Selling excess eggs from hobby flock in the US?

Question

What if any regulations/requirements are there to sell the excess eggs from my hobby flock?

I have 8 birds and do not need that many eggs. I'd like to sell the extras to cover the cost of feed and bedding.

Thank you.

Answer 1

You should call stores for selling them .

Answer 2

I agree in part with Loren, you should not have problems finding takers of farm fresh eggs.  I would not increase or decrease your flock size unless you are comfortable with work load.  Daily care is fairly minimal time wise.  

I would not "Sell" my eggs so that you do not get into the crosshairs of any individual supporting local health codes and requirements, yet I would offer my eggs to individuals who are willing to make a "donation" to support your activities.  Also do not "deliver" the eggs to anyone that you do not know personally and ask that they come to you to pick them up.  Again, depending on your local government, delivery of food products put extra requirements on you for a variety of things, ie. refrigeration, licensing, etc.

I delivered a lot of eggs to my neighbors in the 60's and 70's when I was a kid... unfortunately times have changed and the government is here to protect us from folks like you.  (this is tongue in cheek, nothing personal)  Be discreet, do not advertise, if you have extra eggs, just ask some of your best customers who they might know to expand your clientele.  Good luck.

Answer 3

I sell, my extra eggs to family members at just under the going rate for store bought eggs. I have a health permit for my flock,and am registered with the state as required here for maintaining a flock. The eggs are only gauranteed to be freshly laid by  hens I own, and I discard the eggs for two weeks if I have to medicate my hens for whatever reason, and I explain that to my customers. I could charge more for my eggs, but since my customers are family, they keep me supplied with the cartons and I'm not looking to make a huge profit on it. If you wanted to sell the eggs at a store they would have to go through inspections and I don't mess with that for averaging 4 dozen eggs or so a week.

Answer 4

I am a small farmer.  All of my business is "farmgate," meaning I sell to customers who come to my farm.

I've done a lot of research on the two states which affect me (WA, and ID).  However in doing my research I learned that some states have EXTREMELY different laws.

In North Carolina it would be completely illegal for you to sell your excess eggs, for example.

You need to Google up your own state, and county laws, and do research.  Remember too, just because your neighbor is doing it, doesn't mean it's legal.

In some states you need a license to sell your extra eggs legally.  Usually the price of the license kills any profit you might have made from such a small flock.  

Also, if you live in a state where your local state government made the N.A.I.S. manditory, you may be facing all sorts of paperwork, and tagging of your chickens, in order to legally sell your eggs.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 5

I think you may have to have the  health dept inspect your farm to make sure you are meeting sanitation requirements before you can sell the eggs.

Answer 6

you should have no problem finding a buyer for your extra eggs. keep the price well under what they're selling for in the supermarket.

Answer 7

You could easily sell your extra eggs to friends and neighbors. No need to get into any government or health issues. With eight hens your extra eggs can't amount to more than a dozen every two or three days, if everything is going well. That will hardly cover your costs for feed and bedding, but it might help some. I think in your situation that I would either cut down on the number of hens where I only produced the eggs that I needed or increase the size of my flock where I had enough eggs to sell to make a difference.