OMRO (NBC 26) — National egg prices have declined in the past several weeks but remain high — $4.15 per dozen nationwide, and more than $7 on average in the Midwest, according to the USDA. Some are looking to get fresh eggs of their own, by buying their own chickens.
- We visited Wojo's Farm, a family operation in Omro in Winnebago County, to learn how much work goes into raising chickens
- Ted Wojchiechowski started the business in 2021, on top of his full-time job, and he sells eggs for both eating and hatching, as well as chicks and chickens
- This comes as Wisconsin families flocked to the Capitol on Wednesday to support a bill that would allow them to have backyard chickens, regardless of which town or city they live in
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details added for web)
Egg prices have gone down in recent weeks, but are still sky high. Poultry farmers around northeast Wisconsin tell us people are hatching their own plans to get some eggs.
Watch Karl Winter's full story here:
Troy Wojchiechowski sells poultry of many ages and breeds — from these Ayam Cemani for $25 per chick, to Salmon Faverolle for $10 dollars per chick.
He says demand is high for other people to raise chickens of their own.
"I think this year, I think it's the eggs [being] expensive," Wojciechowski said. "Eggs are expensive right now. I don't know what the cost is; I know locally it's been like $6 or $7 or more. I've seen as high as $8."
Another farmer — Jesse Kautza from Birnamwood in Marathon County — has a smaller flock, and is in his second year raising chicks. He told NBC 26 he's also getting quick responses and orders anytime he posts new chicks.
"I had an order yesterday, right after I put the post up, for 40 of them for one person," Kautza said.
Kautza and Wojciechowski say anyone can build a decent coop — makeshift style.
"For people that just want a few eggs [or] don't want to have to buy a dozen eggs every few days or once a week — just have two, three, maybe six chickens," Kautza said. "It's not that big of an investment. You can get a little food for relatively cheap, or just repurpose something, or build something."
"Any shelter [works], though, if you can make them a good, secure place to stay out of the wind," Wojciechowski said. "Doesn't need to be insulated, doesn't need to be heated."
But you may need to worry about diseases and predators — Wojciechowski has a guard dog for the latter — and make sure you're following local laws.
For example, many towns don't allow roosters.
"Oshkosh allows you to, I think, have six hens," Wojciechowski said. "Certain cities and certain areas allows you to have only a certain amount of animals. So you do have to check there."
And if you want to raise chicks or hatch your own, it can be a larger investment.
"That first egg is not going to be cheap for most people just starting out, if you build any fancy building for your chickens or spend a lot of money on it," he said. "You're going to spend money on all the feed. You're going to have a lot of bedding that you're going to go through."
Wojciechowski says he expects demand for chicks to stay high through the summertime, and while he doesn't know about national egg prices, he says his eggs will go down in price to about $3 per dozen in the coming months, as more chicks hatch.
