How to Find Local Egg Sellers

If you’re in a situation where grocery stores are sold out of eggs and you would love to support a local producer, here is how to find local egg sellers and quickly locate a nearby farm with eggs for sale.

How to Find Local Egg Sellers

Getting Around Egg Shortages

If stores are sold out and you’re looking for eggs, chances are a lot of other people are, too. Chickens lay an egg every 26 hours. While there is no way to hurry that process along, there are ways to get around waiting in grocery store lines for commercial eggs that may or may not be on that day’s delivery truck. Small farms and backyard flocks tend to be kept in much cleaner conditions than commercial birds and it is no secret that chickens eating fresh grass and bugs produce more nutritious eggs.

Here’s Where to Begin Looking:

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Social Media (But they mostly forbid egg selling)

Facebook may be popular but their restriction on selling eggs and animals has driven away chicken flock owners who now opt to advertise eggs and newly hatched chicks elsewhere. You may have the best luck searching for Farmer’s Market or You-Pick Farm pages to determine who might have eggs. (They will have pictures of chickens on pasture grass on their pages, which is as far as they are allowed to ‘advertise’ eggs on FB.) Joining a local chicken group by searching for your city name plus the word chickens should put you in touch with local laying hen owners quickly!

Try MeWe

Nextdoor barely allows the selling of eggs and the social media app MeWe has no restrictions. (By the way, MeWe is the absolute best and safest way to locate newly hatched chicks for sale by breeders in your area, especially if you’ve had your heart set on breeds that lay chocolate or colored eggs.) 

To use MeWe you need to search for your city name – or the name of a large nearby city – and the word ‘chickens’. For example, if you live near Houston, Texas you would search “Houston Chickens” and request to be added to the group Houston Area Backyard Chickens. There you can request to purchase washed eggs for eating and discover who is keeping chickens near you.

Building a relationship by regularly buying eggs from a local producer now means you’ll be at the front of the waiting list the next time the stores are empty.

Next Try The Natural Markets

Independently owned natural markets sell nothing but pastured eggs from small, local producers. Use the map app on your phone to search “natural market” to discover what is nearby. Call before you go and ask if they have eggs in stock. You may need to pay with a credit card over the phone to have the eggs held for you. Anticipate non-GMO pastured eggs being $8+ per dozen at 2020 prices. This is not price gouging, this is the everyday going rate.

Try the Grass Fed Beef Farms, Too

Chickens are so easy to keep that most farms have a flock of them. Our favorite beef producer, Aitken Farm & Ranch, also sells honey and eggs direct to the public. Next door, Victoria’s Natural Market sells free range eggs, too. Sometimes farms will source additional pastured eggs from small flocks around them as shortages drive the public to seek out local producers and the farms hope to gain new customers. Take extra cash when you go to buy eggs and plan on being tempted by the other fresh, local foods offered for sale!

Use LocalHarvest.org

I have found some phenomenal small farms using LocalHarvest.org! You’ll be able to search for small farms, farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and events. Select FARMS from the top menu then click on ALL LOCAL FARMS. A list should open showing you multiple farms within a 1 to 2 hour driving distance. Again, chickens are so easy to keep that most farms will have them and sell eggs, even if it is not their primary source of income. Call ahead to check availability.

If the Internet Fails You, Use Old Fashioned Know-How

Backyard producers may have quit advertising to keep from being flooded with messages, even though they still have eggs to sell. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know a single person who owns chickens – here is how to find what you need. Use your map app to determine where your nearest country area is. This area will have homes that sit on acreage and if there is a Tractor Supply nearby, you can guarantee people own chickens! Even just searching for a nearby Tractor Supply will point you in the right geographical direction.

Begin calling small, local feed stores that lie along your route to that country area. Feed stores are often independently owned and many sell eggs directly to the public. If they don’t have eggs, they are likely to at least have a bulletin board with the names and contact information for farms and local breeders who are certain to have laying hens. Not many people know to go this route to locate tiny backyard producers in order to purchase eggs.

Be the Early Worm at a Farmer’s Market

Market Gardeners will offer their surplus eggs for sale if there are any left over after they have made sure their regular customer’s needs are met. This will greatly reduce the number of eggs for sale on any given Farmer’s Market day during a shortage event but those who arrive an hour early to the market grounds will easily be able to find a dozen for sale. Cash is king so bring plenty of fives and ones. Remember, eggs from non-GMO, grass fed hens are $8+ per dozen; this is not price gouging, this is the everyday rate.

Check the Farmer’s Market Perimeter

Chicken keepers realize people need eggs but they may not have the ability to quickly rent one of the coveted farmer’s market vendor spaces that has a months-long waiting list. But they still want to help! If legally allowed, individuals may set up a folding table near a popular parking spot or in a public space nearby. Eggs for sale should appear clean and the carton be clearly marked with the address of where the eggs were produced. Opt for a seller using clean, new cartons stamped or labeled with her farm info, which indicates good care has also gone into her flock. A dozen non-GMO, pasture raised eggs from these pop-up sellers should be $6-$8 each while backyard chickens fed a commercial feed made with some GMO corn should be priced around $3-$4 per dozen in 2020. 2023 Update: Because of skyrocketing chicken feed costs, backyard eggs are now a minimum of $5 per dozen with $10-$12 per dozen becoming common for 100% pasture fed hens.

Farmer’s Market Sold Out?

If you were unable to get eggs at the Farmer’s Market, begin getting business cards instead. Follow up with the producers 24-48 hours later to see if you can pick up fresh-laid eggs in person. Hens lay an egg every 26 hours so the wait may not be very long if you are willing to drive and meet them at the farm gate with cash for the eggs!

Become A Regular Customer Yourself

It may seem inconvenient to go a little out of your way to buy from a local producer once a month. However, food recalls, unforeseen shortages and animal illnesses in large commercial flocks or herds seem to be happening more frequently. It should prompt us to make strategic buying adjustments. Developing a relationship with a local producer who you buy from every four to six weeks will have huge pay-offs any time there are supply chain hiccups.

Prevent Future Shortages from Impacting You

Your subdivision may not allow you to keep chickens but did you know Coturnix (Japanese) Quail are allowed by almost all HOAs in the United States because they are quiet, domesticated pet game birds? If you are tired of egg shortages, consider keeping sweet, nearly-silent quail hens that lay eggs which taste and bake exactly like chicken eggs! We’ve even got free quail coop building plans here that easily fit the tiniest back yard or patio.

I hope these tips help you discover how to find local egg sellers quickly whom you can develop a wonderful relationship with!

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