I also do not do Facebook but I'll add my opinion.
The hatcheries we use have limits on how many chicks they can offer. I'm pretty sure their facilities and personnel are pretty close to maximum right now. That's kind of how capitalism works, if you see an opportunity take advantage. To expand capacity takes a capital investment and it takes time to build. With Covid and now bird flu the popularity of backyard chickens has greatly increased. It is a boom market. Hatcheries are selling out long in advance.
If someone elects to invest in more facilities there is a reasonable chance this boom will be over before it is completed. That is money invested that they may not get back.
This is not just about hatching more chicks, which in itself could be a challenge. Many of our hatcheries ship out 80,00 to 100,000 chicks twice a week. In a 24-hour period they have to sort them, medicate the ones that need it, package them, label them, and get them out of the door. It takes a highly choreographed operation to do that smoothly every time. The vast amount of the time they get it right but one conveyor belt breaking down can throw it into chaos. To try to increase that maxed-out capacity is not an effort taken lightly.
Are a lot of these chicks being bought by new owners? In my opinion, yes, a lot of them are. So what, isn't this America? Aren't people allowed to try to improve themselves? I'm sure some are being bought by people wanting to make a profit but I suspect the majority of chicks go to people just starting out. I thought that was what America is all about.
Donna, just my opinion like the rest. If someone wants to complain instead of doing something about it like hatching their own chicks I can ignore them pretty easily. That may not be as easy as complaining is to them but I try.
