On Saturday, Farmers Building, Feed, & Garden Supply in Grants Pass ran a deal— five free chicks with the purchase of a bag of chicken feed.
Within half an hour, all 300 chicks were gone.
"We had people lined up," said Tony Cushman, a floor lead who handles all things chicken at the store. "I turned away probably 35 more people at least."
A sign on the store’s door informed customers there were no baby chickens left to give away.
Although Cushman still had a couple of dozen pre-ordered chicks — Barred Rocks and Easter Eggers — huddling under a warm light in the back. He said he’s getting around 150 calls a week for chickens, a massive increase in demand.
Since the H5N1 strain of bird flu reached the U.S. in 2022, poultry farmers have culled nearly 150 million animals. That’s led to a drop in the supply of eggs and an increase in prices.
But experts warn backyard chickens can still catch the virus.
“In chickens, avian influenza is spread through direct contact with fecal droppings or respiratory secretions of infected birds. This may be from other poultry or wild waterfowl, which can carry the disease without becoming sick,” according to a statement from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
The agency warns that the virus can also spread through contaminated surfaces like people's clothing.
“Backyard chicken owners should be particularly careful after visiting wild bird refuges or after hunting wild birds,” according to the ODA.
Cushman, who has around 40 birds of his own, said owning chickens isn’t always the cheaper option for eggs when the costs of building a coop and providing food and medicine are taken into account.
“But the advantage is they're a better-tasting egg," Cushman said. "And you know what's in them because you're feeding your chickens."
He recommends investing in a good enclosure to protect the animals from disease and predators.
“Everything eats chicken,” he noted.
