A while back the gentlemen over at Freakonomics looked at the economics of the chicken business:

• Chicken feet used to be a value-less product for chicken farmers. They would be mixed into things like dog food.
• Then costs started to rise due to competition for chicken feed from the ethanol fuel industry. Chicken farmers looked for ways to stay afloat.
• Chicken feet are eaten in China and industry veterans realized that there was an opportunity to export them.
• These days chicken feet exported to China are basically the only profitable part of a chicken.
• During October however, the price of chicken wings surges, in what is known as the Football Effect.

Read about chicken pricing, sales, and more over here.

Source: Freakonomics