EL PASO COUNTY — High egg prices have led to a surge of people looking to buy chicks this spring. It's also driving people to raise their own chicks and hens, and sell them. Plus, local businesses are also seeing a high number of sales and customers.
The owner of Buckley’s Homestead Supply said they have sold out of all of their chicks for the entire 2023 chick season. It's their first time selling out of chicks since the business opened 11 years ago.
In a FaceBook post, the business stated, “What does this mean? All of the chicks we have ordered for our 2023 Chick Season have been purchased. We will not be placing any additional or special orders this season.”
It also means local producers and farmers are hoping to fill a growing need of people wanting to buy chicks and chickens.
Amy Scudder lives in Ellicott in eastern El Paso County, where she hatched about 100 chicks last year. But this year, her batch is even bigger.
“They're just selling out, and so people are starting to turn to FaceBook asking if anybody has chickens,” said Scudder. “That kind of gave me an idea of maybe hatching a little bit more this year and seeing how well it goes.”
Her chicks are expected to hatch this weekend, and then she’ll be selling them. She says she's also been seeing more people post on social media, wanting to learn more about how to handle chickens and where to get chicken coops.
“I’m hoping I’ll be able to sell them all, and help people out,” said Scudder. “I’ve been seeing how to help build coops and all kinds of things. So they're (people) are asking all kinds of questions right now.”
Eggs are still expensive. According to the Federal Reserve economic data, the cost of eggs in January of last year was below $2. This January, it nearly tripled to $4.80. Supply chain issues, labor shortages, and avian flu are all big contributing factors to the rise in prices.
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