Enforced housing leads to Devon farm shop giving away eggs

Birds at Greendale Farm Shop, which regularly attracts 5,000 customers a week, had to be house indoors since December after being caught up in an avian influenza “high risk” area.

Disastrous wholesale market sale attempt

Matthew Carter, Greendale Farm Shop director, told Poultry World that he had taken the decision to give away eggs after a disastrous attempt to sell on the wholesale market.

“We are Freedom Foods accredited but do not have the Lion code and the wholesale market was very weak. We were getting as little as 20p/dozen and so I decided that it was better to give away the eggs to our loyal customers.”

Customers are still buying eggs

The egg give away is going very well and Mr Carter has been surprised that people are still buying eggs too: “They are getting their dozen and then topping it up with the giveaway eggs.”

The farm shop is in the grounds of the farm, which currently stocks 7,000 birds and Mr Carter believes that egg sales are very much linked to customers being able to see the birds roam outdoors.

He is optimistic that Defra will lift the high risk area during April given that the disease seems to be on the wane.