Amid high egg prices and bird flu cases soaring across the country, Saratoga County residents are tending to their own flocks.
Backyard chicken owners Carly Muhlhahn and her husband Benjamin Begenski have 11 chickens that produce about four dozen eggs a week this time of year.
“When we first started dating, one of the things we had talked about was wanting our own little homestead and chickens are kind of the easiest thing to start with and we eat eggs every single day for breakfast. From a financial standpoint it just made sense to get a whole bunch of chickens for egg production,” she said.
Muhlhahn is part of a running group that meets at different locations each week in the Saratoga-Ballston Spa area.
She said she was first introduced to the idea of owning chickens by her coach.
“She has chickens, there were at least two plus other women in the same group that had chickens, so they were always talking about their chickens, I’m like wow I want to be included on this chicken conversation,” she said.
She calls it a “runner to chicken-lady pipeline.”
“Oh, you’re a distance runner? You must like chickens,” she said.
While Muhlhahn and Begenski aren’t sure if they will ever have a full homestead, they enjoy having some self-sufficiency and saving money.
“With the price of eggs lately, we’ve calculated it out and it costs us like 10 cents an egg to raise the chickens, if that, not even,” she said.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a dozen grade A large eggs was $3.00 in February 2024. In 2025, the average nearly doubled.
Bird flu is a major contributing factor to the high cost of eggs. Since there is no vaccine for poultry, entire flocks of chickens are culled in an effort to reduce the spread if even a single chicken is infected with the virus.
The couple is aware of the bird flu situation. Bagenski says they watch their birds for signs of illness, keep them mainly secluded to their fenced-in run and supervise them when they do roam outside.
“I scan for dead birds, the chickens can’t go on any playdates with any other chickens, they’re pretty isolated. But it’s still a risk and what we can do is mitigate the risk,” he said.
According to the CDC, H5N1 bird flu has been detected in more than 168 million birds as of April 2.
The virus is spreading quickly among wild birds and poultry. It has made the jump to mammals including cows, cats and even humans, although experts say the risk to people is low.
Newly appointed U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has previously said he does not support a vaccine for bird flu and thinks that the virus should be allowed to spread among chickens to find the ones who are resistant.
Eric Yager is an associate professor at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He teaches classes in virology and immunology.
Yager says there is a concern that allowing the virus to spread could lead to reassortment.
“One bird carrying one virus can then contract another virus and these genes can shift back and forth to reassort and create a new virus. And that’s what’s thought to have happened,” he said.
Poultry experience influenza differently than humans do. While people may sneeze, cough and experience fevers, chickens have gastrointestinal issues.
According to the CDC, infected poultry may have difficulty breathing, have ruffled feathers and may produce discolored, irregular, or misshapen eggs.
Yager says the virus is fatal in most cases.
“If flu is circulating in your area and you have a concern it really is protecting your flock through isolation. Now, a lot of the flocks, I think and the reason why people like to have chickens is to have them free range so they can walk around but it seems like there’s a concern is to kind of restrict the movement of the backyard flocks, limit their exposure to wild birds,” he said.
Yager says anyone noticing symptoms in their chickens should contact their local health department.
Charlene Chase is one of Muhlhahn’s running mates. Chase lives in Greenfield Center and has a flock of eight chickens.
Chase began her chicken journey on a whim. One day she came home, picked up her son and went to Tractor Supply to buy some.
Chase spoke about her hobby in her living room while her family ate dinner.
“We brought them home, we had them in the house for a few days in like a bin and then he threw a nice brooder together out in the shed. We had the heat lamp everything and just kind of threw them in there,” she said.
She says she became a backyard flock owner for the eggs.
“I only have eight chickens, so we need more chickens. It’s kind of funny because my boyfriend lives in New Jersey, so whenever I see him, I bring him eggs. I’m like his egg dealer,” she said.
Chase adds that people seem desperate to buy farm fresh eggs.
“When I go up to Vermont, I stay at a ski lodge. It’s kind of like a hostel, so a lot of us stay there for the weekends. And like last weekend they were like do you have chickens; do you have any eggs. I’ll buy them,” she said.
She plans on getting more chickens as soon as her son builds her another brooder.
“That’s it, then that’s it. I’m done,” she said.
