The article is about the cost of raising your own chickens for eggs.
But I want to quote three paragraphs for anybody who is blocked by the WSJ paywall.
The pet-supply and garden store outside New Orleans has been flooded by first-timers, he says. Some are terrified of the teeny birds, he says, occasionally panicking after picking one up and dropping it on the floor.
People come in with a lot of questions. His favorite: “Will they lay eggs tomorrow?” His response: “No, the egg would be bigger than the chicken.” (Most don’t start laying until between 18 and 22 weeks of age.)
Others don’t ask as many questions as they should, Mr. Robair says. One customer left her new chicks in the back seat of her car while running errands, and came back to a box full of dead birds. “So we have to be more thorough with people than we were in the past,” he says. “You would think they have common sense, but sometimes they don’t.”
The last paragraph reminds me of some of the idiots during the first months of the pandemic.
Customer: My chicks are dying.
Customer service: What is your brooder temperature set at?
What would be a better option is for neighbors to form a co-op, with somebody who actually has a significant amount of land doing the raising of the chickens and the other members of the co-op kicking in their share of the costs. That gives you an economy of scale.
There are some considerations that don’t enter many people’s minds.
I have a one piece bio-suit. When I go to the barn, I don the suit and disinfect myself. I have seen people’s personal flocks wiped out in a manner of days by avian flu. And when you introduce new birds, those birds should be segregated a sufficient amount of time to ensure they are not infected and don’t spread the disease to your flock.
Another reason why a co-op is better, fewer people hanging around the chickens.
My neighbor across the waterway has a large chicken coup. It takes me 20 minutes or so to drive to her house but I can talk to her from my back yard.
I plan to ask her if I can add a hen to her coup and pay for the costs. I’m pretty sure she will say yes AND tell me not to bother paying for the costs (which I wouldn’t do).
I bought a remote control boat that is made for fishing up to 2 lbs and plan to attach an egg carton to it
I will pay her back by sending over some filet mignon or dinners that I cook.