If you know someone between the ages of 28 and 43, then you know a Millennial. You might’ve also noticed one or two of them that have a thing for chickens. Not eating them…raising them. Reportedly, the Millennial “love affair” with keeping chickens as pets has grown into a $30 billion industry. Chicken keeping is seen as a way to “live a more sustainable lifestyle and a get a guaranteed source of fresh eggs for breakfast”…and the Millennial crowd has also “fallen in love with them.” Hal Lawton is the CEO of Tractor Supply. He says chickens have been a new source of growth for the company over the last five years and thinks chickens have become “the new third pet out there,” with customers “naming them and taking care of them” like pets. Lawton says Tractor Supply has a loyalty program with 34 million subscribers, and one-in-five of them own chickens…many in the Millennial age group. Here are some other chicken-owning facts to cluck on from a survey published this year:
- 13% of American households now own 85 million backyard chickens
- That averages out to five chickens per owner
- 90% of chicken caretakers are women
- 20% say they care for chickens with health issues that need special care
- 82% say they hire a “chicken sitter” when they go on vacation or if they’re gone for the weekend
- 12% let the chickens come inside the house whenever they want
Source: Fortune