First egg sale!!!

[Suechooks]

is there any rules for selling eggs to your neighbours and friends? Do you need certificates or something? or to say they have had their injections etc

As far as I have read you can sell "from the gate" (which includes family and friends and neighbours) without restrictions but when you involve a middle man tthen you have to conform to regulations.
Obviously if you have 50 or more birds you must be registered with DEFRA and are then bound by their regulations. Bramble can fill you in on those!

[Bramble-Poultry]

the official line from the egg marketting board is that you are allowed to sell to the final consumer directly - "farmgate sales" without the need for regulation. however, once you sell to the corner shop or the butcher who then sells them on, your eggs must be date stamped with an expiry date, 28days from date of lay, have a unique flock ref number so they can identify yours should the need to and you must class the eggs (class 1, class 2) etc .

The eggs must also not be washed or adulterated in any way as washing removes some of the protective coating to the eggs and could lead to spoilage quicker than the 28 days. However, the eggs must also not have any traces of poo or mud etc on their shells. I fit special "wet mops" to their bums that wash the eggs as they come out - not!

Any eggs with wrinkles, deformities or variable colourings must be either sold to wholesalers as "wet egg" i.e cracked into a bowl and sold for cooking, or removed from the food chain completely and sold as non-food grade egg for use in paints etc where they need a binder.

These regulations however, ONLY APPLY TO HENS EGGS. you do not need to comply if you sell duck, goose, quail or guinea fowl eggs. Therefore you can supply middle men with those all you like and not have to worry about red tape.

Anyone can register with the British Poultry Register which will give you a flock number, but it is compulsory to register if you have 50 birds or more - even if it is for only 1 day. for example your are a staging post for an auction. If your land has more than 50 birds (including day old chicks) you must register. You will also need a DEFRA CPH Holding number too!

However, with a CPH number you are technically a farm. A farm is a business and then expense for the business become tax deductable. Cat food is theoretically tax deductable as the cat is the business's "vermin" control. likewise Dog food is also claimable as "fox control and theft control". a proportion oif your household running costs then become offsets to tax as you run the business from there.

There are benefits......40p per mile rebate for driving to and from business related trips in the car etc etc. HOWEVER, SEEK THE ADVISE OF A QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANT BEFORE GOING DOWN THIS ROAD OF EXPENSE CLAIMS AS ONE FALSE MOVE ON YOUR PART AND THE HMRC HAVE YOU BY THE SHORT AND CURLIES!

[Snadger]

................................ HOWEVER, SEEK THE ADVISE OF A QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANT BEFORE GOING DOWN THIS ROAD OF EXPENSE CLAIMS AS ONE FALSE MOVE ON YOUR PART AND THE HMRC HAVE YOU BY THE SHORT AND CURLIES!

And try and get an ex Politicians accountant as they will claim for everything bar the kitchen sink.........................

[Hilary B]

Are there any egg-selling Grapes in Wiltshire?
We mostly end up buying Paxcroft eggs (free-range, sort of....) and I would LOVE to get PROPER free range 'most of the time'.

[tlck9]

the official line from the egg marketting board is that you are allowed to sell to the final consumer directly -

Okay thats good

However, the eggs must also not have any traces of poo or mud etc on their shells. I fit special "wet mops" to their bums that wash the eggs as they come out - not!

Good sideline business - mops for chickens LOL

eggs with wrinkles, deformities or variable colourings must be either sold to wholesalers as "wet egg" i.e cracked into a bowl and sold for cooking, or removed from the food chain completely and sold as non-food grade egg for use in paints etc where they need a binder.

Assuming the above does not apply to gate sales? or does it

[julesapple]

One of my lovely crafters supplies us with their excess eggs at present as We get three a day but they aren't any bigger than 50g yet. Their eggs are organic and completely free range...they have so much space their chooks should join the Rambler's Association......

This week I've made lemon curd, bramble curd, passionfruit curd and mango & lime curd. #2 son wants to know if banana curd is possible so I'm just looking for a recipe online. All of the curds will be sold at our fairs.

Also going to try pear curd today, and lemon & lime.

Jules

[Bramble-Poultry]

tlck9 - I would assume it doesn't its all about conformity and that fact that mishappen eggs are misinterpreted by the consumer not because thee is anything wrong with it.

Mike sells our surpluss eggs at work - they all comment on the lovely different shades and sizes in the box, but I have to admit any that are a really odd shape as happens ocassionally I keep and have myself. Al of our "customers" are junkies too - they moaned when we had a weeks holiday as they had to buy their eggs elsewhere and they just couldn't match up.

Technically flummery it is possible to supply eggs as cheap as that but only on mass - feed is expennsive to us because we pay retail and we also pay for the convenience of a processed feed - ie pelleted and bagged. If you buy feed commercially you buy direct from the mill by the tonne and usually unbagged and usually not a pelleted feed liek we get - it comes on the back of a dumper truck, based on that it is possible to get the feed bill down to around £5 per bird per annum. But to be fair the producer is not doing themselves any favours by underselling thir product.

Jules - YUMMY - send some this way!! Must hunt you out next time we are down your way (its gotta be done we haven't been to see family since end of June - smacked wrists!)

[tlck9]

I normally get around 80p per 1/2 dozen, only because this is what the others sell theirs at the allotment. Although most of my friends give me 80p and 20p for the chucks christmas box (SWEET!)

Locally, and there are absolutely loads of egg sellers as we are very rural sell for around £1.20/£1.50 per 6

[Flummery]

With 4 chickens we rarely have any spares. We usually get 4 a day but we eat plenty and I give mys sister and Ma some each week, my grand-daughter need their dippies, aNnd Himself's parents love their eggs too. Very occasionally there's enough to give a 'sweetener' to the neighbours but we'd be hard pressed to have any left to sell!

[Glutton4...]

You need more Chooks Aunty flum!

[Flummery]

Then I'd have less growing space. I have a fairly big garden but I like them to have plenty of room and still have space for their slave (me!) to grow greens for them!

[Glutton4...]

In that case, you need a Lottie, Auntie Flum!!!

[Snadger]

Then I'd have less growing space. I have a fairly big garden but I like them to have plenty of room and still have space for their slave (me!) to grow greens for them!

You'll just have to put your name down on the 4o year allotment waiting list then flum!

[RedThorn]

well done to Shirley's girls!