I’m sitting on 28 dozen eggs our chickens laid in just the last week and brooding over how to sell them. We have a small loyal weekly client list already, but our hens matured to full production recently and my refrigerator is a wall of egg cartons.

For a farmer, the most incredible aspect of an egg might not be its edibility but its profitability. Finding our chicken eggs each day is the one chore that brings a little cha-ching with it – that is when you can find them. We’ve had longer client lists many times, but when I can’t find the eggs, I can’t sell the eggs. Also, it’s important to note that when I talk about profitability on Erma’s Farm, our idea of profitability is measured, quite literally, in chicken feed. We’ve gone from finding a dozen eggs daily to four dozen, which only means that the chickens are able to foot their bill at the grain mill each week as well as treating the goats and Emus to dinner.

Collecting eggs reminds me of collecting coins in a Mario Brothers game; sometimes you can skip along and grab egg after egg until your basket is full, but usually the chickens make you jump through a few hoops first. My favorite time is winter when the snow is deep and the birds have to stay inside. Although I still end up on my hands and knees gathering eggs, at least I know where to find them.
Because we let the chickens and turkeys outside in just about every other weather situation, I’m usually less lucky than Luigi and more like the bumbling Inspector Clouseau slyly sneaking up on chickens hiding in the garden in an attempt to catch them laying an egg.

Truthfully, I wouldn’t mind being less a cartoon character on my own farm. Therefore, in an effort to redress the seasonal instability between our egg availability and egg customers, we’re reviewing movable fencing options for this summer.

Meanwhile: Is anyone in the mood for Quiche? Egg Salad? Lemon Meringue Pie the color of Marigolds? Email me! ermasfarm@gmail.com