BILLINGS — With egg prices rising due to nationwide bird flu outbreaks, some in Montana continue beating store prices with backyard coops.
In Montana's cities that permit it, residents are navigating restrictions on the number of hens allowed, with roosters typically prohibited.
“I like that (my chicken’s eggs) have kind of a darker yolk to ‘em,” said Megan Keys, who said she is unsure if her coop normally curbs costs, “When you buy a store egg, they’re just kind of pale, a little bit.”
From 2021 to 2023, she worked on enacting ordinances that made it legal to have up to six hens in Laurel.
Just over 20 miles away in Billings Heights, Pioneer Poultry has a flock of 200 birds. Owner Tenille Bomar notes the potential savings of raising chickens.
“(It’s) pretty easy to get six chickens and put ‘em in your backyard. Honestly, you could do it for under $300 to start and your six chickens will hopefully pay for your eggs now, within the year,” said Bomar.
Chicks are priced around $10 each at Pioneer Poultry with each chicken having a monthly upkeep of around $2.50 per chicken.
“I don’t trust anything anymore. I do trust local Montana farmers," said Bomar. "Instead of buying it at Walmart, where you don’t know where it's coming from, or what hormones it's getting … We don’t have to rely on ‘the man,’ we can rely on ourselves.”
