Corona & New Chicken Owners

[calichooks]

it’s all the rage, buying chickens for eggs/meat because of covid-induced shortages. i remember walking through my local grocery store and in the egg section there was one tiny little 6-egg carton, with a paper sign saying 1 carton per person. it was kinda hilarious, really.
anyway with coronacation and my lack of school, my mother and i decided it was about time to get some more chickens- in the form of chicks! so i researched and scoured for available chicks online and it seems everyone had beaten us to it- chicks were sold out for months on every hatchery website, big and small. people are selling day-old straight runs on craigslist for $20 each. aside from the price jacking and total lack of chicks online, TSC seemed to have us covered, so we ordered 20 chicks, which arrived two days apart the next week.
this month of raising them has been a blast. not looking to turn a profit because their equipment and cost exceeds what we’re selling them for, but their little peeps and cute shenanigans is something worth experiencing again. we’re keeping 6 out of the 20 and have sold 9 already, but i always have to wonder when selling these little guys- how do i know they’ll get a good home?
my chickens aren’t just livestock, they’re my pets and only egg layers. we haven’t gotten store bought eggs in years. we have 11 hens already and they’ve treated us as well as we’ve treated them, begging for treats, talking to us, perching on our arm, tolerating cuddles.
with coronavirus, people are looking for ways to sustain their demands of eggs and meat. i wonder if they know keeping chickens for eggs is a lot more expensive than just running to the store? anyway, we’ve had a lot of people interested in the babies we’re selling and they do kinda scare me. i’m selling a m/f barnevelder pair and i had to do research for the lady to tell her that her city not only doesn’t allow roosters, but doesn’t allow chickens at all either! she even admitted she didn’t know or cared to check. so if i sold her my precious babes, how would she treat them if she couldn’t even care enough to check her own city laws?
i’m looking to politely vet the people interested in my chicks but in the end, there’s still dozens and hundreds more being sold at $20+ a pop (i’ve seen 6 wk olds for over $50) to covid-crazy folks that will either find passion in a new hobby, or flood the local market looking to get rid of roosters and hens they realize they can no longer care for or want anymore. if anyone’s looking for some cheap hens, i’m guessing you’ll have a lot to choose from when those people make their decisions after all of this!
so, aside from all of that, what have you seen/experienced in terms of this covid-chicken-craze? are your local feed stores sold out like mine? Just today, during a run to the feed store to get more scratch & grit, we saw several people eyeing the new shipment of chicks and hauling bags of chick feed & heat lamps around! and, online, have you seen an influx of new keepers, or on websites like craigslist, have you witnessed a jack up in prices like me?
and remember, we’re all in this together! stay safe and healthy out there

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

I've seen many hatcheries out of stock and many people buying chicks at TSC. It's sad some people are buying chickens thinking that it is easy and cheap to get eggs. It takes 6 or more months for a chicken to start laying. That cute little chick will take 6 months and hundreds of pounds of feed invested to get that first egg. Raising chickens for eggs is more expensive than buying a carton at the store. I'm glad that you are taking good care of your chicks and plan on selling them to good homes. I would make sure the people you are selling them to live in a chicken friendly neighborhood. Also have a predator proof run, coop, and can actually take the long term responsibility to care for the chickens and do the best they can to make sure they stay safe. Stay safe!

 

[Milkshake88]

it’s all the rage, buying chickens for eggs/meat because of covid-induced shortages. i remember walking through my local grocery store and in the egg section there was one tiny little 6-egg carton, with a paper sign saying 1 carton per person. it was kinda hilarious, really.
anyway with coronacation and my lack of school, my mother and i decided it was about time to get some more chickens- in the form of chicks! so i researched and scoured for available chicks online and it seems everyone had beaten us to it- chicks were sold out for months on every hatchery website, big and small. people are selling day-old straight runs on craigslist for $20 each. aside from the price jacking and total lack of chicks online, TSC seemed to have us covered, so we ordered 20 chicks, which arrived two days apart the next week.
this month of raising them has been a blast. not looking to turn a profit because their equipment and cost exceeds what we’re selling them for, but their little peeps and cute shenanigans is something worth experiencing again. we’re keeping 6 out of the 20 and have sold 9 already, but i always have to wonder when selling these little guys- how do i know they’ll get a good home?
my chickens aren’t just livestock, they’re my pets and only egg layers. we haven’t gotten store bought eggs in years. we have 11 hens already and they’ve treated us as well as we’ve treated them, begging for treats, talking to us, perching on our arm, tolerating cuddles.
with coronavirus, people are looking for ways to sustain their demands of eggs and meat. i wonder if they know keeping chickens for eggs is a lot more expensive than just running to the store? anyway, we’ve had a lot of people interested in the babies we’re selling and they do kinda scare me. i’m selling a m/f barnevelder pair and i had to do research for the lady to tell her that her city not only doesn’t allow roosters, but doesn’t allow chickens at all either! she even admitted she didn’t know or cared to check. so if i sold her my precious babes, how would she treat them if she couldn’t even care enough to check her own city laws?
i’m looking to politely vet the people interested in my chicks but in the end, there’s still dozens and hundreds more being sold at $20+ a pop (i’ve seen 6 wk olds for over $50) to covid-crazy folks that will either find passion in a new hobby, or flood the local market looking to get rid of roosters and hens they realize they can no longer care for or want anymore. if anyone’s looking for some cheap hens, i’m guessing you’ll have a lot to choose from when those people make their decisions after all of this!
so, aside from all of that, what have you seen/experienced in terms of this covid-chicken-craze? are your local feed stores sold out like mine? Just today, during a run to the feed store to get more scratch & grit, we saw several people eyeing the new shipment of chicks and hauling bags of chick feed & heat lamps around! and, online, have you seen an influx of new keepers, or on websites like craigslist, have you witnessed a jack up in prices like me?
and remember, we’re all in this together! stay safe and healthy out there

I have fallen in love with my chickens. They will have the best coop and run that I can give them.

lost 1 to pasty but, but have learned a lot since then. First time chicken owner, but trying to learn everything I can.

 

[CapricornFarm]

I have had a tremendous demand for chicks here. TSC gave up on chick days around here since the hatcheries are sold out. My chicks are all purebred, and I sell them for $5 to $10 each depending on breed. Same as always. You can never know what people are going to do with animals, but it is good to screen them. Some folks don't even know the chicks need heat! I read up on animals before purchasing ,to avoid surprises.

 

[Jenwisp]

I was always waiting to get a home to start owning chickens. Well that happened last november, moved into our home with 2+ acres. I thought.. "this spring coming, I'll finally do it.."

This spring I've been lucky to get 6 ISA Browns from TSC... people keep buying them up instantly. I went in today and some person had pre-purchased ALL the Americaunas. Big ugly sign on their bin saying so. :/

I've been watching and following on craigslist and it looks like someone's buying them and hanging onto them for a week and then reselling at double price.