As you drive through rural Pennsylvania, you may notice farms with signs at the end of their lanes that say “Eggs for Sale.”

Many poultry producers enjoy keeping a flock of laying hens for their own egg consumption and the simple enjoyment of watching their birds.

However, when egg production exceeds egg demands in the home, folks may sell excess eggs or find creative uses for their oversupply.

My parents raise a small flock of bantam chickens for exhibition. At certain times of the year, they have little to no eggs to eat because most are destined for hatching in the incubator.

To supplement this low supply, my dad purchased six ISA Brown laying hens from Rural King in April 2021.

Now those birds are laying an egg a day and my parents are giving away eggs to friends and neighbors, stuffing them in vehicles, and doing porch drop-offs around the neighborhood. People get eggs whether they want them or not!

A perfect outlet for their oversupply would be a small farm stand. While the income generated would be negligible compared to the input, my parents would have an outlet for eggs that would otherwise go to waste.

Recommendations and Rules

There are no laws that prevent the sale of eggs from a home laying flock. However, there are a few recommendations for egg sales if you are raising fewer than 3,000 layers per year.

If you raise more than 3,000 birds, you are required to meet regulations from Pennsylvania and USDA.

For small flocks, it’s recommended that eggs are sold within five days of laying and be kept refrigerated at 45 degrees or lower.

The cartons cannot come from another business and must be labeled with the name and address of the producer, date or packaging or date of laying, a statement of identity (“Eggs”), the net contents written in 3/16-inch letters, the label “Keep Refrigerated,” and the label “Unclassified” unless you weigh the eggs.

To wash eggs, use water that is at least 10 degrees F warmer than the temperature of the egg. Cold water promotes bacteria entering the egg through the pores in the eggshell.

Rinse water should be 10 degrees warmer than the wash water.

Remove stuck-on debris with a sponge or wipe. Remember to disinfect and thoroughly dry the sponge when you are finished.

Never soak, scrub, or scratch the eggs. This promotes bacteria entering the egg from the surface of the shell.

Let eggs dry completely in a dish drainer or colander before storage. You can use a hair dryer on a cool setting to speed up the drying process.

Collected fresh eggs can be stored in the refrigerator at 45 degrees or less for at least one month.

If you have an abundance of eggs, it is important to date mark the outside of the egg carton with the date you collected the eggs.

You could also write the date that they should be used by on the carton. For example, “Eggs collected on June 12 should be stored until July 12.”

If you are storing hard-cooked eggs (egg in the shell or peeled), keep them in the refrigerator and use within a week after cooking. Any other leftover cooked egg dishes need to be refrigerated and used within three to four days.

For any questions about sale of eggs from small flocks or small flocks of poultry in general, please contact me at 717-363-9053 or [email protected].

Emily Shoop is a Penn State Extension poultry educator.

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