They are seizing the means of ^egg production!

Having owned a small flock for two years now?

The cost of feed is non-trivial, costs to create a safe coop and enclosure pen is… fairly high especially since you’ll want eight foot tall fencing. Sure yo ucould free range, but then you’re just BEGGING for your flock to get picked off.

And production is variable. Even when you don’t want eegs. Boom. Eggs. they don’t lay o ncommand. And can and will destroy their own eggs.

The scrawny ass feral chickens in my neighborhood:

Do you want bird flu? Because this is how you get bird flu.

(Though, to be fair, if you’re in the US you’ll almost certainly end up getting it anyway, so you might as well enjoy some eggs and cleaning lots of chicken guano while you’re at it.)

What you should be doing is leasing them.