Payment for eggs? Or homegrown veg / homemade crafts?
Last week when John’s mum was visiting, she mentioned that she had been wondering about paying us for the eggs we give the family. I think we gave her/John’s dad effectively three half-dozens last week – which would cost about £5 in the shops, but cost us just under £2*. She tried to give us some money but John refused to accept it on principle, and bundled her out of the door before she could argue — it did lead us to talk about it afterwards though.
When we got the extra girls last year and it made it easier for us to regularly give away boxes of eggs, John & I talked about taking a nominal charge for them to pay for the extra feed and that sort of thing – but never actually got around to doing it. With the six girls now, we are really just giving away our spares; I think if we had enough chickens to warrant doing a “garden gate” stand to sell them (or sold them at our workplaces), we’d be more inclined to take money from friends but for us right now, while we’re ok for money and it’s just a casual thing, it feels a bit petty to ask good friends and family for £1 here and there.
Even if we were selling them though, John said he wouldn’t accept any money from his mum and dad because they’ve given, and continue to give, us so much – over the last fortnight, John’s dad has put up a fence for us, supplying all the wood (some free; some paid for) as well as labour — that is surely worth a few eggs!
Expanding from that, we realised that at least half of the people we regularly give eggs to frequently give us they’ve made/do something for us in return – and we like that idea of unofficial/unspoken bartering because it stops it being just about money and becomes about time/effort instead. There are a few people to whom we regularly give eggs that don’t really give us anything in return – and we’re not bothered about that (if we cared, we wouldn’t give them eggs so often!), but if they ask to give money towards feed now, we’re more likely to say “bake us a cake sometime instead”.
Something related: last year or so, I realised that I’m always more inclined to give produce or crafty things to other growers & crafters etc. Perhaps I wouldn’t be so bothered if I had a mega glut of things – but at the moment while my output is more limited, if I have to choice between giving stuff to a grower/maker or a non-grower, I’d almost always lean towards the grower. They realise that homegrown/homemade things aren’t necessarily always aesthetically perfect and they know the effort that goes into producing the finished fruit or project.
Someone who doesn’t grow their own veg may see as courgette as something worth (say) 60p, which may be a few minutes of their working time, the same price as a Mars bar or can of Coke, but a grower (or someone who has grown in the past) sees the ongoing care and attention that went into growing it, and that’s far more valuable. (I think that’s why people who grow/cook/make etc are generally less wasteful too – it’s easier for them to see/imagine the effort.)
What do you think? Do you sell your surplus at a “garden gate” or to friends and family? Or do you give everything away for free? How does it work for you?
* our per egg cost is usually around 9p, so £1.62, but has been a little more lately because of expenses to do with the red mite infestation last month; I’m putting it at around 11p or 12p an egg at the moment.
About Me
I'm Louisa and I live a Really Good Life. I grow, I craft, I cook and I make the most of what I've got instead of forever craving more.
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Portion control
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Baking things that'll last
Last year I placed surplus garden veg in a box outside the gate and invited people to help themselves. We live in a small village with no shops so they all went, even the giant courgette/marrows. Other people in the village did the same and there were soon baskets of apples plums and gooseberries on the street. I met some new people too and this year I will do the same if there are any surpluses, although I have planted less of the same things and more varieties as part of the learning curve that is growing your own. I’ve also been able to take on a garden share with a neighbour-I get an extra veggie plot in exchange for some fresh produce.It seems a very sociable thing to share the produce you’ve lovingly produced and you get things from other people on the same basis.
I do charge (mostly) for our eggs. I was very dubious at first but a friend told me that they wanted eggs and would have to pay the shop so they were happy to pay me – and they got nicer, fresher eggs. The chickens are pets, really, and we have 3 lots – the younger ones who lay most, the middle-aged ones who lay some and the pensioners who haven’t laid for years. The money helps to feed them all and I can justify the expense of keeping them as pets.
I’m always happier to barter, though, and like you, prefer to barter or give to someone who appreciates the effort.
We have neighbours who want to pay for eggs. One looks after the birds when we are away and gets to keep the eggs laid at that time. When we have too many eggs my husband goes to other neighbours and gives them away.
As for my craft work, knitting and spinning, I don’t charge money but I’m quite selective about who gets it. I have to have known you for quite a while before you get my socks, or I give them to a raffle. If I was to charge minimum wage, or what I earn in my day job, no one could afford anything I made and I’m reluctant to charge less than that as it devalues the work that goes into craft work.
A few years back I was asked if I knew anyone who would spin some alpaca, 2 fleeces, for her. I said I would do it. I didn’t charge any cash but I kept an accurate record of how much time I spent on each fleece and kept 20%, by weight, or the completed yarn. That way the “customer” realised how long handspinning takes and what an excellent deal she was getting and I got what I wanted, some beautiful handspun alpaca.
I’ll knit in exchange and have done it as part of a LETS exchange and more recntly as a barter. A friend spent a day helping me to clean and declutter my bedroom and in return is getting a school cardigan for her small daughter and some kntted leggings for her new baby.
A work colleague recently asked me if I could crochet, which I can, and then asked if I would crochet a bedspread for her daughter. I declined. I don’t suppose she realises how much work that would involve. But I have offered to teach her, and her daughter to crochet and I think it would mean much more to them both in the end.
And I rarely do comissions. If someone asks for something like something I am wearing I am much more likely to give that one to them and make another for myself. That way they get what they liked rather than something they weren’t expecting. I don’t do lots of work to be faced by a disappointed face.
I generally give things away because I have benefitted from others’ generosity and want to pay back generally and find it always comes back to me anyway. Last year, a friend with an allotment gave me loads of fruit and I made jam and jelly and gave some of each lot back to him and to other friends. the other day, a jam recipient offered me some gooseberries. This also applies to furniture and appliances; we have given stuff away and received; our current fridge/freezer and washing machine were given to us. My husband gave away his bike to a friend who needed it and later bought himself a new one; we can afford it and our friend couldn’t. Having said that, I am less inclined to give anything to anyone who took advantage of their friends (ouch!) to sell stuff they can afford to give away (unless it was their living) or who smoked, drank excessively or claimed they were broke when they were just wasteful! I’m glad to say my friends and family aren’t like that.
Our excess eggs go to friends and family and we drop some off to ‘select’ neighbours. It’s all swings and roundabouts, we get a lot of support, help and understanding :) Some leave money ‘discreetly’ and with older generations it often offends if you refuse to accept. Bartering is not always about the exchange of products though :)
Hmmm…thats a tough one..we give to our daughters and close family..but thats it..last year we were seriously taken advantage of and it wasn’t nice to know that they only wanted to know you because of what you could give them…no names but a family member would turn up and just ask out right if we had any going spare thats not too bad you say bit cheeky…but when they turn up with a few friends who expect to get it for nothing then thats taking the p*ss..had to draw a line and say sorry i’m not a charity,i don’t mind giving you my surplus but everyone else has to pay…that stopped it and i haven’t seen them since..
I now have a barter system going with a neighbour..bag of fresh fruit and veg for icecream and lollies..another lady saves me all her jars..so she gets jam and veg in return..one lady always knits my girls a hat,scarf and gloves for winter every year..so she gets eggs,jam and veg plus fruit if we have any left..its nice to do it that way..we are all friends and have a good chat when we see each other..its much better to barter than exchange money it feels nicer to me..they have over the last year become friends and they often have ideas or tips for me..also the knitting lady has taught me to knit properly..she is going help me learn crochet..good job she is patient,last time i had to be cut out of it lol…
On the plus side of all this..my daughters have some skills themselves which they give for free to me and their dad in exchange for the goodies..one cuts my hair,the other will babysit if i need sometime to myself,the other will get me the whoopsies where she works every month..seems like a fair deal to me..its much more than bartering to me..its a simple way of me getting rid of surplus and getting something i need in return…with absolutely no money involved..if only all of life was so simple.
sara
we sell the excess eggs/veg to friends and workmates for cheaper than the supermarket but still make a small profit. we trade for stuff too. family get them for free though. this year we planted mooli radish as a cash crop as one of the neighbours and her friends asked us to grow them so they could buy them from us(and we didn’t like them that much when we grew them last year – the radish that is not the neighbours)
I get some surplus eggs, and most people, like a colleague at work who loves having fresh eggs, will give me £1/half dozen. It doesn’t cover costs, but they’re getting cheap eggs and I’m getting a donation towards their feed.
Some friends in the village have eggs most weeks and insist on giving me £1.50/6. They’re very generous with their surplus plants and anything else they think we might use, so I do give them lots of egg ‘presents’ whenever they let me. They’ve just given DD1 a stack of beautiful clothes, all new or barely worn, which has saved me from having to buy her new jeans etc so I think we may have to have another talk about them getting ‘free’ eggs!
I do use eggs as a thank you a lot, for time or produce received. I get tail corn from a local farmers wife, and I never know what to give her as a small token- she has her own chickens!
I think it’s important not to get too wrapped up in whether or not you’ve exchanged value, payment or barter. I rate just giving with a generous heart and receiving with heartfelt thanks. People get too hung up on ‘what to give to say thanks’ —just say thanks. I find that karma seems to sort it all out. I give away some eggs and vege to an elderly neighbour who doesn’t really have anything to exchange but I seem to get given things from other people and it all seems to balance out to the benefit of all. One man’s junk is another’s treasure, or something like that!
It is really good when you have like-minded people to share with though.
This is a bit off topic, but I thought that it may be useful.
I used to give my excess eggs away until I realised that over winter when the chooks went off the lay or slowed down I could end up buying eggs, and didn’t I wish I could have kept those eggs then!
I keep Campbell ducks as well, and have had to deal with huge amounts of spare eggs from them. Not that many people want duck eggs, I suppose they aren’t too sure what to do with them, so I started off by trying to bake and freeze cakes to use them up. Needless to say I soon ran out of freezer space. So then I thought I would just freeze the eggs. I have been freezing spare egg whites to make pavlovas for a while, but freezing whole eggs is slightly different. Luckily my hoarder Grandmother had a couple of books on the subject of freezing fresh food.
If you want to freeze your eggs and save them for winter gently mix whites and yolks together. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to each 2 cups of eggs for savoury dishes, or 1 tablespoon of sugar for cakes and sweet dishes.
3 tablespoon of egg mix = 1 fresh egg
1 cup of egg mix = 5 fresh eggs.
I still give produce away, but I make sure that have kept enough for the family first.
I forgot to add that I have started freezing in ice trays to make it easier. That way you can unfreeze only what you need. I was freezing in containers, but would end up with the equivalent of 4-6 eggs, which wasn’t always the amount that was needed. I can get about 1 tablespoon in an ice cube, so that made it simpler to use smaller amounts.
Hope that this may be of use!
Wow, lots of food for thought!
Jan: what a great idea! I’m not sure it would work around here – too many passing kids who like throwing things – but I do occasionally give away plants that way (since they’re slightly less aerodynamic).
Jo: I like that – the newbies justifying the old girls :)
Margaret: “I’m reluctant to charge less than that as it devalues the work that goes into craft work” – I think that’s exactly what I’m worried about too. Love your idea to teach the mum & daughter rather than just make it for them :)
Attila: we’re in the same position – we give and receive. We don’t give to receive but it’s nice when it happens.
Mo: I know what you mean about the “offended if you don’t take money” thing – it saves arguments to take it even if we don’t want it! I was surprised that John was so adamant with his mum because of that actually :)
sara: how cheeky were those people! sounds like you’ve got a good arrangement with your neighbours and daughters though – everyone wins :)
john b: heh, cash crops. if only you could make mooli radish wine ;)
Hazel: we’re always in same farmer’s wife position with that there john b – last year he gave my John lots of homebrewing help/equipment – but at that point we only had courgettes & eggs to offer, and he had plenty of those himself. You and I will have to grow peculiar things to catch out these self-sufficient people :)
Linda: that is a good point. I don’t think we want-want things in return, just need an idea to suggest when people want to give us money.
Em: thanks! we got a good amount of eggs through last winter so I didn’t feel the need to freeze any but I think as our main girls get older, I’ll do that.