PINE BLUFF, Ark. — The high price of eggs at the grocery store continues to frustrate buyers.
Avian Influenza and inflation are some of the reasons behind this, but is there a more cost-effective way to bring eggs home?
Some people are finding creative ways to re-stock the items.
"Chickens are slowly becoming the need," said Bernard Iwegbu, a first-generation farmer.
Iwegbu said skipping the line at the grocery store and raising chickens in your backyard is certainly an alternative.
"Chickens are not hard to raise at all," Iwegbu said.
However, is the alternative route cost-effective? Iwegbu said feed is the most expensive part and he's spending roughly $150 every two weeks.
"Typically when feed [is] $12 to $14, It's going up to about $22 to $24," Iwegbu said.
Aside from that, Iwegbu said learning to raise chickens isn't an overnight process.
"The only thing is you have to put in a lot of time before you're even able to see your first egg," Iwegbu said.
It takes a chicken six months to a year before they're fully grown. Iwegbu has about 30 chickens on one of his farms and said each cage produces about a dozen a day.
"I had eggs that I just really didn't know what to do with," Iwegbu said.
After people around Pine Bluff heard about his abundance of eggs, he decided to make a business out of it. His goal is to be reasonable, which is why he charges $5 for a dozen.
"Some of them were bakers, some of them own dogs," Iwegbu said.
For experienced farmers like Iwegbu, raising chickens to produce eggs is worth it, but said the grocery store is the best option for those not willing to wait.
In all, Iwegbu said he spends $300 every month feeding and taking care of the chickens, so for anyone looking for a quick fix to combat paying higher prices, it's best to look elsewhere.