Rising egg prices and high demand are prompting consumers to rent or buy chickens, but experts warn the move may not cut costs
Egg price Leaping over 15% A year ago in January, carton eggs cost Americans about $4.95. The producer blames it on Bird flu This forced them to euthanize millions of chickens.
Since relief won’t be expected anytime soon, some egg consumers are now looking for alternatives, including going to the source itself: chicken.
Egg consumers look for alternatives
Nationwide, several hatcheries that talked to CBS News said they saw greater interest in buying chickens.
“For all the chicken sellers I know, sales have risen sharply,” Ron Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith said he has increased feed sales of chickens at his pet store at Mike’s Feed Farm in Riverdale, New Jersey since October More than twice.
“Every week, we’re probably selling at 50% more than the previous week,” he said.
Rental hens also took off with a company, renting chicken, telling CBS News that they loaned chicken for six months at a time.
“There are a lot of considerations to commit to keeping chickens,” said author Kathy Shea Mormino. “If you travel a lot or have a job that gets you out of your home, most of the time, chickens aren’t Your good pet.”
Mormino, known as “Chicken Chick”, has been raising chickens in her Connecticut backyard for 20 years. She shared her experience on social media and hopes people will do research before committing to raise chickens.
Not all cities can allow you to keep chickens, she said, explaining that there may be restrictions on the location of the chicken house, the number of birds, and more.
“The best thing to do is to contact your town’s code enforcement officer to ask for information about any restrictions that may exist in your property,” Momino said.
Tips for saving soaring costs
Experts say the cost of raising chickens can be added up quickly. A backyard hen at her peak can produce up to five eggs a week, but consumers need to consider the initial cost of the coop, chicks and feed, which can cost thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, if you buy twelve eggs at the grocery store a week, it’s about $300 a year.
“I always say they’re not just Pez dispensers, but they’re not giving us eggs,” Momino said. “So how many eggs they lay per week will depend on their health, young, seasonal effects are What.”
However, as prices continue to soar, there are some tips to save eggs. Good housekeeping experts recommend substituting a fourth cup of Greek yogurt during the baking era. The liquid left from canned chickpeas can also be added to the recipe or sprinkle mayonnaise in place of mayonnaise.
The effects of bird flu
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been spreading since 2022. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionit has affected more than 162 million birds nationwide.
Mormino said bird flu is a big problem for domestic sheep.
“Bird flu is distributed mainly by migrating waterfowl, so they are feces and other secretions are infected by the virus,” Momino explained. “All you have to do is pass through duck poop in a pond in a local park, and now whatever you go Wherever I go, I carry bird flu on my shoes.”
She added that the same is true for wildlife.
“So, it only takes a mouse to walk through the infected stool from the waterfowl, it is the carrier and bring it into your backyard. … However, there are certain biosafety measures you can take to suffer from bird flu influenza, but there are certain biosafety measures you can take to treat the bird flu The disease rate.”
At least 70 people were affected by bird flu. One death was reported. Human cases have been spread through cows, poultry farms and other animals CDC data display.
Earlier this week, USDA It said it attempted to rehire its employees who were fired as part of the major cuts made by the Trump administration, based on the recommendations of Elon Musk’s Department of Efficiency (or Dogee). USDA staff are experts working on combating bird flu.
“Although several supporting positions (highly pathogenic avian flu) were informed of their termination over the weekend, we are working to quickly correct the situation and cancel these letters,” the USDA said in a statement to CBS News. ”
