mis-placed Urbanite is how i heard it once...Well G........ I think it has to do more with the trends and fads among the new kind of chicken owner. anytime you get a bunch of suburbanites keeping a few hen's in the childrens old playhouse out back, then your going to start to see a growth in crazy things. Heck 10 years ago you never heard or saw a chicken with a diaper or apron on, and pet chickens free ranging in the living room and sleeping on the couch, or rescue chicken facilities for otherwise culls. And the hatcheries catering to that crowd, it's just the way it is and should peter out in a few years when they become bored with it and the next new pet trend/fad emerges, history repeats itself.