Selling farm eggs

If you raise chickens you probably have eggs. Maybe you've thought about selling those eggs to make a little extra cash.

Lisa Steele's family has been raising chickens for five-generations. Several years ago she started a popular blog and Facebook page to share poultry tips. She says selling eggs is usually not a profit center by the time you figure in feed and other costs. And if everybody else is raising chickens in your area, good luck even giving the eggs away.

However, she says there are ways to get a feel for the market.

"Farmer's markets are a great place to walk around, see who else is selling eggs. Put up signs in the feed stores, ask your feed stores if they sell eggs. Some of the fancy food markets, health food stores, those kinds of places, might sell eggs. Or, just put a listing on Craigslist. I know a lot of people when they're looking for eggs they'll check Craigslist and see if anybody locally is selling," says Steele. "Another thing you can do is just make a little farm stand at the end of your driveway if you live on a fairly busy street."

Steele says what you can charge for a dozen eggs will depend on your area. Three-to-four-dollars-per-dozen is pretty standard, but she's seen it as low as two-dollars and as high as six-dollars.

Getting some kind of insurance might not be a bad idea since you're selling a food item to the public. And it's very important that before you start selling them, you are aware of your state's egg laws.

"Each state has different laws about handling the eggs, how they have to be stored, whether or not they have to be washed. Like in Virginia, if you're going to be selling them, you have to leave them unwashed. Other states you have to wash them, you have to use a certain solution," she explains. "Sometimes you have to get a license, sometimes you have to get a license to sell only a certain number of eggs a year."

Your local extension service is probably the best place to find out what the regulations are.