NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — With egg prices soaring across the United States, two FDNY firefighters are clucking back at costs and making family memories by maintaining backyard chicken coops.
In April 2024 Lt. Tommy Lane built a coop in his Grymes Hill, Staten Island backyard for his three kids.
“I have 3 little kids. They wanted a dog, so the Easter Bunny brought him chickens instead,” Lane told 1010 WINS. “I started doing it. Our prices obviously started going up. Somebody who works with me, they brought the eggs in, and once you’ve had a fresh egg from the chicken you can't go back.”
Lane got a group of chickens as day old chicks after he was inspired by fellow firefighter Boris Jairala, who first built his coop at his home in Bath Beach, Brooklyn in May 2023.
He spent about $300 on Amazon for the coop but said that “the real cost came with building the chicken run, somewhere between $600 and $700, and it worked out. It made sense and it was a fun little project for me and my family.”
He noted that due to recent hikes in egg prices, his family is now saving money. “The chickens themselves are not expensive,” Jairala said.
Egg prices hit a national average of $4.15 per dozen in December due to inflation and outbreaks of bird flu, which has forced farmers to slaughter millions of chickens per month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts another 20% increase in prices this year.
Both firefighter said that they are yielding between two and four eggs a day, and that for them, the benefits of the chickens are definitely worth the effort and price.
“I think that a lot of people think that it'd be like a lot of work to take care of him, but it's really not,” Lane said. “It’s not that bad at all. They’re pretty self-sufficient.”
Jairala said that it is legal to have chickens in NYC, but a backyard is needed, and he suggested checking in with neighbors about the noise.