Baby Chicken Sales Rise Amid Egg Shortage And High Prices

An agricultural store in West Bend is taking orders for baby chickens and they’re expecting sales to be more than doubled the normal amount they usually sell.

West Bend Elevator says the price of eggs being so high is causing people to go straight to the source for eggs rather than getting them at the grocery store.

The average price for a dozen eggs in Wisconsin right now is around $4.00 per dozen.

The price increase is a result of millions of chickens that were infected with the avian bird flu.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, 3 million birds were affected in Wisconsin. A large portion of that happened at a Jefferson County farm.

The store is expecting to get orders for around 700 chicks for their next delivery date at the end of March.

The store’s vice president Doug Gonring says it takes chicks 5 months before they lay eggs. Then you’ll get eggs for about 2.5 years.

Its not as easy as it sounds though. The birds need to be housed and fed. Gonring says “Once people find out how much work goes into it, I think people will turn away from it.”

Orders for the chicks can be made in person at the store.