Covid-panic-induced chicken keeping?

[Jan Croot]

The numbers of hatchery orders being shipped from PA to Wyoming has shot up so high, that the PA air freight processing center is putting together entire air containers for various WY city distribution centers, so that Denver does not have to touch individual box, instead loading air containers right on trucks heading north.

PA doesn't have all that many hatcheries; Wyoming doesn't have all that many people ---But there is enough traffic for that single route every day?

Multiply this by every state shipping to every state, and you get a sense of the explosion of orders.

 

[Jan Croot]

Lol ‘weren’t right for them’. What did they mean by that?

What ever the reason, "rescue" is a great way to expand your flock.

 

[Jan Croot]

There has effectively been a disposable chicken issue for many years, and it is not restricted to urban populations. I have been observing here, in the country side, for years. People get into chickens for a couple months to a few years, then get out of chickens. I bet the new reality has a net increase in the number of small scale chicken keepers. Hopefully same can be said for number of gardeners.

My local gardening center DOUBLED the price of vegetable plants, and saw demand go up undeterred.

 

[Jan Croot]

The "easter" trade has always made me nervous. Which is why when I sell, I make sure they have my contact info, and an in writing a offer to take them back (for free of course).

With our new laws allowing sale of Proteins, farmer to consumer, at farmers markets, their cute little bird, that became boring and smelly after two months, ends up sold at $4/lb.

 

[Gdurham]

I think a lot of people are panic buying and my hope is there won't be an increase in abandoned pets when people realize the work involved. But, as human nature usually goes - there will be likely increase in abandoned and neglected. We planned on getting some this year (year 2 in our new house), and for me the impulse buying of others just has been frustrating because I worry about access to things we will need, including not being able to get chicks until the end of June. And, I don't want to buy food now, because I don't want it to go stale before I use it all. Those kind of things. I am competing with crazies.

 

[SnowKnitty]

I recently sold a chicken tractor I didn't need anymore. (Our chickens have talked us into giving them a much larger free range space permanently. Chicken thoughts: )
I was surprised that most chicken newbies thought a wire chicken tractor with virtually no protection from sun, rain, or snow would make a sufficient coop. (It's worth noting that summer temps here can go over a 100F and winters bring snow and plenty of freezing temperatures.) I spent hours with several couples, all of whom already acquired chicks, dissuading them from buying my chicken tractor and discussing what they need to properly house chickens. While it causes me some concern to see people acquire chicks before they learn the first thing about chicken care, I try to approach it as an opportunity to educate newbies so their chickens are properly housed and tended.
If you're going to your local ranch store, I encourage you to hang out, in your mask, around the chicks for sale and strike up conversations with those you see are about to jump in without a clue. Help them out as others helped you.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Yes! not only that but no one at any store discusses what the poultry limits are in the area. They are just selling people any number they want to buy even when those are not allowed in most places.

You have to buy a minimum of 6 where I live but we arent allowed to have more than 4.

 

[Maureen in Chesterton]

I'll confess, concern about the world / supply chain is what pushed us over the edge this year. We have been thinking about raising chickens for years, I volunteered a couple years as a 'chicken caretaker' at the nearby National Park to gain experience. We just never got around to building the coop & run. So when things came crashing down this year, we looked at each other & decided this was the year to do it.
It has been a wonderful thing for us. Another confession - my introduction post said we were starting to build the coop & didn't have chicks yet, for which so many congratulated me - well, on our shopping trip to buy the coop building supplies, the day before our state was shut down, we stopped at a Stock & Feed...and bought our 15 chicks...original plan was 10-12, my thought was all of same breed, but no, we got 3 of each breed they had labelled as cold-tolerant & calm & docile....Building & designing the coop & chicken yard (yes, kind of that order) has been a fantastic focus for us, kept us busy, and it's been great just settling down & watching chicks.
Maybe some people will be in over their heads, but hopefully they find this forum & others like it with people to talk them through it.

 

[Bobsey]

I’ll admit we jumped in sooner then planned do to the current events going on.
We didn’t plan to get chickens till next year. I’ll be scrambling a little to get their coop ready, but nothing major. If I hadn’t already planned to get chickens then I doubt we would have gotten them, pandemic or not.
I just didn’t want to risk not having any available next year or having to pay crazy prices if the economy tanks.

 

[LizzzyJo]

So I am one of the aforementioned pandemic influenced chick buyers. I have 5, 6wk olds. I will admit that my lack of knowledge has since struck me as shamefull.That said, seeing, caring for, and learning about the chickens during this time of stay at home isolation has given me a center focus and kept me sane! It has also provided my 2 kids w/ many daily smiles. I do however realize that the chickens are a much bigger respsonsibilty than i ever previously imagined and ive also discovered that hardware cloth is painfully unforgiving! Overall, im grateful to the BYC community and glad to have this awesome resource of insight. thanx yall!

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