People are increasingly opting to produce their own eggs writes The Economist:

• As a result of the financial crisis and a general interest in home-grown food people have been purchasing chickens in order to get fresh eggs.
• About 1% of households in American cities appear to have chickens.
• At their peak chickens produce eggs every 25 hours. But they only manage that for a couple years.
• Hens can live for up to ten years though – in fact there’s still a seventeen year old who still manages to pop out an egg every now and then.
• Elderly hens that can no longer earn their keep as well as accidentally purchased roosters have been abandoned en masse and this has led to the rise of shelters that specialize in taking care of the birds.
• Some co-operatives have cut to the chase and are offering chicken-culling classes.
• All in all it probably isn’t worth it for the economics of the egg alone. Between bedding and vet bills it’s cheaper to just buy eggs at the supermarket. But some like it as a hobby.

Read more here.

Source: The Economist