After the pandemic began, a couple of things happened that led to a surge of interest in raising chickens. First, many people decided that they wanted more control over their food supply. Whether it be for meat or eggs, chickens check that box off. Secondly, with more people stuck at home there was an opportunity to take on a backyard chicken coop project. Some turned their yards into gardens and began raising veggies. Others bought chicks and constructed a coop.
Nick Levendoski of Sunnyside Hatchery in Beaver Dam says he has watched chick sales climb by 40% when compared to 2019. Because of this, the Wisconsin poultry industry has found itself in rarefied air…sales and profits have both increased since the beginning of the pandemic. When asked if he envisioned business to be doing as well as it is given COVID-19, Levendoski says “not at all.”
The people that are ordering chicks are getting between five to ten birds and according to Levendoski “there’s a lot of suburban folks” and he believes there are a good number of “urban poultry projects that people are undertaking.” The questions he receives from these new chick buyers are the basics, but Levendoski enjoys seeing a wave of new customers piling into his industry. “I’m very confident that most of these people have done a little bit of reading up on raising poultry but I think they are looking for those last-minute pointers,” as they leave the hatchery.
One thing he has continued to stress to new chick buyers is that with temperatures rising, these birds need to have a way to cool down. Since chickens cannot sweat, he tells everyone that the birds will need plenty of cold water in their coop. It sounds obvious, but Levendoski says he has to continue to stress that with new customers so they know exactly what to do.
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