WITH the price of eggs sky high, and a noticeable shortage of them on the supermarket shelves, the outlook is pretty grim for those who enjoy a traditional breakfast.
But, here in the Far West, the answer has been staring us right in the face: chickens.
“Traditionally, we’ve always had a few chicken runs each year,” said Sonja Stubing of Danns, an agri-food business in Broken Hill.
“But for the last four or five months, we’ve had a chicken run every month.”
Ms Stubing said she first noticed the uptick in demand for laying chickens late last year, after the bird flu outbreak of July-December 2024 had decimated the Victorian poultry farming industry.
“It wasn’t long after news of the bird flu started coming through that I started noticing an increase,” she said.
“At first, I was a bit confused, wondering why there was a shortage of eggs but we still had chickens.
“But now I’ve noticed the chickens are starting to dwindle on the shelves too.
“The farmers have still got the chickens, but you’ve got to be quick. I’m just a small-scale business, but the large scale businesses would be feeling it also, trying to grab the chickens before I can get my hands on them.”
Nevertheless, grab them she did, and the next Danns chicken run will see chickens delivered on Wednesday, July 9.
But the chickens are rare as hen’s teeth, and Ms Stubing warned this weekend represents the final opportunity for the people of Broken Hill to cut out the middleman until later in the year.
“We’ve been trying to do a chicken run every month,” she said.
“But this one will be the last one until September. So this is your last chance, the last couple of days to get your orders in for chickens.
“I have to put my order in by Sunday at the latest, and there’s a limit to how many chickens I can order.
“But we definitely have about half of the chickens left.”
Ms Stubing said the Hyline pullets are about 17 weeks old and are excellent layers.
Not that everything is about laying, of course.
“They’re quiet, so if people have children the kids can pick the chickens up, they don’t mind being held or cuddled,” Ms Stubing said.
Those wishing to purchase their own egg-and-cuddle machines can call Sonja Stubing on 80872529 or visit Danns of Broken Hill at 471 Crystal Street.
