Sacramento residents scramble to buy chicks as egg prices skyrocket from bird flu
SACRAMENTO — As the demand for eggs skyrockets, so is the demand for chickens. That is because the price of eggs has doubled in the past few weeks since the bird flu wiped out millions of hen-laying chickens.
Western Feed and Pet Supply in Carmichael is one of the local stores that has been selling out fast. The owner, Matt Boyer, said the store gets 200-300 chicks every Thursday, and they sell out within 24 hours.
"I was at Walmart last week and I bought 36 eggs and it was 23 bucks," Boyer said. "That's the price of a bag of feed and you can get a lot more than 36 eggs once your chicks are at the laying stage, so it'd be less expensive."
Boyer has been limiting purchases to 10 chicks per person, selling them for $8.99 each, but it takes patience to raise them. The birds do not start laying eggs until they are six months old.
Madeline Heuer and Daniel Thaure live in Sacramento and are proud of their impulsive poultry purchase last May.
"This is big mama. She's my favorite," Heuer said as she showed CBS13 her chickens.
The birds have been laying six to seven fresh eggs a week in their backyard coop.
"Most chickens stop laying in the winter, but mine have not," Boyer said. "They are healthy and happy."
Other birds have not been as healthy. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows more than 20 million egg-laying chickens have died in the nationwide because of the bird flu outbreak the past few months.
Some of those flocks were in Northern California counties.
"The only way they are going to really get infected if they have a backyard flock is if there is a wild bird," Boyer said.
Boyer said the hatchery inoculates each of the chicks he sells, but owners are still keeping a close eye on them.
"There are symptoms you can look out for," Thaure said. "It's like a swelling around their eyes."
The chickens for the couple have quickly become more than just egg layers — they've become family.
The City of Sacramento only allows three chickens per household, and you need a poultry permit. You can find information for zoning and ordinances online for Sacramento County and the City of Sacramento.
