[holz306]

I have 50 new laying hens arriving on thursday, to add to our collection of 24 brown hybrids, a mix of 9 home-hatched leghorn, sussex and speckledys, and the 17 chicks that are in the brooder shed, oh, and kellogs the cockeral.......i'm not sure i ever intended on having quite so much poultry!   I can't keep up with sales of eggs at the farm gate, so hopefully these new birds will satisfy demand!   

[deepinthewoods]

i think you have to get registered when you get over 50 hens, im not sure with who tho cos ive never had more than 25.

[Bert]

 

i think you have to get registered when you get over 50 hens, im not sure with who tho cos ive never had more than 25.

Yes you do and it is DEFRA the poultry register.  I wish I could have that many Chickens, Other half would have a sense of humour loss 

[in the hills]

Yes, it is with DEFRA. You can fill in a form on-line.

Think there maybe a few regs. about selling eggs when you have over 50 birds. Cant remember the details. I did register but have just under 50 birds so didnt take much notice. Details on their web site.

[holz306]

I've already registered 

[Rosemary]

We've got 20 arriving today - POL Rhode Rocks - to add to the 60 we already have. I too hope thsi will allow us to keep up with the demand for eggs 

[holz306]

How much are you paying for you Rhode Rocks, if you don't mind me asking?

[Rosemary]

£12.50 each plus £30 delivery, so £14 each. But at £3 a dozen for eggs, they'll soon pay for their purchase cost 

[Oneeyedhen]

Can you register as a breeder of a particular type of hen? Someone said to me that there are only so many registered breeders of Scots Grey in the country. I possibly dont have enough to be classed as a breeder but we chose a rare breed to try and boost their numbers. I quite like 50 hens but too many people sell eggs round here already.
OEH.

[holz306]

Mine are coming in at £8 each - but you can guarantee that they won't actually be very close to POL!! It took a long time to get my last girls laying!!

[tobytoby]

Mine should arrive tomorrow - £6.50 at POL from suppliers in Cumbria. Lets hope they mix well with the ISA browns?

[chrismahon]

With over 50 chickens you need to register with local Animal Health. With over 50 laying hens you are no longer classed as 'farm gate sales' and you need to comply with a lot of extra regulations.

[chrismahon]

Now I've got some more details. 'Extra regulations' translates to Registration with the Egg Marketing Inspectorate. The code must be stamped on each of the eggs together with the production type (free range -1)

Note - If your eggs are graded to large and medium and are put into boxes this must be done by a registered 'packing station'. To sell them to a retail outlet they need to be grade A and that entails a load of stuff.

To be honest Holz306, I'd keep your laying hen count to under 50. Your next animal welfare visit will pick you up on this anyway.

Danger you have is if a local registered producer finds his sales are suffering and reports you for non-compliance.

[in the hills]

Sorry.  What is an Animal Welfare Visit?   Who gets them and when?  What exactly do they check? 

[holz306]

Well, firstly there are no other local producers....certainly not of free range eggs.  My laying count is currently under 50, but my actual count is now over 100.  I am already registered as having over 50 hens.  My understanding of the regulations is that i can sell my eggs at the farm gate.  If i sell them through a third party, i have to get a packing station number.  You can sell, through a third party ungraded.  thats my understanding anyway. And i welcome any inspection because what they do at inspections, unless there is a welfare issue, is make reccomendations and allow you time to comply with the reccomendations they make - thats my understanding anyway?!