Boise-area stores scramble to keep baby chicks on shelves during coronavirus shutdown
In recent weeks, grocery staples like toilet paper, soap and flour have flown off the shelves at stores across the country as Americans prepare to shelter in place. Though experts say there’s no reason to hoard, some Idahoans have found there’s another item that’s become scarcer than hen’s teeth in the Treasure Valley: chicks.
“We get 20 to 30 calls a day just asking if we have chicks. It’s insane,” said James Burton, floor manager of the Kuna Tractor Supply at 979 N. Meridian Road.
Burton and other farm-supply store managers in the Boise area said they’re selling out of chicks each time they receive a shipment, and they believe it’s connected to anxiety over the coronavirus pandemic. The same is true across the country.
“I feel like part of it does come out of that panic buying,” said Jena Michels, freight manager for the Zamzows store at 3691 S. Federal Way in Boise.
Treasure Valley residents bought thousands of chicks in recent weeks
Local stores pre-order chickens well in advance to allow hatcheries — like Caldwell’s Dunlap Hatchery, which reported its own stock selling out — to plan accordingly.
“We typically get orders (of chicks) in every other Friday,” Michels said. “There are some years that we can’t sell them, so we end up taking them to our more rural stores. Last week we sold our chickens within 2 hours.”
Shane Branch, who manages the D&B Supply at 6650 N. Glenwood St. in Garden City, said his store has had lines of customers looking for chicks.
“All of our stores have sold out every day whenever we get the chickens,” Branch said.
There are seven D&B Supply stores in the Treasure Valley, and the Garden City store alone stocks between 600 and 700 chicks per week, Branch said.
Michels said she’s seeing some buyers who are replacing aging birds in their existing flocks, but many more are new to keeping backyard chickens. Burton said he’s also encountering a lot of first-time chicken owners.
“There’s a lot of education going on,” Burton said.
It’s legal to own up to six hens in Boise city limits, according to city code.
No need to worry about supplies, Idaho store employees say
Burton said most of his customers say they’re hoping to use the chickens for fresh eggs — a commodity that has also been difficult to come by in some local stores.
“They’re worried about (a shortage) being an issue down the road,” Burton said. “They just want to make sure they’re taken care of.”
But new chick owners shouldn’t put all their hypothetical eggs in one basket. It takes most breeds of chickens about six months from the time they hatch until they start laying eggs, Burton said.
That hasn’t stopped consumers across the country from buying up chicks in the hopes of having their own source of poultry or eggs. Fortunately, officials across the U.S. say there’s no reason to believe there will be a food shortage related to COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.
The same is true locally for farm-supply products, the Treasure Valley store employees said. Zamzows has a recording urging customers to avoid buying large volumes of pet food, which is another product that Burton, Michels and Branch said is in high demand.
“We’re still getting all of our stock on time, on schedule,” Burton said. “It’s a lot of scare, to be honest.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
