[Skye Byrd]

I'm considering increasing my flock from 50 birds to approx 300 birds. I currently sell my eggs to friends, colleagues an on the gate but I'm wondering if there are any purchasers who buy in bulk? I will be contacting local shops and businesses but thought it would be good to find out if any of the egg wholesalers purchase free range eggs from smaller units.

TIA

[chrismahon]

It will be worth you looking into the regulations for production on that scale and selling for resale Skye Byrd. I know that commercially eggs are screened for blood spots, are weighed and also need date stamps. There will be extra flock health regulations as well. The cost of all the equipment may be rather too high?

[Anke]

You have o get your birds vaccinated (or buy in vaccinated stock) against Salmonella and probably other diseases as well. What's the size of the market on Skye?

[Marches Farmer]

If you keep commercial laying hens that lay, say, 320 eggs in their first year, 250 in their second and are clapped out by the third that's an awful lot of eggs.  If you stick to your current mix of breeds that's an awfully big feed bill for less eggs (although over a longer period you could realistically expect a higher mortality rate going forward).

[Rosemary]

http://www.ruleworks.co.uk/poultry/selling-eggs.htm

350 seems to be a magic number.

[Clansman]

I'm considering increasing my flock from 50 birds to approx 300 birds. I currently sell my eggs to friends, colleagues an on the gate but I'm wondering if there are any purchasers who buy in bulk? I will be contacting local shops and businesses but thought it would be good to find out if any of the egg wholesalers purchase free range eggs from smaller units.

TIA

Interesting question, I suspect the big egg producers would not buy from smaller producers due to health regulations etc as mentioned and even if they did they wouldn't give you anywhere near what you wanted for them.

Local outlets are probably your best bet.

What sort of birds are you working with?

[Stereo]

It's a tough game I would have thought. Regardless of all the selling / stamping regulations, can you find enough customers locally? 300 prime layers are going to give you maybe 300 eggs each in year 1. So that's 15000 boxes of eggs, or 288 per week. Feed is going to be something like £4200 I would imagine (going on £6 a 20kg bag), or 28p per 6 eggs.  I reckon on £14 per hen per year at those prices for feed.  If you could achieve £1 per box average wholsale / direct then you have a margin of 72p *15000 =£10,800. Then you have to figure in replacement hens as to get 300 per hen per year you are going to need to change them out every year. So, say £5 per bird = £1500. Then there is the transport and time to get these eggs delivered. Wear and tear on vehicles etc.

I can't see there is a huge amount in it. Maybe you can achieve a better price where you are, I don't know. Good luck with it but I would do some very careful sums if I were you. The main thing that concerns me with going to that scale is the time to deliver all the eggs. I have worked it out for the local market and I can't see it working for me at that scale.

Keep us posted as it's an interesting concept.

[farmers wife]

500 eggs is when you need to do the salmonella checks and the stamping process is very easy to obtain. Registering your holding and having an egg inspection is a swift process.The price is the key selling commercially as standard eggs non organic many commercial business buy from wholesalers at silly knock down prices. Local shops have many suppliers so you need to find delis etc who are willing to take a number of boxes. Webpage and FB is essential.


I have 75 birds and cant meet demand.  They are free range organic on fresh pasture every few days.  I deliver only once a week it works very well. There is no passing trade here. £2 for 6, £3.80 for 12 and £8.50 tray people are delighted with the quality and I deliver once a week. You have to supply the story to your business and it must special.


You have to stagger buying, consider that 18months is the ultimate laying time and how you shift them after 18 months (cost). Drop in laying in the winter, disease control (mycoplasma), waste. Buy 50 POL monthly (or so) to stagger ages.

[farmers wife]

I contracted local food markets and they already had two sellers so not willing for me join them.  A table costs £20 and setting up and standing around from 10 -3 plus travelling etc made it a non starter.

[Marches Farmer]

Our thing is conserving rare breeds and we do have some passing traffic so my main selling period is over the Winter and early Spring, when the other hen keepers down the lane who sell their surplus from their pet birds have very few eggs from their old birds.  This neatly coincides with my early Summer hatch coming into lay.  By mid Spring I keep the eggs to hatch or sell for hatching until the end of July, which is when I stop, and this coincides with the moult and selling off older birds before the next Winter.

[Victorian Farmer]

I don't do this eney more. I would buy stock in in end of February and sell November. Iv tried going through the winter and been very hard whith Wether cost to keep stock was high £3000  for 4 months iv checked and we had about 250 geese ducks chickens etc. So it's the winter and light the problem having new stock each season vaccinated and a guarantee egg numbers. Breeding the stock is not optional as a morrasons high bred is £10 and it is the best D104 sussex. I don't do geese chickens qual ducks onley hobby dark eggs and silkies..