[Roxy]

I sell a lot of eggs by the farm gate......supposedly for eating.  £2 per dozen free range, and £1 per dozen for the small bantam eggs.  Do a good trade.  Got me thinking though, looking at hatching eggs for sale and the prices.  6 bantam eggs for £6.......anyone looking over the gate can see my nice selection of bantams and that I have cockerels running with them.  A couple of people have casually asked if they are fertile, which I assume they are.

But it has dawned on me, they could quite easily be buying my eggs and putting them in their incubator and have a good business going, or indeed selling my eggs on at £6 for 6.  Not a lot I can do about it ....except congratulate them on their enterprise perhaps

[shetlandpaul]

or do it yourself.

[bamford6]

i sell eggs the way to do it is sell 24 eggs post 1st class done in good faith 7 pound posting £20 for youre incubater  ..you will sell more and have less problem . sell 6 3 mite hatch  but iff you get 1 they will be problem 24 eggs will get 10 i would off thort no problem all the best

[harry]

prices are falling i went to an auction wednesday there were 200 lots of eggs,, last week goose eggs made £1, this week 50p, hens eggs made £1 doz... all B/F. Everyone got eggs now.

[shetlandpaul]

ive noticed that on ebay. lots not selling when a few weeks ago they were selling for £1-2 per egg. still it makes it possible to get rare birds cheaper.

[bamford6]

6.50 post 2 days to arive might get 3 iff you are luckey

[shetlandpaul]

yup. but if your after a rarer breed then the chance of 1 or two for 10 quid. after all a point of lay may cost 20-40 if i could get them up here.

[chickenfeed]

 :chook:the eggs at our local auction were fetching good money on tuesday but prices should drop soon as more eggs are available the prices always start high and finish the season high,

roxy i was once told that eating eggs should be layed by chickens with no cock bidrs running with them as i said i am not 100% but i am now careful to keep the breeding pen eggs separate from the layers with no cock birds. as i say i am not 100% if this is true.

[shetlandpaul]

its not true. it was a mess up by the smallholder magazine. it was retracted the month after. there is no reason not to sell fertile eggs.

[SNOWFLAKE]

the cheap eggs on ebay i have noticed this last week or so any way are usually a mix of birds or a cross which is so dissapointing when you are just looking for a white silky not a white silky /pekin

[Roxy]

I saw that in Smallholder magazine about not selling fertile eggs ......I do wonder who comes up with these ideas and puts them in magazines etc.  I have had no end of new hen keepers ask if this was true, as they had a cockerel running with their hens.  I am pleased they retracted what they said!!

I have had my free range hens, and been selling eggs since I was a girl - so thats over 35 years.  I have always had cockerels with my hens, and sold the eggs.  I have eaten the eggs myself all these years too.  I certainly would not take my cockerels away!!!

Its not as thought I have hens sitting on the eggs a week and then sell them, is it?  In fact, my eggs go so fast, they have no time to be fertilised.  Sometimes, I get them straight from the nest to give to customers

I do get annoyed at some of the things we are told to do/not do with our livestock.  I am all for being careful with selling to the public etc.  but I think the fertilised egg business is taking things a bit too far.

[Minigris]

I sell a lot of eggs by the farm gate......supposedly for eating.  £2 per dozen free range, and £1 per dozen for the small bantam eggs.  Do a good trade.  Got me thinking though, looking at hatching eggs for sale and the prices.  6 bantam eggs for £6.......anyone looking over the gate can see my nice selection of bantams and that I have cockerels running with them.  A couple of people have casually asked if they are fertile, which I assume they are.

But it has dawned on me, they could quite easily be buying my eggs and putting them in their incubator and have a good business going, or indeed selling my eggs on at £6 for 6.  Not a lot I can do about it ....except congratulate them on their enterprise perhaps

Here its is the same....everybody can see my chickens if the come to buy eggs.
If they want to buy "cheap hatching eggs", well .......
Should we put the eggs in the fridge ( to cold for hatching eggs ??) or something?

[shetlandpaul]

we did a test last year 12 from the fridge 12 in a tub on the widow sill and 12 stored properly. funnily the fridge eggs hatched best but all did very well. as long as they are not over cold or hot they should hatch. to cold and it will kill the germ cell. to hot and your eggs will start to grow and then be stopped when the heat is reduced. try for a stable room temp and they will be fine.