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Beaufort County residents are flocking to local chicken farmers with hopes of purchasing eggs at a cheaper price than what is available at the grocery store. 

As of Tuesday, Mar. 4, 18 eggs from Food Lion cost $8.69 and a dozen eggs cost $5.99. The price of eggs soared earlier this year when a commercial egg farmer in Hyde County announced they had a confirmed case of bird flu at their facility causing shortages at the grocery store and higher prices. 

Just because farm-fresh eggs are sold by neighbors, that doesn’t mean they will be cheaper, Andy Burlingham warns. Burlingham is a Pitt County Livestock Agent with NC Cooperative Extension. 

Farmers have to purchase chicks, feed, bedding and build coops and runs for their chickens. This can cost thousands of dollars upfront. 

“Everybody jokes in the chicken community about their $1,000 egg or $8,000 egg,” Melanie Stoudt, of Washington said. “That’s the very first egg they get from the chickens and the cost it took to get there.” 

Stoudt owned chickens as a child, but returned to the pastime as an adult six years ago. She has about 35 chickens and has sold eggs for the last three years. At first, Stoudt gave away more eggs than she sold; however, when egg prices soared earlier this year, people “insisted on paying” her. 

“People were starting to insist on paying me for them,” Stoudt said. “I think they realized how expensive they were getting in the stores on occasion. This isn’t the first time the prices have gone up on eggs, and it won’t be the last.” 

Dennis and Emily Edwards own The Mermaid and The Sailor Farm in Belhaven. They own about 48 chickens and have been chicken farmers for ten years. Their chickens produce an estimated 10 dozen eggs per week. Emily said owning chickens is “not as easy as people think it is.” 

“When everybody’s healthy and nothing’s trying to eat them, it’s not hard, but sometimes they get hurt and they get sick and they hurt themselves or you look out and there’s a hawk trying to get one,” Emily said. “They can be stressful, and they’re not exactly cheap. You don’t want to get the cheapest food, because then your eggs won’t be as good.”  

Emily estimates an hour is spent every day caring for the chickens. They have an automatic feeder that distributes food every two hours for their free-range hens. A lot of work is put into protecting the chickens from predators like racoons, opposums, owls, minx and thieves. 

The Edwards also sell Olive Eggers hatching eggs for people who either want to add to their flock or start their first flock. The Edwards sell less than 250 hatching eggs a week; therefore, they are not mandated to have a hatchery license. 

Emily said she and Dennis have seen an increase in demand for unfertilized eggs and hatching eggs. “A lot of times last year, we would sell to some of the people at the waterfront neighborhood down the road that we live on. We’re going to do an eggstand this year so we can put them out there in a cooler, and let people drive by if they want to get them. Even chicks – we do growouts where we grow them out to where they don’t need heat and they’re outside, and my waitlist is ridiculous for the first week of March just because everyone wants them.” 

When buying from a local chicken farmer, it’s important to know a few things ahead of time. 

Farm-fresh eggs can vary in color and size. Blue, green, brown and white are all common colors of backyard chicken eggs. The yolks can also vary in color depending on the type of feed chickens are given, if they are given vegetable and fruit scraps and/or if they eat small insects and worms. 

If eggs have been cleaned at the time of purchase, it’s important to put them in the refrigerator. When eggs are cleaned, a protective layer called the “cuticle” will be removed which prevents bacteria from entering the shell. Refrigeration will slow the bacterial growth on the eggs keeping them safe to eat. 

This is why checking for cracks in eggs is important when buying from a chicken farmer or from the grocery store, Burlingham said. 

He continued to explain that buying from local farmers poses no health risks as long as eggs are intact and cleaned before being eaten.

“Everyone’s worried about the bird flu. The bird flu is not transmitted through eggs or even through the meat,” Burlingham said. “It’s through viral transmission through the air…That is from chickens coughing; that saliva in the air…As always, salmonella can be transmitted through eggs and that can even happen through store bought eggs. Cooking your eggs properly, storing them properly and cleaning the outside of the egg is the thing to do.” 

It’s difficult to know how many backyard chicken farmers are in North Carolina, because they are not required to register with a state organization.

Margaret Ross, an agent with NC Cooperative Extension who specializes in poultry, said NC Cooperative Extension is “strictly educational and there is no registration through us for keeping backyard flocks. We also do not collect or keep data on the number of backyard operations that exist in the state. State law requires backyard flock owners to keep their birds on their own property. Any permits or regulations are through the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS).” 

Should a backyard chicken farmer produce more than 30 dozen eggs a week or want to begin processing meat, there are state regulations they must follow. 

“The NC Egg Law states that when selling eggs they must be clean and that you can’t sell more than 30 dozen eggs per week unless you’re willing to grade the eggs,” Ross said. “NC State Extension offers an NC Egg Grading School through our Layer Specialist at the North Carolina State University Prestage Department of Poultry Science if you’re interested in learning how to grade your eggs. If you’re under that 30 dozen/week threshold, eggs and egg cartons still must be clean and contact information must be listed on the egg carton. Further details can be found in the NC Egg Law.” 

As previously mentioned, buying chicks for the purpose of having eggs later is not going to be cheaper than buying eggs from the grocery store. In the long-term, yes, it can be cost-effective; however, it takes at least six months before a hen lays an egg. 

“It is definitely not a way to offset the high prices of eggs,” Burlingham said. “The cost of those  eggs is significantly higher than just paying the couple extra dollars a dozen over those six to eight months. You’re going to spend more money and raise them six to eight months before they start laying.” 

Burlingham continued to say that owning chickens can be enjoyable and people get the added bonus of having eggs. Those interested in keeping chickens in the backyard should check their city’s and/or HOA ordinances. The City of Washington’s ordinance can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/mv278n88