Abigail Griffith, a D&L Farm and Home employee, said the Denton store only had one chick for sale on Friday morning. She expects 200-400 more chickens to come in next week.
As the price of eggs soar nationwide, some residents in Denton County are finding other ways to get them — by purchasing their own chickens and harvesting their own eggs. This solution, though, has led to an increase in chicken sales.
Abigail Griffith, a D&L Farm and Home employee, said the Denton store only had one chick for sale on Friday morning. She expects 200-400 more chickens to come in next week.
As the price of eggs soar nationwide, some residents in Denton County are finding other ways to get them — by purchasing their own chickens and harvesting their own eggs. This solution, though, has led to an increase in chicken sales.
As the price of eggs is soaring nationwide, some residents in Denton County are finding other ways to get them — by purchasing their own chickens and harvesting their own eggs. This solution has led to an increase in chicken sales, and a local farm store in Denton is feeling the pressure.
D&L Farm and Home has seen an increase in hens sold at the Denton location on Fort Worth Drive. Employee Abigail Griffith said the store sold out of hens and chicks this week. She said phones have constantly been ringing and asking whether they have hens.
Griffith said the location had one chicken on Friday morning, with more expected to arrive in the evening and even more next week. She expects to have around 200 to 400 chickens coming in next week.
According to Griffith, regular and new customers have said they’re getting more chickens due to the bird flu outbreak.
“We have a whole list of people that we have to call when we get the hens, because they’ve been on a waiting list for a week,” she said.
Griffith said that last year in January, the business sold about 200 chickens. So far this month, they have sold about 500. Sales are typically higher later in the year — Griffith said D&L sells around 1,000 chickens monthly over the summer.
Griffith said avian flu hasn’t been an issue at the Denton store. If an outbreak were to happen, though, she said they would follow protocol by sanitizing the chickens, which includes other birds they own, and quarantine them away from others.
Can you own hens and sell eggs in Denton?
So, you can buy chickens, but it’s important to also know what’s legally allowed in Denton. Let’s break it down.
Short answer, yes. But no more than eight hens may be kept on any single parcel of property in a residential neighborhood. Any structure used to contain the chickens must be a minimum of 50 feet from any residence, business or commercial establishment or office, school, hospital or nursing home.
Pens, coops, sheds and other enclosures must be maintained to avoid a public nuisance, to avoid odors and to avoid attracting insects or animals that endanger public health, safety or welfare, according to Per Section 6.26 of the city code of ordinances.
As for selling eggs in Denton, Denton Animal Services could not confirm whether it’s legal for locals to sell eggs, but no city ordinance prohibits the selling of eggs.
Section 13 of the city code mentions that anyone selling eggs at a farmers market must follow state rules.
Any farmers market food vendor who offers or sells food typically known as “farm grown,” “farm originating” or “farm obtained,” and who is approved on private or public property, shall comply with the Texas Food Establishment Rules as set forth by the Department of State Health Services, according to Section 13.2 of the city code. Foods included in “farm grown” are whole produce, plants, nuts, certain meats, honey, eggs and pasteurized dairy products.
Griffith said she recommends that someone who wants to raise chickens should try owning hens first before raising baby chicks. She recommends doing research on how to care for chickens properly.
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JUAN BETANCOURT can be reached via Twitter at @jbetancourt_15.
