Hi,

I am drowning in eggs right now. I have frozen a lot but still have a lot left. Hens are laying 3 dozen a day or more. Not enough but too much. I finally have made a connection to possibly sell my eggs but at 50 cents a dozen thats not much. I really need some recipies or ideas. I have deviled, pickled, and made pound cakes, etc. Anyone have any new ideas? Bernice

-- Bernice raymond (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 26, 2000

Answers

Bernice, Up here in Wisconsin we get $1.oo a dozen and I have a friend who can't keep up with the buyers. Have you checked in to dehydrating them? I have not done it myself cause I keep up with the eggs for now but it didn't seem that difficult. Whenever my girlfriend gets too many eggs, she always makes custard. Just a thought.

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), March 26, 2000.

Do either one of you work outside the farm ?Work is a great place to sell them .I agree $1.00 a dozen is about right.Casseroles take up a lot of eggs, and puddings .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), March 26, 2000.

Around here they go for a dollar a dozen at the farm. We also find that if you have a small Japanese Grocery they are so hot on freshness the Japanese grocery they pay a dollar a dozed and resale for about 1.75 to 1.90. Won't work for the other oriental stores generally though.

-- Michael M. McFall (mcfallm@aol.com), March 26, 2000.

Hi Bernice, We get a $1.00 a dozen in Ohio, people love the fresh eggs. In the past when I have had egg overrun, I give them away to some of the folks who can really use them. They are always very much appreciated.

-- Kathy (jubilant@ncweb.com), March 26, 2000.

Egg noodles and other pastas would be my answer for your question. Don't forget that Easter is coming up and a lot of folks will be looking for eggs at reasonable prices. Then too, you could start ripening them to sell to the kids for halloween. Ya right.

-- greenbeanman (greenbeanman@ourtownusa.net), March 26, 2000.

Bernice, Have you tried selling them to the local health food store? Rules differ but they pay a premium price. In Arkansas our friends are getting $1.40 from the health food store. When we lived in Wisconsin the local CO-OP couldn't legally sell eggs so people just had to make a $1.50 donation in a can! All the money went straight to the farmer.

Hope you find a profitable oulet. .50 doesn't even pay for feed and you shouldn't have to sell for that! Kim

-- kim (fleece@eritter.net), March 26, 2000.

Hi everyone... thank you so much for the wonderful answers. i will have to experiment and see what I can do. We are about 90 miles from the nearest organi or health food store but farmer markets are starting again so i might get lucky. I'll also try donating as I believe in giving back what you are blessed with! Right now i have 11 dozen in the fridge. funny thing is hubby is the business operations mamager for Oliver Eggs out of Crew, VA. and he can't even move them for us... not enogh yet to meet volume sales. I hinted he sould add a few to his cartons to get rid of excess. one year his boss made a mistake and wanted to sell boiled eggs for Easter.. well he packed the boiled eggs instead of the raw and the stores were just a fussing about getting boiled eggs instead!

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 26, 2000.

I can hardly fit the rest of our food in the 'fridge we've got so many eggs! We sell them for a $1. too, mostly to people at my husband's office. I'm going to make a sign one of these days "Fresh Eggs Today" to put out in front of the house. Seems like there's more and more traffic these days, so I might as well try! I also tried my first batch of homemade pasta this week, lasagne noodles, and it turned out very well and made a tasty lasagne. Last week I tried a new recipe for Scotch Eggs. It was good and hearty with hard boiled eggs and sausage. Gotta keep using up the eggs!

-- Jean (schiszik@tbcnet.com), March 26, 2000.

Bernice, do you have a small local post office? Our postmistress knows everyone and talks to everyone. That might be a place where you could leave word that you have nice fresh eggs to sell.As for recipes, I sometimes make creamed eggs on toast. (White sauce with chopped eggs in it, maybe a little onion, maybe a few peas). My husband likes it. I really like the idea of egg noodles! I'm going to try that.

-- Peg (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), March 26, 2000.

I make pasta. Three eggs and 2 cups flour are all you need, but I also add powdered dried veggies and dried herbs for variety. The pasta dries easily, and keeps well.

Connie

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), March 27, 2000.

Dear Bernice, Couldn't agree more with others. Here in western N.Y. $1 a dozen is pretty standard. A fresh eggs today sign sounds just the ticket. Also you might try anyone in your area that has a small to medium sized bakery as a possible outlet.

-- D.Baker (dcbaker@2ki.net), March 27, 2000.

Bernice, I really enjoy raising my Red Star hens but, like you, get so many big brown eggs. There is a church near me that has a food pantry. The give food to people who are needy. I give my eggs to them. Ever couple of weeks, I give all my neighbors big, fresh brown eggs. They love it. We have missionaries, pastors, etc who visit often and we give them eggs. Any time someone comes to visit, they get eggs. No one has complained.

-- eagle (eagle@alpha1.net), March 30, 2000.

I like the idea of donating surplus fresh eggs to a charitable food pantry. If I've got as many hen chicks as I'm beginning to suspect I have we're going to have a surplus but not really enough to fool with trying to sell them. This will make for a nice charitable contribution.

......Alan.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.ProvidenceCo-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@netscape.net), March 30, 2000.

A friend of mine here in Tennessee, has the same problem of too many eggs. I can only think when I see her frige with not enough room for a stick of butter, Why not chicken soup? Susan

-- Susan (sbrennan@multipro.com), April 02, 2000.

I have had good results with Ke-Peg from Happy Hovel (advertised in Countryside). I gather the eggs several times a day and immediately cool them in the frig. The next morning, I follow the directions on the Ke-Peg jar with the cold eggs and lay them between paper towels in wicker baskets. I then store them in the coolest room in my house, which happens to be the laundry room. I recommended this product to a friend, she used it but her eggs became rotten. The difference between her and me is that I was sure my eggs were fresh when I gathered them; I stored them loosely, she used egg cartons; I stored them where air could circulate around them, she stored hers in a metal cabinet; I stored mine in a cool room, she did not. Anyway, the eggs I stored were good for scrambled eggs or for baking but not for fried or poached eggs as they spread out too much in the pan. It is nice to have this supply during the fall and winter after the girls slow down production and the Ke-Peg frees up refrigerator space. Hope this helps.

-- Yesteryear Cottage (oberg@watervalley.net), April 02, 2000.