Chicken owners remain committed to their flocks

The reasons people do so has more to do with a desire to live sustainably, to be able to know where your food comes from and from the enjoyment having chickens around provides.

Jessica Cartwright started out with four chickens in 2017 and has grown her flock to about 12.

“This was our foray into big-ticket farming,” she said. “I think what we like is having a lot of eggs.”

Cartwright said she mostly uses extra eggs to trade for items such as seeds or even for babysitting.

She said even if she sold her eggs for $10 a dozen, she would not get back the money she spends raising them.

Cartwright said she thinks more consumers over the past year or so have started to do more of a cost-benefit analysis when it comes to their food, leading some to switch to local eggs.

Naomi Brigham, owner of Foggy Farm and Garden in Clear Lake, said she has seen more interest from people wanting to purchase eggs.

“I have definitely seen an increase in people wanting to support my small farm and garden especially in the last year,” Brigham said. “(My chickens) benefit my family by being members of my family. I feed them and they feed me.”

She said it is a bonus that during the spring and summer months the chickens almost pay for themselves with their egg sales.

Alicia Jackson said she used her flock of 80 chickens to educate her children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and tries to sell her extra eggs at a price lower than those in grocery stores in order to give back to the community.

She said she believes more people are starting to reach out because they want to know more about the food they are eating, and when you buy local the farmer can tell those who purchase their eggs exactly what went into the chickens.

“The sad thing is I have that many chickens and it’s still not enough,” Jackson said. “I feel bad with how many people have reached out.”

Elizabeth and Shaun Mannon started with a handful of chicks in 2018, and have since grown their flock to 35.

Shaun Mannon said he has noticed over the past few years that people are trying to be more self-sustainable and are looking for reliable local food sources.

He said he believes the food shortages during the pandemic and consumers wanting to know more about animal conditions is likely what led to this interest.

Elizabeth Mannon said she and her husband are able to sell their extra eggs, which helps with the cost of raising their chickens but doesn’t cover it completely.

Elizabeth Mannon said chickens are fun to have around.

“They all have different personalities. You think of chickens and you don’t think of them all having different personalities,” she said.

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Megan Guard-Lilley has seven chickens and said she hasn’t bought eggs in nearly two years.

The eggs from her chickens are enough for her family of three and to occasionally share with her neighbor.

“It’s a hobby thing, but we also didn’t realize how much we would enjoy homegrown eggs,” Guard-Lilley said.

She said while the eggs taste better than those from a store, the chickens are also pets, and the enjoyment she gets from their personalities helps make up for the cost of raising them.

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Breanna Zamora’s flock of 11 chickens came with the house she bought and is just enough to keep her family self-sustainable.

Despite the chickens not laying as many eggs during the winter months — forcing Zamora recently to buy eggs for the first time in about five years — she said the entertainment factor makes them worth it.

“They are a hoot. I give them treat worms and they run around like crazy squawking,” she said. “They’re a good time.”