Honesty box for eggs

Timmaay

I'm lucky enough to live right beside a busy enough beach, which would have a steady flow of people the whole year around. We've always had a few hens on the farm here, extra eggs now just get given away to family and friends. I was thinking of getting a few more hens, and setup an honesty box just beside the beach entrance. Anyone else do the above, how do yous get on with it? Fairly common in the UK but not nearly as much so here in Ireland.

49801

Local veg farmer does this with an old lorry body as a hut.
Works well overall
Did have trouble with a few folks and had to put up cctv :mad:

For just eggs go for it!

Wildsurfer

You're diversifying Tim, doesn't bode well for milk price! My sister had a young neighbour set up this system and it was a great success. Often picked up a few cartons there myself. Box was in sight of house though so a bit of a deterrent to the ne'r do wells.

Timmaay

Wildsurfer wrote: »

You're diversifying Tim, doesn't bode well for milk price! My sister had a young neighbour set up this system and it was a great success. Often picked up a few cartons there myself. Box was in sight of house though so a bit of a deterrent to the ne'r do wells.

I'm getting bored I'll admit ha, a few words with the milk lorry driver, who picks up the milk 3 or 4 times a week, and a cheque in the account every month, that's the only interaction I have on the whole supply side ha.

Reasonable marketing angle in getting the likes of ex caged hens (who would be put down otherwise), have a half acre lawn in full view of the beach entrance, would be perfect for the hens, if I wanna be proper lazy I'd let customers go fetch the eggs themselves, for the real genuine nest to kitchen experience ha.

Nekarsulm

Neighbour does it. His setup consists of a deck chair under a tree, with one of those big plastic clear storage crates sitting on it. Just a cereal bowl for the money. Probably ten dozen eggs a day.
He says they have never had any theft at all. Some days there might be a fiver short, but its made up the next evening.
Just someone without change in their pocket, and they throw it in the next time they pass.

Base price

I used to keep my own hens at home but due to too many mink (pine martin) attacks in the last few years I quit.
I now buy fresh free range eggs a few miles away from a honesty box. The box that you place the money into is a old type petty cash box that is locked and screwed in place in a box next door to the box that contains about 8 (half a dozen) cartons of hen eggs and a couple of cartons of duck eggs.
When I'm going to buy eggs I try to remember to bring the old egg box back and place it in the box that contains the money box.

Base price

Make sure that you register your flock with DAFM - follow the link: https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/animalhealthwelfare/diseasecontrols/avianinfluenzabirdflu/poultryindustry/PR512017230317.pdf
If you have a cross compliance inspection and your flock (hens) are not registered then you are in trouble.
BTW do not put up a sign advertising "Eggs for Sale" see Labelling and Hygiene Guidelines for
Producers of Small Quantities of Hen Eggs.

alchemist33

My in-laws do it for eggs and some farm produce. Their drive ends at a small caravan park and it works really well. They haven't had any issues.

tractorporn

Base price wrote:

Make sure that you register your flock with DAFM - follow the link:

If you have less than 50 hens and only sell from the farm gate you don't have to register as an egg packer.

Base price

tractorporn wrote: »

If you have less than 50 hens and only sell from the farm gate you don't have to register as an egg packer.

If you advertise "eggs for sale" and someone gets ill/sick are you then responsible.
I would advice OP to just put up a sign "Free Range Eggs" therefore I reckon caveat emptor applies.

ganmo

tractorporn wrote: »

If you have less than 50 hens and only sell from the farm gate you don't have to register as an egg packer.

But you still need to register your flock even if you've only 5

TomOnBoard

My sister lives in a rural area in Cork and never had a problem with her honesty box set-up that is used for eggs, fruit and vegetables from her 1/2 acre setup with 2 polytunnels and around 30 egg-layers. However, all her clientele would be locals.

The issue I see with the beach-side setup is that many of the people passing your honesty box would not be local and might more easily sucumb to the temptation of taking 'free' eggs. Of course, I could be very wrong; its just that I have a dim view of the honesty of human nature in general these days. When you're dealing with locals, I believe an honesty box would work better than it would with strangers

enricoh

Saw one in navan along the road near Johnstown. It was a dedicated egg dispenser, e3 for a dozen. U wouldn't get eggs out til u put the 3 quid in