Why the Chicken Became a Popular Pet

Second only to dogs and cats, the chicken is the third most popular pet. According to Axios, based on a recent surge, 11 million U.S. households have backyard chickens.

Actually, chickens could be tied for third place with freshwater fish:

Backyard Chickens

Our story starts with Monique, the chicken that traveled around the world. Sailing from the Canary Islands during May 2014, Guirec Soudee and Monique went to St. Barts, the Arctic and beyond. Adapting immediately, she laid eggs, listened to his chatter, ran to him when called. In our featured image, Monique is wearing her sweater.

Do take a look at this delightful video to see why Monique was the ideal companion:

Now though, we’re not looking for companions.

With egg prices skyrocketing, we have hens in our homes. For $575, you can get 2 egg layers, a coop, a feeder, and 120 pounds of feed. Much pricier, a 4-chicken deluxe package costs $775 but you can expect 16 to 28 eggs a week.

Described in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, an egg “stock market” can also replenish our egg shortage. Like the NYSE, the Egg Clearinghouse (ECI) pairs buyers and sellers. The buyer could be a restaurant supplier and the seller, a farmer. Now, with egg shortages, transactions are way up as are the prices that this market determines.

So yes, egg prices keep climbing. The January average was $4.95 a dozen, up 153% from last year and 81 cents from December. Only the beginning, a recent $7.44 distributor price means we can expect another whopping price pop soon.

You can see the steady egg price climb:

Our Bottom Line: Cost

In her Substack post, an expert warned us that backyard chickens will cost more than we expect.

Remembering that the economic definition of cost is sacrifice, the cost of chickens is money and time. Because the coops you first purchase are rarely predator proof, you need at least an extra $1,000 to keep the rats out. Taking several years, three hens would lay approximately 1800 eggs before they might enter “henopause.” Then, adding day-old chicks, it takes at least 6 months to get your first egg. Furthermore, they lay less during the winter and could catch Avian flu from a nearby wild goose. Conveying even more of a reality check, she suggests that only with 50 to 100 birds, selling some of the eggs, could you break even.

The tradeoff? You could wind up with wonderful birds like Monique.

My sources and more: Having read the Axios story about chickens, I recalled Monique. Then, the USDA had our egg prices and here, you can read the backyard chicken Substack. And finally, this WSJ article described an alternative egg market.