I forgot to mention that I live in North Mississippi and have been unable to find anything online or in my chicken books regarding selling eggs to others and the process so it is legal operation.

Right at this very moment, the federal government is tightening up the laws regarding the sale of eggs. So you might want to take a look at federal law while you are at it.

I've sold eggs off the farm, and that seems to fly under the radar. But selling to a commercial bakery, I suggest that you get yourself some liability insurance. If there is ever any problem with her product, she is going to turn right around and point the finger at you, even if it was her own mismanagement.

If you have a farm policy, check with your insurance agent. You might already be covered for the sale of farm products.

I also suggest that you contact the USDA veterinarian in your area. That is who is in charge of food safety, so he should know what the local requirements are.

The Department of Agriculture regulates egg sales in our state. The laws change frequently on the sale of eggs, and they seem to be continually clamping down on the family farm producer and that's why I stopped messing with it a year ago.

In our state flock size determines whether you need to have an inspector visit. One hundred hens used to be the magic number and that's not many eggs. The regulates how your cartons are marked and who you may sell them to and how they're stored.

I run an agribusiness and my egg sales were strictly above board and claimed as a business profit and I was covered for liability. I'm imagining however a lot of sales go on from the back door for pin money.

This is another area where the small producer hasn't been implicated in any health problems, but is going to be impacted with restrictions anyway. Call your state Dept of Ag, they can tell you anything you need to know.

I sell eggs....not many.....just to friends, coworkers, teachers at my son's school.... a few dozen a week is all. Just enough to help out with the chicken feed bill.

Unless you are inspected, I don't think you can sell to commercial folks, so I'd definitely look into that. But to private people....why not? I am in WI though, and it's common practice for people much like myself to sell eggs, at farmers markets, through work classifieds or whatever... but selling them to commercial people, that's definitely a no-no...stores, restaurants, bakeries....

It all boils down to your state regulations, so you need to find out the particulars.....state by state. There are exemptions in my state for things like food pantries. Some of the regulations call for licenses not for the producer, but the distributor like little farm stalls or even farm market sellers who may want to buy eggs from you.

Most state regulatory agencies are easy to work with and a simple phone call can answer all your questions. Even if you sold out the backdoor here, and are not inspected, you still have to comply with certain handling and carton marking laws and that includes if you sell to private people. You may get by with it, and I'm sure it's done all the time, but if money exchanges hands you might be found out after the fact to have been outside of the law and when that happens, fines or liability can be the result. It's too easy to do it the way your state defines not to bother to check it out. You can also ask your extension agent for help if this seems to daunting.

Bigshoes, I agree with the above advice: Really look into the deal of selling eggs to the bakery, although I'm surprised that she hasn't already. A friend of mine runs a store with a small eatery and she can't use her own eggs there. I've sold eggs to friends and coworkers but now I just give them away. Some people were complaining about the size or cost ($1!!!) and it made me mad and took the fun out of it. So now I just give them away to people who have always appreciated them. Lori