Eggs at the gate -OT

[LadyArowana]

Mr P, I may have to put a tenner in the post for the use of that lovely word quangodious.

And certainly, that should be affordable, as I am now Sold Out of eggs for a bit. Yesterday was slow, today the news spread like wildfire and orders have arrived on Facebook via a local lady. At one point I suspected the theft of one box, but it was simply a lady taking a box for fear they would all be gone and hurrying back to her car for change. How marvellous.

Eggcellent news, well done, keep the happy hens laying. I hope you are putting the money in a special box to save up for their fancy new coop :lol: .

 

[CatherineB]

And certainly, that should be affordable, as I am now Sold Out of eggs for a bit. Yesterday was slow, today the news spread like wildfire and orders have arrived on Facebook via a local lady. At one point I suspected the theft of one box, but it was simply a lady taking a box for fear they would all be gone and hurrying back to her car for change. How marvellous.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks for the thumbs up! I'm very happy. I made £3 today, and will make £4 tomorrow with the orders. I think I'll put all the pounds in a tin labelled "pigs". When there are lots and lots, I'll fence off a section for piggies.

How about a little notice: "Sorry sold out. But the hens are hard at work."?

That is going on the sign tomorrow - love it!

Word got round my eggs are a pound, so I'm stuck with that I think. The way to change the price is change the product so with expansion will come DEFRA registration, salmonella vaccination, printed boxes, new rare chocolate brown eggs (must buy some Marans) and increased prices.

But for now, a very small affair.

 

[Penners]

printed boxes

I'm still a bit iffy about this - I'm concerned that it distances you from the the cuddly, back-to-nature, home-grown image. But if you do go ahead, can I suggest that you print a label that's done in your own handwriting?

As for the price increase, perhaps little-by-little, 10p at a time, over a period of a few months?

 

[AMc]

new rare chocolate brown eggs.

There are a lot of these about in the supermarkets at the moment but demand seems to be very seasonal. I'm also concerned you don't have room for chickens that can lay these massive eggs.
http://www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/category/110-easter-chocolate-gifts.aspx

(Weather's lovely today so I won't need to get my coat... )

 

[Penners]

That's a good yolk, AMc! Shell we wait for others to enjoy it? All white?



:roll:

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol:

Loved it.

Oh, but I'm rushed off my feet. And I haven't had an egg for a week now. Everyone wants my eggs and are paying me in advance to be first in the queue. There have been requests that I branch out with my ramsoms, and other produce when it comes in season. What with buying boxes, and trying to persuade my girls into the correct diet, and gardening the area around my "shop", there isn't a minute to spare for PPUKe!!

We are going to buy some more hens at the weekend.

 

[JoceAndChris]

printed boxes

I'm still a bit iffy about this - I'm concerned that it distances you from the the cuddly, back-to-nature, home-grown image. But if you do go ahead, can I suggest that you print a label that's done in your own handwriting?

As for the price increase, perhaps little-by-little, 10p at a time, over a period of a few months?[/quote]

I drove round my competitors yesterday, everyone is doing 6 for a pound, even Sainsbury's - all free range - much larger than mine. Not blue though. So I don't feel I can increase the price until that changes.

Own handwriting label sounds very sweet - though it better be Chris' - he's the artistic one and could draw a suitable accompanying pic.

Thanks for the idea Mr P! Any suggestions on how to package the ramsoms?

 

[worms]

Glad to hear the sales are going well!

I would support some form of branding/labeling on your boxes - we buy "good" eggs from various sources and "cheap" eggs from the supermarket and you end up with an assortment of boxes and no real way of knowing which source the good eggs came from.

Although I don't totally hold with the anthropomorphism of naming chooks, I do think an occasional note with an individual chook's details would add to the homespun charm of the operation. Getting the details of the whole flock at one go, would be too much for me, though!

 

[Penners]

Any suggestions on how to package the ramsoms?

I'm afraid I don't know what ramsoms is/are, Joce. Are we talking about wild garlic? If so, perhaps your is a local spelling - it's ransoms around here, but I know that such colloquial names can vary from area to area.

 

[Penners]

I do think an occasional note with an individual chook's details would add to the homespun charm of the operation.

Great idea! "Hen Of The Month"!

"Arabella is an Aquarian. She just loves cockerels who treat her with respect and are interested in her mind as well as her feathers. Her ambition is to work for deprived chicks and to promote world peace."

Make sure you put a staple through the paper where her navel would be (if hens had navels!).

 

[CatherineB]

I do think an occasional note with an individual chook's details would add to the homespun charm of the operation.

Great idea! "Hen Of The Month"!

"Arabella is a Aquarian. She just loves cockerels who treat her with respect and are interested in her mind as well as her feathers. Her ambition is to work for deprived chicks and to promote world peace."

Make sure you put a staple through the paper where her navel would be (if hens had navels!).

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Moo]

I'm afraid I don't know what ramsoms is/are, Joce. Are we talking about wild garlic? If so, perhaps your is a local spelling - it's ransoms around here, but I know that such colloquial names can vary from area to area.

From Wikipedia:

"Ramsons (Allium ursinum) (also known as buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic or bear's garlic) is a wild relative of chives. The Latin name is due to the brown bear's taste for the bulbs and its habit of digging up the ground to get at them; they are also a favorite of wild boar."

 

[worms]

"Arabella is an Aquarian. She just loves cockerels who treat her with respect and are interested in her mind as well as her feathers. Her ambition is to work for deprived chicks and to promote world peace."

Is that what they call "chick lit"?

 

[Feltwell]

Don't forget September is "National Chicken Month" - not sure that I'd show your girls the website though, might not be what they were expecting:-

http://www.nationalchickenmonth.com/

But don't fret, National Egg Month is much closer - well, it is if you're an American anyway:-

http://www.gone-ta-pott.com/national_egg_month.html

(I love the comment on that site - "Eggs can be pickled, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, scrambled, fried and refrigerated." Who says Americans are daft eh?)

Be careful about nominatons for "Chicken of the Month" though - don't want to get these 2 mixed up:-

http://steakclub.com/chofmocl.html
http://fancyfeatherstx.org/Chickenofthemonth.aspx

P.S. Love the "Hen of the Month" idea! Glad it's taken off for you Joce, I guess all the legions of dog-walkers you get up where you are must have spread the word.

 

[Penners]

From Wikipedia:

"Ramsons (Allium ursinum) (also known as buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic or bear's garlic) is a wild relative of chives. The Latin name is due to the brown bear's taste for the bulbs and its habit of digging up the ground to get at them; they are also a favorite of wild boar."

Thank you, Moo. I was sure you would know. I've always heard the word "ransoms" used in Suffolk, but perhaps people got very used to a certain world-famous brand of plough from the same county.

 

[Penners]

Is that what they call "chick lit"?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Penners]

National Egg Month is much closer - well, it is if you're an American anyway:-

http://www.gone-ta-pott.com/national_egg_month.html

Why on earth do they find it necessary to end the title of that web page with an eggsclamation mark?

 

[Penners]

Anyway, having been enlightened as to what ramsoms are (apologies for my ignorance), Joce, we return to the matter of your packaging or presentation of it.

Are you selling the flower stalks, leaves or bulbs? (Here we go again - Penners ignorance). How will you sell it - in bundles, bags, boxes.....?

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: - especially to hen of the month! It would have to be Clara every month though, she's the most beautiful hen who ever lived. My princess.

Anyway, I'm getting a bit stressed with all this sale of eggs. People are popping in to pay me in advance, and I think I will have to go to Waitrose and buy a big stash of blue eggs so as not to let them down.

The ramsons - ransoms - I've seen both spellings too - I'm thinking of picking a huge bunch of leaves, securing the bottoms with a rubber band, and plonking them in a large bucket of water. 50p a bunch. Recipe cards and placcy bags by their side, in another basket. Whole plants could be potted up and sold for £1? I have hundreds and hundreds - every bed, border and hedgerow is stuffed with them. Last autumn I tried to dig them out of the large border by the gate, but there seem to be twice as many as before. :?