Eggs are expensive. Is owning chickens the answer?

Kristen Kemp, a yoga instructor and writer in New Jersey, has owned backyard chickens for more than a decade. “I just love them,” she tells Yahoo Life. Kemp’s had her current brood for around five years, and in their prime, “they were giving me more eggs than I could possibly eat,” she says. Now, it’s an egg or two a day, but with only three people in her house, it’s enough.

Kemp is one of many people across the country who are counting their lucky stars that they have egg-laying chickens, aka hens, right now, as consumers cope with egg shortages and shell-shocking prices that have skyrocketed by more than 65% (and are expected to go up an additional 20% this year) thanks to bird flu.

People flocked to raising backyard chickens during the pandemic — another time period when shortages were common — and the number of chicken owners has only increased over the years. According to National Institutes of Health estimates, there are a whopping 85 million backyard chickens in the U.S. — making them the third-most common “pet” after dogs and cats — with an average of five chickens per household.

Kemp currently has six chickens in a coop built by her husband. The kicker: “I actually hate eggs,” she admits. But Kemp likes providing them for her family. “It’s very convenient to not have to go to the store for that, or when I’m baking a cake I can just grab one,” she says.

So, is having backyard chickens the solution to the current egg crisis? Here’s what five chicken owners want you to know.

It feels like you’re getting eggs for free — even though you’re not

Owners often talk about getting free eggs from their backyard chickens, but they do come at a cost. There’s a reason why people call that very first egg you get a $1,000 egg.

Backyard chickens need a coop, which some people build themselves or buy with a starting cost of about $200-$300, plus some room to roam. They also need chicken feed, along with table scraps and greens. Jane Reilly Mount, who lives in South Carolina and has been raising chickens for four years (she shares what it’s like on her Instagram account), has 14 hens and gives them about 20 pounds of feed each week. “I buy 30-pound bags solely because I have thrown my back out twice lifting the 50-pound bags,” she tells Yahoo Life, saying each bag costs her about $25. However, she says, it’s easy to buy cheaper feed that sells for about $25 for a 50-pound bag. “You get a bigger bag and a trip to the chiropractor,” she jokes.

Kemp, who has fewer chickens than Mount, spends about $45 per month on feed. Mount points out that you can buy chicken feed online, so “you don’t need to have access to a local farm supply store anymore,” she says. “This is important for people who don’t live in a farming area like I do. It’s not hard to buy or find chicken feed.”

There’s also the cost of the chickens themselves, which run the gamut, depending on the breed. Mount says that a Rhode Island Red chick, “which is known to be a prolific brown egg layer,” runs about $5 each, while her Black Ameraucanas, “which lay a beautiful blue egg,” are currently selling for $22 a chick (that’s still cheaper than the chic all-black Ayam Cemani, which has a hefty $68 price tag). Chickens can be ordered online from several different sites and then shipped via USPS for an additional $10 to $20. Others buy locally. For her last two flocks, Kemp bought nine chicks for $10 from a farmer who lives an hour away.

Predators are an issue

While backyard chickens live for about six to eight years, predators can force owners to replace them more often. Kristin Bell, who started raising chickens in L.A. about 15 years ago and now lives in New Hampshire, tells Yahoo Life that she’s lost eight chickens in three months to bobcats in her area. For Kemp, it’s raccoons and foxes. When several of her chickens were killed six years ago, Kemp says, “It was a murder scene in the backyard. It was awful.”

Heather Mellows, a teacher with five hens who lives in Sunnyvale, Calif., never kept a chicken for more than two years because raccoons would inevitably get to them. “The worst part is going out in the morning to get eggs and finding dead chickens instead,” she tells Yahoo Life. “That’s not a good way to start the day.”

Owners say they’re also frequently tempted to buy more chickens than they’d planned. “It’s called chicken math,” says Bell. “You get eight chickens, and then you’re like, ‘We’ll just get a few more, which is four more, and then you lose a couple because sometimes they die or there’s a predator. We just lost two, so we’ll get six more. We have about 14.”

Needless to say, all of this can easily add up to a lot more than December’s average price of $4.15 for a dozen grade-A eggs.

But some backyard chicken owners say you can’t put a price on knowing where your food comes from. Emily Edgar, a freelance makeup artist in Missouri who started raising chickens early in the pandemic when eggs were hard to come by, has five hens and likes getting eggs from her own chickens. “You know that the chickens are clean and healthy and have been well-tended,” she tells Yahoo Life. “It’s not a complete trade, but I think it’s worth it.”

Mellows admits that she’s “probably not breaking even on the cost of eggs.” But, she adds, “I do really appreciate knowing where my eggs came from and being able to go out and get an egg when I need one. That aspect offsets the cost.”

The eggs are tasty and convenient

It’s hard to beat having your own egg source, especially now, and there’s a certain pride in that self-reliance. “That’s the best, when they’re laying regularly, to be able to say I made this omelet with vegetables and eggs from my property,” says Bell. “They taste so much better.” She adds: “I laugh when they’re charging $9 a dozen for heritage breed eggs.”

Kemp agrees that you can taste the difference between store-bought eggs and ones from chickens in your very own backyard. “It’s so fresh,” she says. “My husband says it’s a huge difference and that the flavor is really nice and rich.” (You can also keep fresh eggs on the counter, rather than in the fridge, for weeks. Unwashed fresh eggs have a natural protective coating called the bloom that guards against bacteria. This gets washed off of commercial eggs, which is why they need to be refrigerated.)

Not having to head to the grocery store for eggs is also a win. “I haven’t bought eggs in years because my girls lay way more than our family can eat,” says Mount. “I literally give my eggs away!”

But don’t expect a constant, year-round egg supply

While some hens lay an egg a day, not all do. Several factors can impact that precious egg supply: When chickens molt — a sometimes weeks- or months-long process in which they shed old feathers and grow new ones — they stop laying eggs. Light also impacts egg production, so that tends to slow down during the dark days of winter. And then there’s chicken menopause. “The thing no one tells you: Chickens only lay for half of their lives, and then they go into ‘henopause’ and no more eggs for you,” says Mount.

It’s something Mellows is experiencing right now. “I have freeloaders,” she jokes, noting that only one of her chickens is laying eggs at the moment. “I keep feeding them, and they are not providing me with very many eggs. I have five hens and should be getting roughly five eggs a week from each hen. But I am getting between one and three eggs a week total. It is frustrating, surprising and disappointing.”

They’re like ‘pets with benefits’

Most owners say that caring for chickens (or being “chicken tenders,” as Mount puts it) is a low-maintenance job. But Edgar says they are more work than your typical household pet, like a cat or a dog. And Bell sees chickens as “pets with benefits,” so the eggs are a real bonus.

“Are we saving money? It’s less than owning a dog,” says Bell. “We consider them pets. They’re pets that give you food. And is it awesome to go out and get your fresh eggs? Yes.”

But beyond being a food source, both Kemp and others say that chickens are downright fun. “They’re the sweetest little pets,” says Kemp. “They all have personalities.” Edgar likes that chickens are surprisingly soothing to be around. “Their little coos and soft clucks are so calming,” she says.

What about bird flu?

Nearly all of the people Yahoo Life spoke with said they weren’t that worried about bird flu with their small broods. But Mount says that she does think twice before accepting other chickens into her flock. “I have a friend that has one hen and she wants me to take her, but I do worry about that hen bringing in some disease like bird flu that would take out my entire flock,” she says.

Some owners like Mellows are more concerned about their other household pets, particularly cats. “I wasn’t worried too much until I found out [bird flu] can be transmitted to cats and has a very high mortality rate,” she says. “My chickens don’t interact with other chickens, and I don’t interact with other chickens. I’m more worried about it from that [cat] perspective than from my chicken perspective.”

Some advice for anyone considering getting backyard chickens

Thinking about getting some backyard chickens of your own? Current owners have some advice to share. First and foremost, check local and state laws to make sure you can actually own chickens and what the restrictions are. “Many areas do not allow chickens at all or limit the number allowed,” says Mount. “Make sure you know the chicken rules in your area before investing time, money and emotion into them.”

Mount also advises buying the birds “sexed,” or “you will get a rooster,” she says. “Roosters are not for everyone, and many communities do not allow them.”

Edgar, Mellows and Kemp agree that you shouldn’t go into raising chickens alone and say that having a partner — whether that’s a spouse, roommate or friend — who is on board and can help out is key. Also, “start small,” suggests Bell.

Or you could simply luck out by having a generous neighbor with egg-laying chickens. Jason Meugniot, who moved from L.A. to a farm in Kansas a couple of years ago, has a neighbor who brings over three dozen eggs every Tuesday. “It’s been a blessing,” Meugniot tells Yahoo Life. “Not only because of the price of eggs, but having two college-aged sons who come back from time to time. … They eat a lot, as do I, and having the eggs has been amazing.”