I May Have Acquired 90 Chickens, and I Feel No Remorse

Here's one "investment" I made toward sustainable living that's paying off.

Many people invest in the stock market, their 401(k) retirement plans and portfolios they hope will one day yield gains upon gains. I decided last spring to become an investor as well and acquired 90 chickens. At the time, I felt a little guilty for both my splurge and telling my husband after-the-fact that said splurge occurred. What could one possibly need with so many chickens, and how would the start-up costs (and maintenance costs) ever justify such an endeavor?

You can call me Noah. People looked at Noah as if he were crazy for constructing an ark in the middle of a desert that rarely saw rain. People looked at me like I was crazy for acquiring 90 chickens when “organic” eggs at the store were $4.00 a carton.

Alas,’ the year 2023 is upon us, and eggs in the midwest — where such things are typically less expensive — hit $11.00 a carton for 18 non-organic eggs. Suddenly, I am no longer crazy. I’m practically Wall Street material for predicting we’d have skyrocketing egg prices and investing in chickens, which, by the way, came before the egg.