There are  people advertising for egg producers , either free range , barn or organic .It all sounds quite attractive but is it ? .I would like to hear some people's views who have recently start up with new systems , producing eggs for the first time.

The market does seem to be growing but having started 4 years ago, it's not all its cracked up to be (pardon the pun).  If you get a good flock, then you may make good money, but get a bad flock and you are stuck with it for 13 months.  Feed prices are going up, labour can be hard to find and the capital costs are quite high.  It can fit in well with other enterprises.  Prices are high at the moment and lots of new sheds are going up.  But what will happen when the demand slows: prices will fall.  Also many supermarkets imported cheap free range eggs for the first time a christmas. 

Thanks for that. If battery hens stop laying in 4-5 years there will be a market to fill which must be quite substantial .In Scotland there are a number of people putting up new units at the moment

Battery cage eggs are a low value commodity (sounds like milk?) and free range is at a premium price.  If cage eggs stop, will consumers all want to upgrade to free range at the higher price, or will supermarkets reduce the price premium, therefore making free range a low value commodity?

You've hit the nail on the head although there won't be a price premium unless they are allowed to import them .This a problem in all sectors in agriculture , where prices are squeezed and squeezed. . We are price takers not makers , we have to change that for sustainable farming to suceed .