Chicks are not toilet paper but they apparently represent “panic buying” in 2025. Just as when the TP was flying off the shelves during COVID, these panic buyers were flocking to the farm store and buying up all the chicks!

I recently read that this spring, in some areas, customers had lined up before store openings, purchasing hundreds of chicks in a single day, leaving others calling fowl!

In February I checked in with Andrea at Rusty Gate about when chicks would arrive. I was concerned at that time about the Bird Flu panic and Google told me the Bird Flu should not greatly affect the new chick population. (Google was wrong, I wonder if Google saw the TP panic coming…probably not.) I had neglected to get new chicks last year so …my egg production of my semi-retired hens was dwindling. Also I have had chicken for over 30 years and I believe I am genetically predisposed to having chickens so I am afraid of running out of chickens.

She said, “There should be no problem,” and they should be in, in March/April. Fast forward to April and I stopped in to check, Andrea shared that chicks were being plucked up by the big stores and her supplier thought maybe by the end of May they might be able to get her some! What …May! She said that people had lost there minds due to egg prices, and added, “If people think they are saving money…by getting chicks…” and we both threw our heads back and laughed …because just as the price of eggs have gone up so has feed, chickens need shelter, and your time and that all costs money. If you do the math the cost per egg, probably is more than going to the store, but … did TP hoarding make sense?

Then you also need to consider …everything kills chickens, so you really need to fence in an area and cover it …if you really want to keep your chickens alive.

You might worry about raccoons, eagles, hawks, owls when you have chickens but it is your neighbor dog(s) that is/are your worst enemy and your chickens worst enemy too.

So last week I stopped into Rusty Gate to get a plant or two and casually asked if chicks had ever come in and …they had just arrived and more were coming! So I got three and then went back the next day and got three more. Just like with the TP …I left some for other people!

Until next time … and Happy Father’s Day!

Christi Baron, Editor