Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[charly1979]

Hi

 

Im going to have to see the article but my mum was telling me about one she had read. Like me she has chickens and passes surplus eggs to friends. My children take mine to their teachers which they enjoy doing and the teachers love having them.

 

Anyway mum was reading that if you had a small flock you of course dont need to register to sell them but you need to check you house insurance It seemed to suggest that if someone was ill from one of 'your' eggs it can be traced etc.

 

Ive never heard of this ! Is it something new or just scaremongering and where do you stand if you are giving them away ? It just seems to over the top to me.

 

Perhaps im jumping the gun asking this on here before I see the article but would value other peoples insight. Im hoping to get the aticle this weekend and then I will scan it and add it somehow or look for the weblink.

 

Thanks

[Olly]

If you find the article it would be interesting, but I suspect this is scaremongering - I've never heard of anyone being sued for supplying eggs.

 

I expect Environmental Health could trace the source of an outbreak of food poisoning, but since most commercial flocks have salmonella I don't see why home-supplied eggs should be any more dangerous. The warnings about not eating raw egg if you're pregnant or infirm are pretty well known.

[sjp]

I don't think house insurance has a public liability as a matter of course and i suspect that the cost of PL insurance would be to costly the odd few boxes of eggs

[charly1979]

Ok sorry its taken so long to get back with details about the article but I have now read it so can update you all further

 

I cant find a direct link to the article so will have to try and get this scanned to attach.

 

The article is in Septembers Your Chickens on page 66 written by 'chicken vet' I think the following was the bit that concerned me and my mother

 

For anyone with less than 50 chickens you can sell unmarked eggs at the farm gate or door to door without the need to registar with anyone. However I would suggest that the eggs are clean and unwashed and you must let the purchaser know the best before date which should be no more than 28 days after lay. Following a discussion with a vet from Animal Health I was reminded that the any disease outbreak in people from backyad flocks is relatively traceable due to the localisatin of sales and therefore illness. It would also be worth chatting to your insurance company to check your public liablity home insurance covers any potential problems arising from egg sales

 

The article than goes on about selling to shops etc and if you have more chickens. I agree with the inital advice about clean unwashed eggs but do worry about that last sentance, mind you I have never sold my eggs only given then to freinds and those who have felt they had to pay something has then donated to charity. I do feel its over the top and would we be ok if we made it clear that when passing eggs on that they were accepting them at their own risk (makes my eggs sound a bit dodgy) At present with my 5 girls im ony getting 1 egg a day so Im not having any spare, my girls better just be slowing down due to the colder weather or we may need to be having words

 

Again I hope no one thinks im a 'scare mongering' i would just like to knoe everyones opinion . Thanks

[Olly]

Thanks for coming back with the article - sorry, I wasn't implying that you were scaremongering, rather that the article was!

 

As pointed out above, most home insurance doesn't have a public liability element so I'm not sure talking to your home insurers would be much use.

 

I always write the date on my eggs in pencil so people know how old they are. I've never heard of anyone being sued for this sort of thing, I think I am going to carry on selling my eggs and not worry.

[charly1979]

Thanks Olly thats what I wanted to hear

 

I didnt think that you thought I was scare mongering but to be honest I did think maybe I was but then I suppose nowadys the blame and claim culture can have us worried espcially when you arent doing anything wrong.

[sjp]

as OLLY I date my eggs with the lay date but I tell the odd buyer 21 days from point of lay

the last part of the article is just a 'backside' covering statment from a civil servant