Rising Cost of Eggs Leading Louisiana Residents to Raise Chickens

Egg prices are steep around the country, which has led local Louisiana residents to start raising their own chickens.

The Click spoke with one resident in the town of Central, Louisiana who has a chicken coop that’s producing eggs, and is now saving hundreds of dollars a year.

“I’ve been raising chickens for about five years,” said Central resident, Cheree Burkett. “I had to make my own chicken coop. It’s all made out of handed down wood. And, here we are, five years later. I have about eight hens now.”

Burkett said once a hen starts laying eggs, it can produce as many as 250 in its first year. Burkett recently bought five new hens for around five dollars each giving her up to 1,000 eggs a year.

“With the price of eggs being so high right now, I was really lucky to get these four baby chicks that I bought,” she told us. “For months me and my daughter have been going to find chicks. Now, everybody has caught on to the idea of having their own chickens, so that they don’t have to buy eggs.”

Chickens typically lay depending on the weather but some don’t mind. Usually each hen will lay about one egg a day, but as Cheree mentions, if its really cold or really hot, they may not lay.

“For the most part, I get about one egg a day. By the end of two weeks, I’ll end up with about 36 eggs,” she said.

As more and more residents start their chicken raising journey, they have the ability to save hundreds a year on eggs. As long as your chickens are happy and healthy, you can expect to get farm fresh eggs right in your back yard.