What do Silver Laced Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, Welsummers, Buff Orpingtons, Speckled Sussexes, Barred Plymouth Rocks, and Delawares have in common? They’re all varieties of adorable baby chicks — and this spring they are in unusually short supply across Northern Dutchess County.
At Roosters Route 82 Home & Hardware Center, a home and hardware store with locations in Stanfordville and Pine Plains, every last chick that arrived this week was spoken for before it even hit the brooder box.
“They’re already sold out,” said Jeff Como, who co-owns the store with his wife, Amy. “We’ve got another hundred coming at the end of the month, but I have no idea what breeds we’ll be getting. It’s that kind of year.”
Como said this season’s chick shortage is tied to a national supply chain disruption caused by outbreaks of avian flu and the high cost of eggs. “A lot of the chicks from the hatcheries are going towards egg production because it’s more commercially viable,” he said. “The ones still doing baby chicks are struggling to keep up.”
New York Agriculture and Markets Law Section 354 prohibits the sale of fewer than six chicks, ducklings or other fowl under two months old.
In a typical year, Rooster’s Route 82 Home & Hardware Center sells up to 1,000 chicks, each priced at just over $7 with tax. This year, due to limited supply, owner Jeff Como expects to sell only about 500 between April and July. Despite higher demand and tighter inventory, prices at Rooster’s have remained unchanged.
“I would sell 1,000 and they’d sell fast,” he said. “Usually people can be very choosy about the breeds they get — how exotic they are, how many eggs they produce. This year I tell people all the time: Just take whatever you can.”
Rooster’s isn’t alone. At Agway in Millerton, staff members said they’ve received three deliveries of chicks and are expecting more, but every order is already sold out.
“Because of bird flu and egg prices being through the roof, people want chickens so they don’t have to pay high prices for eggs,” said staff member Kristen Maillet.
Both stores source most of their baby chicks from Hoover’s Hatchery, in Rudd, Iowa. “There is an unprecedented demand this year,” said a company salesperson.
Jeff and Amy Como have owned Rooster’s since 2017. The Stanfordville location was previously McKeough’s Home and Hardware, a combination Agway and hardware store. Today, both the Stanfordville and Pine Plains locations operate as fully stocked hardware and homestead suppliers while preserving the agricultural roots of the business.
During the early pandemic, chick sales skyrocketed. “COVID year was crazy — I sold like 2,000,” Como said. “People were home, farms, the kids raised chickens. By September, they were selling all their chickens just because it wasn’t so much fun. But there was a lot of activity that year. The tanks were full, everything was going.”
This year, demand remains strong — but supply hasn’t kept pace. Whether customers are after eggs, a backyard project, or the simple joy of raising birds, they’ll need to plan ahead. Baby chicks are flying off the shelves.