Aimee Figgatt's hens follow her up a hill to get the feed she scatters. Sometimes she gives them cooked spaghetti. "They think it's worms," she says.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The same salmonella outbreak that scares consumers away from the grocery store egg shelves has boosted business for egg producer Aimee Figgatt. Her hens roam freely on her 5-acre urban farm in Teays Valley.
"I've been selling like crazy. I ran out in about 31 minutes Tuesday at the Putnam Farmers Market," Figgatt said. "We sold 92 dozen eggs in 40 minutes last Saturday at the Capitol Market."
Last week, Figgatt called her sister, who raises free-range chickens on her farm outside Dayton, Ohio, to supplement the eggs supplied by her 30 mature laying hens. Her sister arrived with eggs from her farm and her neighbor's farm. Free-range eggs are plentiful in Ohio's farmland.
"The numbers are unbelievable. I used to sit for four hours to sell 24 dozen eggs," Figgatt said. "Now I get 20 to 30 calls a day from customers asking me to reserve eggs." Since the salmonella scare, Figgatt has just a few dozen eggs left to sell on market days after she fills the requests of customers who order in advance.
She recently purchased more hatchlings, bringing her total to 94, but they won't lay eggs until they're five months old. Figgatt's hens are full-blooded heritage hens. She raises them from hatchlings and controls their diet and habitat. Figgatt also sells pasture-raised whole fryers, which she sells for $3.25 a pound. They will be mature in November.
Figgatt sells her eggs for $3 a dozen, the same price she used before the salmonella scare.
Customers also make reservations on her Facebook page.
Figgatt participates in the National Poultry Improvement Plan. Her hens are tested by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture for disease and certified for clean health.
The market for eggs produced by free-range hens increased because some consumers consider their eggs to be less likely to carry salmonella because they aren't caged and come in less frequent contact with their feces, Figgatt said.
Small producers like Figgatt tend to be especially careful about quality control, according to Buddy Davidson, spokesman for the Agriculture Department.
"If a small producer burns a consumer, they might never sell to them again. It's not like buying eggs from a large grocery store," he said. "In general, you'll get a high-quality product from local producers and efficient and affordable production from large farms."
Eggs produced by Figgatt's hens are medium-size, and have dark orange yolks and colorful shells in shades of tan, brown, green, beige and blue.
Some producers give their hens protein so they produce bigger eggs. "I've heard that causes the hen pain to lay the big eggs," Figgatt said. "I won't do that."
Egg production slows slightly in hot weather, a situation large producers remedy by using electric fans that blow air on the hens to stimulate production. "I just let my girls run. If they don't feel like laying that day, that's OK," she said. "I don't really treat my chickens like chickens."
Figgatt hopes the high demand for free-range eggs continues. She plans to add more hens if it does.
"I think it will drop off a bit, mostly for convenience sake. People like to buy all their groceries in one place," she said, "but I also think that, once they try farm-fresh eggs and see and taste the difference, they won't want to switch back."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The same salmonella outbreak that scares consumers away from the grocery store egg shelves has boosted business for egg producer Aimee Figgatt. Her hens roam freely on her 5-acre urban farm in Teays Valley.
"I've been selling like crazy. I ran out in about 31 minutes Tuesday at the Putnam Farmers Market," Figgatt said. "We sold 92 dozen eggs in 40 minutes last Saturday at the Capitol Market."
Last week, Figgatt called her sister, who raises free-range chickens on her farm outside Dayton, Ohio, to supplement the eggs supplied by her 30 mature laying hens. Her sister arrived with eggs from her farm and her neighbor's farm. Free-range eggs are plentiful in Ohio's farmland.
"The numbers are unbelievable. I used to sit for four hours to sell 24 dozen eggs," Figgatt said. "Now I get 20 to 30 calls a day from customers asking me to reserve eggs." Since the salmonella scare, Figgatt has just a few dozen eggs left to sell on market days after she fills the requests of customers who order in advance.
She recently purchased more hatchlings, bringing her total to 94, but they won't lay eggs until they're five months old. Figgatt's hens are full-blooded heritage hens. She raises them from hatchlings and controls their diet and habitat. Figgatt also sells pasture-raised whole fryers, which she sells for $3.25 a pound. They will be mature in November.
Figgatt sells her eggs for $3 a dozen, the same price she used before the salmonella scare.
Customers also make reservations on her Facebook page.
Figgatt participates in the National Poultry Improvement Plan. Her hens are tested by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture for disease and certified for clean health.
The market for eggs produced by free-range hens increased because some consumers consider their eggs to be less likely to carry salmonella because they aren't caged and come in less frequent contact with their feces, Figgatt said.
Small producers like Figgatt tend to be especially careful about quality control, according to Buddy Davidson, spokesman for the Agriculture Department.
"If a small producer burns a consumer, they might never sell to them again. It's not like buying eggs from a large grocery store," he said. "In general, you'll get a high-quality product from local producers and efficient and affordable production from large farms."
Eggs produced by Figgatt's hens are medium-size, and have dark orange yolks and colorful shells in shades of tan, brown, green, beige and blue.
Some producers give their hens protein so they produce bigger eggs. "I've heard that causes the hen pain to lay the big eggs," Figgatt said. "I won't do that."
Egg production slows slightly in hot weather, a situation large producers remedy by using electric fans that blow air on the hens to stimulate production. "I just let my girls run. If they don't feel like laying that day, that's OK," she said. "I don't really treat my chickens like chickens."
Figgatt hopes the high demand for free-range eggs continues. She plans to add more hens if it does.
"I think it will drop off a bit, mostly for convenience sake. People like to buy all their groceries in one place," she said, "but I also think that, once they try farm-fresh eggs and see and taste the difference, they won't want to switch back."
Figgatt currently sells her eggs on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at the Putnam County Farmers' Market at Valley Park in Hurricane and on Saturday mornings at the Capitol Market in Charleston. She plans to offer them year-round at Johnnies Fresh Meat Market inside the Capitol Market soon.
For a complete list of more than 200 licensed West Virginia egg producers, visit www.wvagriculture.org. Local, fresh eggs are sold at farmers' markets, the Purple Onion in the Capitol Market and Fas Chek in St. Albans, among other locations.
Reach Figgatt at 304-300-4763 or search "Little Patch on the Lane" on Facebook.
Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.
EGG INFO
How long after it's laid, is an egg still fresh? Unbroken eggs stored at in a 40-degree F refrigerator should stay fresh for three to five weeks, according to a USDA fact sheet.
"Sell-By" date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. You should buy the product before the date expires.
"Best if Used By [or Before]" date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
"Use-By" date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product.
"Closed or coded dates" are packing numbers for use by the manufacturer.
Free-range eggs: eggs produced by hens with access to the outdoors and grassy fields.
Cage-free eggs: eggs produced by hens not kept in cages, but can be penned.
Organic: eggs from hens that must be fed organic feed that has not been treated with fertilizers or pesticides and given hormones or antibiotics.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture
