Credit Crunch Drives Increase in Backyard Flocks

According to The Guardian, the number of small scale chicken keepers has mushroomed in the UK in the past year. Kirsten Halley, of seed manufacturer Allen and Page, says the phone has been ringing off the hook:

“In the last year to 18 months we have had people on the phone every day... I think there are a few factors that have come together. The credit crunch is a driver. The cost per egg of having your own hens is a fraction of what you would pay in the supermarket. And many people remember their grandparents having allotments, the fun of doing that and the social benefits, living off your own produce. In the current climate it is a lot more economical.”