Local eggonomics are out of control
Mead Gill, Reporter

As the grueling weeks of Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order continue to induce panic in local shoppers, baby chicks have become one of the most impulsively-bought products in the greater Washington State area. These fluffy commodities have always been a spring favorite amongst rural families, but the outbreak of COVID-19 is to blame for the outlandish demand and prices of these baby birds.

Many island families have relied on Island Home Center and Lumber to purchase their yearly flocks. In the past years, Island Lumber has provided customers with a wide variety of chick breeds for reasonable prices of three to five dollars a chick. For weeks, the store was unsure as to whether or not they would be able to supply new chicks due to increased shipping time that COVID-19 has forced many hatcheries to adopt. The store ended up ordering only 25 chickens that were bought out of stock in a matter of minutes by local chicken enthusiasts.

Though many stores have struggled to provide customers with a substantial chicken inventory, order-by-mail hatcheries are just as desolate. Murray McMurray Hatchery, located in Webster City, Iowa has been nearly out-of-stock on all chicken breeds for the past three weeks and will continue to be for at least one more. This has left many buyers in distress, trying to figure out how they can get their hands on even a few little companions while stuck at home until further notice.

So why are baby chicks currently joining toilet paper as one of the most anxiously bought products on the market? The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has given buyers good reason to buy up the stock:

People are looking forward to having fresh eggs as COVID-19 has depleted many grocery stores of fresh products

Baby chicks give people a good project to get into so they aren’t stuck at home watching Netflix all day.

People are lonely during these trying times and need as much companionship as they can get