Melondy Phillips
Staff Writer
More than 150 million chickens have been killed since the detection of the avian influenza in 2022. This resulted in a shortage of eggs in many parts of the country, increasing costs as well as demand. With eggs being an intricate part of the American diet, it has left many people shifting their source of eggs from store bought to small town farmers. I am a big advocate for purchasing locally.
Most states have some form of cottage food laws that need to be followed to sell a variety of food items, including backyard farm eggs. In West Virginia, the two main governing bodies for food sales are the West Virginia Department of Agriculture and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
In the state of West Virginia, an Egg Distributor Permit is required to sell eggs. Most back yard farms fall into the category of “small egg producers.” A small egg producer is anyone producing and selling fewer than 150 dozen eggs per week – that’s 1,800 individual eggs per week. If chickens are laying about four eggs per week, it would take about 450 laying hens to exceed that number. That seems like a little more than a “small producer” to me. But anyway, the registration to sell eggs is effective for one year, from July 1 to June 30 the following year. According to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, there are no prerequisites, bonding, or insurance requirements for small egg producers, and they are exempt from paying permit or inspection fees.
In addition to filling out and submitting a registration form, small egg producers must still follow several other requirements. According to the code of West Virginia legislature, “Carton labeling shall be according to legislative rule, cartons shall be clean and free of debris and eggs shall be held under refrigeration according to legislative rule.”
Be careful how each carton is labeled. As chickensintheroad.com put it so well, you must use the term “UNGRADED EGGS”. “(This is also known as FRESH EGGS, but DON’T SAY THAT OR LIGHTNING WILL STRIKE YOU DEAD.) The word “fresh” is highly regulated and reserved for store-bought eggs that are two months old.”
For those who do raise chickens for eggs, there are several ways to preserve them through the leaner winter months. One of which is to freeze dry them.
I prefer freeze drying raw scrambled eggs and turning them into powder. Two tablespoons water added to two tablespoons powdered eggs will make one whole raw egg. A half-gallon size canning jar can hold dozens of shelf stable scrambled eggs.
Ever notice how egg yolks can vary in color? Dominate traits of different breeds can produce varying yolk colors; however, different types of food can also affect the color and quality of eggs. Fully pastured chickens normally have darker yellow yolks with higher nutritional content and better flavor. Caged hens that are fed a completely commercial diet tend to have lighter yellow yolks with little to no flavor (in my opinion). The color and flavor of the yolk may also be changed by adding different supplements to the hen’s diet. Two examples are turmeric and paprika. In addition to its function as a pigment, turmeric may have an effect on the intestinal health of broilers challenged with Coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a common parasitic disease of chickens caused by protozoans of the genus Eimeria. A study done by the National Institute of Health revealed “The feeding of paprika to laying hens has been shown to affect the blood lipid profile, and the feeding of red pepper has also been reported to reduce blood total cholesterol.” Feedstrategy.com says, “Egg yolks enhanced when paprika is added to feed have a richer, deeper gold or orange color.”
Laying hens, on average, produce eggs for three-to-five years but can continue for much longer. Many of our happy free-range hens over five years old still produce four or five eggs per week, including our nine-year-old Ameraucana, a blue egg layer, which still lays an egg about every 30-35 hours.
So, what do you do with hens that have stopped laying eggs?
That’s a conversation for another time, but as for mine, they enjoy their retirement years.