ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) — Chickens have been selling fast at Jackson Bros. Feed and Seed on South 11th in Abilene.

“It’s crazy really, I mean the phone will ring and chances are it’s going to be a question about, ‘Do you have any chickens?’ or, ‘Do you have a specific breed of chicken? or something of that nature,” says assistant manager Jimmy Wylie.

Since 2019 the shop has seen a 50% increase in chicken sales.

Abilene woman Jessica Jackson owns several chickens and says, “Personally I don’t see egg prices, only cause I don’t buy eggs.”

Dodging egg prices is the answer and Jackson has been able to do just that by having 40 chickens of her own.

“Well it absolutely does affect the grocery budget, to look at when you have a certain amount of money you can spend per month on food and nutrition goals you might have when you have a good source of nutrition that you don’t have to go out and buy,” Jackson said.

But the egg laying isn’t something that happens overnight, which some people who visited Jackson Bros. Feed and Seed to buy chickens didn’t realize.

“We had lines out both doors of people wanting chickens and not even realizing it was going to take them 6 months to receive an egg from said chicken,” Wylie said.

Wylie also emphasized that buying these chickens can be expensive at first, accounting for the costs to take care of them. This means buyers might not see those cost savings at first, but that is possible over time.