are allotment eggs legal?

[Tigerella]

Hi

I may get my own hens at point in the future, but at the moment I get some from one of the other chaps on the allotment.
Just gone up £1.60 per dozen, still good value. I usually get some for friends and family too.

I just wondered if it is ok to sell them.
I immagine the UK and EU have got all sorts of rules that we should follow.

Have you got to be inspected, if you have lots of hens?

T

[carlseawolf]

i think there are lots of rules to do with egg production on any level even down to feeding and housing and allthough we still like the fact of the cottage style over the gate sales i expect it's illegal what the man is doing and there will be no comeback if you get ill due to one of his eggs.
If your rearing eggs or meat for your own table alot of the rules can be ignored as your the only one who will suffer if you get it wrong but when you sell to the general public the goverment put rules in place so we don't get hurt and they will enforce them to the letter or someone genuine will as it will take there trade away so they will inforce the rules and shut you down and if you are part of a allotment they may inforce a ban on livestock so every one will lose out.
So be safe and do eggs and meat for you and your family only !

[SuzieP]

Hi
It's still ok to sell eggs from "the farm gate" as long as they're not graded ie small, large etc However, if you sell more than 30 dozen a week they have to be graded . Your friend on the allotment isn't breaking any laws.
Enjoy
Sue

I found this info, hope it helps

How can I sell Eggs which I produce?
Eggs can be sold direct to the consumer by you:-

From your own farm/smallholding.
In a local public market.
By door to door selling.
Provided that:-

The Class descriptions (Class A, B, C) and weight grades (Sizes S, M, L, XL ) are not used and
a best before date is given to the consumer by a notice or pre-printed note. This is the words "Best Before" followed by a date until which the eggs will remain in a good condition. The best before date must not exceed 28 days from the date of lay.
Eggs must be delivered or sold to the consumer within 21 days of laying.
Eggs must always be sold at least 7 days before the "Best Before" date (This is to allow the consumer a reasonable period of storage).
If you are not a registered packing station you must not supply your eggs to other retail premises.

[bluemoon]

If you look in your allotment rules there may be one which prohibits the sale of produce - and that would include eggs. The way to go would be to 'make a contribution' to the feed bill and pick up a few eggs for your trouble. Shame my old great aunt isn't still with us, she kept her whole village in eggs, chicken and pork during the war by the selective reading of the rules which allowed them all to produce and buy this stuff without ever falling foul (fowl? ) of the black market laws.

[rustylady]

If you don't want to buy them from the allotment holder, then it is your choice. I just wonder why you are asking the question.

[Tigerella]

Hi

I thought I was quite clear that I was just curious and not after suing somebody.
It can be quite a responsibleity to sell eggs, if someone gets ill and it turns out that you need to do this and that to be legal.
If your hens are ill and that gets passed on to young children or the elderly.
I am hoping to start with 3 or 4, but who knows what the future holds.

T

[kirsty b]

Last summer I used to sell surplus eggs to a friend of mine. Would have given them to her, but she insisted on giving me something so I put it towards their food costs.
I don't advertise my eggs, but my friends know I keep hens and they want eggs, they come and ask if I have any (but of a silly question now, have 2 dozen in the fridge as I type!) and I regularly give them away to family members.
How different is it from selling them outside your garden gate with an honesty box? Thats where I used to buy them from a small farm just up the road and my mum used to do that where she used to live, a sign at the gate and people would come and knock on the back door.
No idea what the rules are if someone was considering setting up in the egg production business though.

[Tigerella]

Hi

I pay £1.60 per dozen, just gone up from £1.40.
And I would still buy them if they were £2
The question for me, if I do ever get any, would be, killing/gutting them.

I would force myself to do it, when it was neccessary.

How long do hens live, lay eggs, and then you eat them, yes.

T

[kirsty b]

My layers are ex-battery so I have decided I won't ever cull these cos after the state I got them in, they have really endeared themselves to me as they recovered and learned how to be chickens!

I do intend to get chooks for meat this year, but will be for my freezer alone and won't be ready for them for a few months yet.

Birds for meat can be raised until around 12-18 weeks then culled. I plan to get mine from the British Traditional Fowl co when I do. They are birds specifically for meat production.
I have read on other websites that layers can be culled at around 18 mths and replaced with younger birds. If you don't fancy wringing necks, you can get dispatching tools from ebay/poultry suppliers.
Try looking at smallholding sites for further advice, or maybe book yourself on a course if thats the way you decide to go.

They start laying around 20-26 weeks depending on breed.
First year egg production is good, but they lay less as they get older. Hens can live for about 4years I've been told.

[sewer rat]

I have two free range egg producers near me, one is a smallholder who sells only from the farm gate - the other is a large scale producer (16,000 chooks at present but currently building sheds for another 24,000). I source my eggs from the latter and pay him £1.30 per dozen. These retail at £1.70 per dozen, and that's cheap up here.