The prices of eggs largely come back to earth, but the effects of their adventure in Sky-Élevé always roll through the United States.
Take the annual Baby Chick Annual Sale event of Tractor Supply, that the company says it is halfway and on the right track for a record year. The previous sales record in 2023 was more than 11 million birds.
“We see a continuous momentum of our main customers, who expand their herd, in parallel with a strong commitment this year of new customers,” said CEO Hal Lawton during a call for results on Thursday.
Lawton added that many of these new customers were attracted to backyard poultry by high egg prices and the desire to “take more control of their food supply”.
A spokesperson previously told Business Insider that the company currently sold more than twice as many living birds than ten years ago, and it offers a wider selection of breeds.
However, as high as egg prices can go, eggs raised at home can ultimately be much more expensive than those purchased in stores.
The average size of the herds is around 14 birds, found Mizuho’s analyst, David Bellinger, in his research on the subject. Each chick costs around $ 6 and takes about 18 to 22 weeks to mature enough to start laying eggs.
Several rescue agencies told Bi earlier this year that they had received numerous calls from people who had not made the costs and complications of the increase in hens (and the occasional unexpected rooster).
However, when things are fine, Lawton said it was a good deal.
About one in five tractor provides chickens, said Lawton, and the category represents a key source of income and loyalty for the rural lifestyle retailer.
“The days of chicks are like a pension for the supply of a tractor, because birds generally live from five to seven years and that recurring foods and supplies refer to the feeding of the tractors,” he said during the call on Thursday.
Not only does a chicken eat more than 75 pounds of food per year, but Lawton said, but the customers of the supply of tractors tend to provide their birds with fun toys with which to play and $ 1,000 cooperatives to perch.
A Reddit user in a thread devoted to the increase in backyard chickens estimated that the average start-up cost was around $ 750, but other commentators said that the price savings were not really the point.
“The main advantage of obtaining eggs from your own chickens is not cheaper eggs, these are better quality eggs that you would not find it in the grocery store,” said a separate user. “Chickens make a solid investment!”
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