Cooped up: Raising backyard chickens has become a popular pastime during the pandemic

“Pandemic boredom” was one of the reasons Gerry Jones, a Cape Girardeau resident, purchased four chicks for his family’s backyard.

“We were spending all our time at home, we weren’t traveling, we weren’t going out to dinner, we weren’t doing anything. So, we were at home a lot and thought it would be kind of fun,” said Jones, who had experience raising around 400 chickens during the time he owned Jones Heritage Farm in Jackson.

Once he completed the backyard garden as his “pandemic project,” he purchased the hens, which have been a source of entertainment and eggs for his family.

Across Cape Girardeau, the Holiman family is also raising chickens. In 2016 and 2020, the Easter bunny brought chicks to the Holimans.

“Our goal is to have a rainbow of eggs,” Carrie Holiman said.

Time at home during the pandemic led Holiman to build a backyard chicken coop because she had extra time to “envision what I wanted built and the builders were available.”

Eggs from Carrie Holiman's chickens lie in a chicken coop at her home Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

The Joneses and Holimans aren’t alone in their affection for the backyard birds. Across the country, droves of people are participating in the pandemic pastime of raising chickens.

According to The Washington Post, Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon, Missouri, which hatches about 250,000 baby birds per week, had a 100% increase in sales by March. McMurray Hatchery, a century-old establishment in Iowa that sells millions of hatched eggs each year, has been so busy, callers have had to wait in a queue for orders and inquiries for the past two weeks, often with as many as 10 people ahead of them.

Raising chickens at home had already seen a surge in recent years. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated around 13 million Americans raised chickens in 2019, and the pandemic pushed that into overdrive, accoridng to AARP.

“Everybody enjoys them; they like to be petted, and we get eggs from them,” Jones said. “The neighbor kids like to come over and collect the eggs, and one of my neighbors likes to sit on his porch and watch them.”

Entertainment is another big reason chickens have become a popular hobby during the pandemic. The four Holiman kids, ranging in ages from 2 to 10, love the chickens, especially 2-year-old Poppy and 4-year-old Gus. Gus likes to help clean the chicken coop and Poppy “has been known to take a dirt bath with the chickens,” Holiman said.

She agrees the chickens have become a source of amusement, “They all have different personalities — some are really curious. Like, there’s one that flies up on my shoulder every time I go in there. Some are shy; I have one that talks all the time.”

Chickens owned by Carrie Holiman reside in a chicken coop outside her home Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

But one of the biggest reasons people get chickens is for fresh eggs. The USDA recently reported the national price of white, large shell eggs have increased from $1.09 to $2.58 per dozen — a 35% rise, because of demand.

As their family grew, so did the number of chickens in the Holimans’ backyard.

“We have lots of eggs now,” Holiman said.

Jones said his kids “certainly enjoy the fresh eggs. We know the chickens are healthy, we know what they’re been given to eat. We don’t give them antibiotics.”

As far as what they eat, when the garden’s growing, Jones leaves the chickens in their pen.

“They’d eat everything,” he said.

When the garden stops producing, they are allowed to roam the garden.

Jones added, “They’ll eat every green thing they can find, except some of the hot peppers. But, they will eat the leaves off the hot pepper plants.”

Gerry and Amy Jones' dog, Stella, looks at chickens Wilma and Tiny at their home in Cape Girardeau in an undated photo.Submitted

They also love apples and pears, and fresh greens, such as carrot tops, lettuce and grass.

“I mean, they love just eating grass clippings,” Jones said.

Jones said he doesn’t see a lot of downsides to raising chickens other than being careful of predators such as raccoons, feral cats, dogs, coyotes and foxes.

Before bringing home chickens, be sure to check city ordinances as well as neighborhood homeowners association rules and covenants.

Cape Girardeau passed an ordinance Feb. 6, 2017, stating, “The maximum number of chickens allowed is six (6) per tract of land regardless of how many dwelling units are on the tract.” And, “Only female chickens are allowed. There is no restriction on chicken species.” And, the chickens must be in a coop inside city limits.

If thinking about raising chickens, Holiman said realizing cleaning the coop is a big component.

“If you’re squeamish at all, you should probably look into that aspect of it,” she said. “I have known a few people that have gotten them and then decided quickly they didn’t want them.”

Gerry and Amy Jones' garden and chicken coop is seen at their home in Cape Girardeau in an undated photo.Submitted