Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4. Most small flock producers base their prices on the current store prices in the area they
live. However, many producers niche market their eggs as a specialty item and receive
premium prices. If you have your birds in a fenced outside run and have one male for every
10 to 15 hens in your flock, you can sell eggs at a premium as fertile, free-range eggs.
Brown eggs often will bring higher prices as well.
Remember, prices also will be driven by supply and demand. If you do not have a lot of com-
petition and have a good demand, you usually can get a higher price for the eggs you sell. It
is critical that you pay attention to quality and keep a constant year-round supply for your
customers. Be prepared to replace any eggs that are not satisfactory to a customer. Learn
about and correct the dissatisfaction.
F. WHAT IS THE PROPER WAY TO COOK AND HANDLE EGGS?
Consumers always should keep eggs refrigerated until the eggs are used. Eggs should not
be eaten raw. Pasteurized eggs should be used in recipes that call for raw eggs that are not
going to be cooked (i.e. eggnog, ice cream, etc.) Eggs should not be combined and left to
stand at room temperature before cooking for more than 20 minutes. Eggs should be indi-
vidually cracked and immediately cooked.
Baby Chicks
If you do not have the time to dedicate to hatching, you can purchase chicks one to several
days old. The following websites offer them:
• Murray McMurray Hatchery (
www.mcmurrayhatchery.com
)
— This site offers baby
chicks, other types of birds, equipment, and supplies.
• Estes Farm Hatchery (
www.esteshatchery.com
) — This hatchery website sells different
breeds of chicks and pullets. A chick starter kit available for $55 includes everything
you need to begin raising 25 to 50 chicks. It comes with a corrugated boarder, heat
lamp, waterer, and vitamins among other items to start your journey.
Before ordering chicks online, do your research. Some online hatcheries require you to pur-
chase a minimum number of chicks; often, the minimum number is about 25 so the chicks
have enough body heat to survive the journey. If the minimum purchase is 25 chicks, you
need to be prepared to care for that many or have a plan to share the chicks with others.
Hatcheries ship chicks when they are 1 day old because at that point, they have consumed
enough food to last 72 hours from the hatching process. This gives them sustenance to survive
the process.
