppose would see the difference more than me. Will keep you posted!
All this chat of omelettes, cherries and brioche is making me peckish! :)
-
We didn't exactly sell a wagon full NFD but someone bought 4 lbs, went and ate the lot and came back for another 8 lbs next morning! Loads of people bought 1 lb and came back minutes later for another few. Of course we then sold more eggs as well. Greengauges didn't go as well; only sold 4 lbs. We could sell a lot more if we put our minds to it. Rhubarb arrives soon as we have two early variety plants.
-
Greengages!! Ripe from the tree and warm from the sun :yum: :yum: Much better than chocolate or s#x ;D
-
give me cherries and chocolate ;D ;D ;D :&>
-
I also make pickled eggs. I use the smaller ones (only so you can get more in the jar) My OH's favorite is chili pickled eggs...very nice with a ploughmans.
-
how long do they keep, Mel? :&>
-
Getting all my birds into breeding condition for this season. I have about half a bucketfull a day, some sell as eating eggs and I hard boil the rest, mash them up (without shells) with rolled barley and feed them back to the birds.
-
I can't get my head around feeding the eggs back to the birds, it seems to defeat the purpose. I just don't get it. Even after 2 years I still get excited when I find eggs, and I treasure them. I get very upset if I, or one of the children, drop it, it seems so disrespectful!
I suppose I'm lucky that I don't have an oversupply and have that problem. Demand is strong!
-
The nurses at the hospital buy mine at £1.20, they only get them if I am working at the hospital or shopping in Turriff. I could sell more but I am well off the road and not keen to have strangers arriving at my door.
-
Our local shop has said they will only take eggs with the 'lion mark' which would mean being a registered producer ??? so we sell at the gate £1.20 per half dozen with an honesty box. Plenty of folk selling free range around here with some as low as £1 per half dozen. I also sell at work to colleagues. Any cracked or broken ones are put in the fridge, then scrambled for the ancient dogs :dog: and cats :cat: (or us) :farmer: .
-
How do you get on with the Honesty box - do you sell a lot? - are there thefts?
-
when we get a glut of eggs I look for recipes that use loads of eggs - like carrot cake (9) quiche (5) meringues (to freeze) various flavoured cakes (to freeze) = when in UK I used to put them into eisenglass (?spelling) where they kept for months, picked eggs, freeze them - whites mixed with a little sugar and yolks mixed with a little salt. Our problem at the moment is goose eggs - geese laying nearly everyday so with 7 geese thats a problem - incubator full with turkey eggs at the moment. Egged out!! Here in France in our hamlet everyone keeps chickens so impossible to sell any eggs as such.
-
Maybe I'm just cynical, but I can't imagine eggs or an honesty box lasting more than about three minutes before being nicked.
-
When/If my hubby gets a non agency job he can start to sell them again, he used to work as an agency worker for Glasgow housing and there was a huge team who wanted eggs all the time, we used to sell them for £1 for 6 and as he cycled all over Glasgow, the eggs were wrapped up in his panniers on his bike, never broke any either, he currently works with elderly so dare not/would not sell to clients and the team he works with is too small, so we just keep them ourselves but not too many to worry about, I keep saying this but I do miss my ducks and the eggs!!!
-
Maybe I'm just cynical, but I can't imagine eggs or an honesty box lasting more than about three minutes before being nicked.
In Exmoor / Devon / Somerset, lots of places put their surpluses out on tables on the roadside, with a jam jar and a note saying what an appropriate donation would be. I couldn't believe it when we first moved down there, but although I am sure there is the odd theft, it must work or people would stop doing it.
One dairy farm in Devon has a little shop run on an honesty basis; you can buy milk and all their dairy products there.
-
Maybe I'm just cynical, but I can't imagine eggs or an honesty box lasting more than about three minutes before being nicked.
When I lived in Surrey years ago a lady had eggs for sale and an honesty box at the end of her drive.
She started losing eggs and money, so her hubby bought a nice shed and put the eggs and honesty box in the shed with cctv camera on it.
A week later eggs, honesty box and the shed went walkies ::)
-
Sister-in-law stopped selling eggs at her place in Devon. People just took the eggs and left no money. She sold the hens. We've only been short changed once. Someone took half a dozen market at £1.30 and left £1. Plenty of change in the jar so fortunately no-one has taken that.
-
The pickle book says eat fairly quick....store less than three months. Mine dont usually last that long, appart from a jar that got forgotten. very vinegary but not off.
-
A week later eggs, honesty box and the shed went walkies ::)
[/quote]
Clearly not funny, I'm trying not to laugh, though! ;)
-
I'm glad everyone seems quite honest round about us as our honesty box works. No thefts yet and its been there about two years. Its only friends and neighbours that buy them I think. :)
-
Maybe I'm just cynical, but I can't imagine eggs or an honesty box lasting more than about three minutes before being nicked.
We have a sealed piggy jar :pig:and a note saying call at the house if you need change. We only leave out 2 or 3 boxes at a time. It is not on a road, but a footpath - maybe walkers are a more honest bunch? But what bugs us is the regular customer (unidentified) who fills the jar with 1and 2p coins (aagh ???)
-
when we get a glut of eggs I look for recipes that use loads of eggs - like carrot cake (9) quiche (5) meringues (to freeze) various flavoured cakes (to freeze) = when in UK I used to put them into eisenglass (?spelling) where they kept for months, picked eggs, freeze them - whites mixed with a little sugar and yolks mixed with a little salt. Our problem at the moment is goose eggs - geese laying nearly everyday so with 7 geese thats a problem - incubator full with turkey eggs at the moment. Egged out!! Here in France in our hamlet everyone keeps chickens so impossible to sell any eggs as such.
We have the same problem where we live, surrounded by farms where they all have chooks of their own. I use mine as payment to my hairdresser. She has a dozen a week, or when I see her, and she does my hair and OH's too, for free. I also make a pastryless quiche, as well as cakes, eggs for breakfast, and egg custards. I also give the odd half dozen to people who come to the house, like a certain delivery driver who often delivers parcels here. He is so lovely and helpful and happy, so I gave him some, the postman has had some and the man who comes to read our water meter. He has to move our huge upright freezer each time he comes so he deserves a reward!
-
All very interesting. I like the fact that by selling them their feed is paid for, it's so expensive keeping them all well fed. I used to hate giving them away, skinflint that I am!
-
why give them away, Vicky? Surely folks happily contribute to the feed? Maybe you can find someone to swap with at least? I have a friend who's hubby is a fisherman and we reguarlly exchange goods. Last year I swapped 3 boxes for a newly budded apple tree. :&>
-
I sell at £3 a dozen to a few clients at monthly workshops and weekly classes I run, some of whom come back to buy for their family/friends ;)
Mostly I end up eating 2-3 a day myself, boiled at breakfast or omelette for lunch ;) but last week a couple of regulars were away the same time and I had 4 dozen spare :o Luckily the lot were sold over the weekend which was just as well as I'd have struggled to use them all up!
I have made lemon curd successfully once but I ate far too much of it :pig: and my attempt at mayonnaise didn't work at all :dunce: so I gave up on trying to use them more creatively.
I want to get more hens but am worried how I'll cope if I end up with too many eggs, hope once I pass my massage exams I might get a few clients for that who might also buy eggs ;D Still looking for an affordable shed or coop to expand the flock by a few more POLs, as there was an ad in the Courier recently for several breeds I like the sound of ;)
-
We would struggle to sell more eggs than we have now. It would be no good having a hybrid flock either as there are no passing tourists in Winter, they close sections of the canals for Maintainance. So our Pedigrees serve us well, stopping laying when the tourist trade stops and starting again when we need them to.
-
now this thread has found a whole new menaing today - I found a nest of 27 !!!! eggs. Now break and check every single one over the next few days..... :&>
-
We sell to fellow Breton Dance club members or anyone who wants eggs and give some to my neighbours if their chickens aren't producing................. :chook:
We get given a lot of potatoes, dried bread, plants, fruit, straw bales; eggs are always gratefully accepted in return. (Our chooks are behind Heras barriers and electric fencing so haven't been eaten by foxes, chasse dogs or roaming dogs!) :dog:
I make loads of cakes( for MoH who is a cake-aholic) and have introduced the Bretons to carrot cake, upside down cake, chocolate & beetroot cake etc., etc. I donate a lot of cakes to organisers of Fest Noz and Fest Deiz and, because they are different, they sell quickly. I freeze a certain amount beaten with sugar for cakes during the eggless months. (Where's the cakey smiley?)
We have chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys; we raise some for meat and some to sell at Christmas. We never have too many eggs as we can give them away..............., but something always gets given in return.
It's a great system! :)
-
Sounds like a ideal life - you probably don't need money in a place like that
-
What a wonderful thread, loads of talk of yummy food and great to hear that on the whole there's a healthy demand for home grown eggs. When I had chickens a few years ago I used to sell to colleagues for £2 a dozen - sounds like I should have been charging more. Can't wait to get more chooks but first we need to sort out a safe run so Monsieur Renard doesn't get a free meal.
I was always nervous about selling my eggs, I wasn't sure if I was breaking any regulations ??? Perhaps one of you good people could enlighten me into what is and what isn't allowed. :wave:
-
Well Haylo-peapod. From memory, having read the Practical Poultry article a few days ago and my memory not being what it was, the easiest classification to belong to is' Farm Gate ' sales. Where you have less than 50 laying hens and sell to people in your street or to passers by so don't need to comply with all the regulations.
You cannot sell for resale, so you can't supply your local shop as a 'Farm Gate' seller.
You cannot wash eggs, as that is an extra process you are not licenced for I believe. You can scrape the big bits of muck off though.
You cannot sell them catagorised as small, medium or large, as your scales are not calibrated annually to National Standards.
You cannot say they are 'free range' unless you actually comply to those regulations -15 square metres per bird available during daylight hours. Just sell them as 'fresh' otherwise.
You must mark the boxes (not all the eggs) with the 'best before date' which is 28 days after they were laid.
You cannot refrigerate the eggs, just store in a cool place.
You can't use old boxes but customers can bring their own old boxes for their own use.
Think that's it. We sell mediums to my scales in old boxes as new boxes are expensive. All our hens 'free range' half of the day, if it was all day they would fill up with rubbish and stop laying as many, as we found out. We don't mark the boxes as they are often returned for re-use and then they would have the wrong date on them so loads of crossing out. We do keep the nest boxes clean and collect two or three times a day to keep the eggs clean of dirty footprints. We don't refrigerate but store in the cellar at 12 degrees and about 70 % humidity. So I guess at some stage someone might turn up to slap our wrists for being naughty and not following all the rules.
-
I put mine in a large coolbox on the doorstep and everyone puts their money through the letterbox, I sell them at £2.20 a dozen, my son in law works in the Scottish office in Edinburgh so takes orders for his workmates and my daughter takes them in to her work too.
-
We luv reading the regulations re: poultry and pigs etc that you have in the UK. Not sure how you all cope though.
Like Petite Gallette we give our eggs away in raw form or as cake. Or neighbours feed our pigs every lunchtime, deliever cart loads of apples, spuds, pumpkins and whatever greens they do not want. So I am unsure how much our eggs are worth financially but I know their value to us being good neighbours and living a simple and happy rural life.
-
Many thanks chrismahon for such a comprehensive explanation. Sounds as though I was flouting some rules back then, I'll know better for the future. Brilliant advice, thanks. :thumbsup:
-
Our girls are producing well again after resting over the last few months, and we're expecting another half dozen in a couple of weeks.
The eggs we don't use ourselves we sell to friends and neighbours. Last year we were selling them at £1.40/half dozen but with rising feed costs I'm putting that up to £1.50 this year.
I think that's still good value as they're nice big eggs and everyone says how delicious they are.
-
We sell ours at £2.50 per dozen,if we have to put them up they may stop buying around here-tight you know though we do have a reputation for exceedingly good eggs! Our nearest shop is 2 1/2 miles away,they sell eggs at 99p half doz but they are barn eggs,around here they would drive the 5 mile round trip thinking they shall save a the extra! :-\
-
I think the difference is that they are orange not yellow, at least for us that seems to be the biggest comment!
Do they taste any different? I'm never entirely sure but they are probably potentially a lot fresher ie they are straight from the birds and not spending time in collecting /packing /storing / sitting on a shelf
Also they are on grass ( free range may be so may per square meter outside but have you ever seen any grass on those bits they are just dust bowls ( apart from the guy who appeared on Adam's farm the other week ( but he did have moveable sheds on open fields)).
The other thing i believe is that you eat with your eyes and if it looks good then mentally it probably tastes good also
-
Leghorn i think your right you have to live with the locally economy - better to get something than nothing even if they are probably worth more!
-
I agree about the free range spaces having different values according to whether they are fresh grass or overworked dust or mud, Big Light.
-
Cheers , i reckon free range should be designated on more than a bird outside with so many per sq metre