YORK, S.C. — Egg prices continue to leave shoppers baffled, so some have turned to find a different solution -- raising their own chickens.
At the Carmichael Farm in York, South Carolina, it's been a full scramble. You know the saying, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch?" Crystal Carmichael is having to disregard that.
"So far we're booked out until mid-April," Carmichael said. "Every egg in my incubator is already pre-sold. The order I just put in is 96 eggs.”
Egg prices are skyrocketing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, they are up over 70% from last year.
So to make sure people's wallets aren't poached, some have turned to buying chickens, raising them, and getting eggs the old-fashioned way.
“This time of year, normally we don’t hatch as many because the demand is really not that high, we actually close the incubator down to hatch emus because chicks aren't really a thing in the weather -- but now with the whole egg industry, it’s booming," Carmichael said.
She cranks out over 200 eggs a week.
“Ours range from $8 up to $30 a chick," Carmichael said.
Swetha Kolli is among the first-time chicken buyers. She said with how egg prices are, this was a no-brainer.
“I know it’s already doubled," Kolli said. “I just go in the coup, get the eggs right then and there... and then we cook it and I even share all the eggs with my neighbors.”
While the demand is high and it's a mad rush, Carmichael said her business is on the sunny side.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.