Anna Greene loves her chickens, and is quite enthusiastic about them.
As a certified specialty poultry breeder, she has been raising rare-breed chickens for several years at her Bridge Road residence in the Finger community, also known as Greene Acre Farm.
“We raise several lesser-known breeds here,” Greene said, “including Ayam Cemanis, Silkies, Buff and White-Crested Polish, Zombies and Ameraucanas.”
“Most of these breeds make great pets,” she added. “People generally start with a couple of hens, then they realize that they are fun…and once people get one or two, they really get into them, and it is not unusual for the same families to come back and buy more.”
Greene’s business, which originally consisted primarily of breeding and raising chickens that customers would purchase either as family pets or for their children to raise, evolved over time, and she soon found that friends and neighbors began seeking her out to purchase the eggs laid by her 200-bird flock.
That was before “bird flu” became an issue.
Precautionary measures adopted as a result of Avian Flu, a strain of the influenza virus that primarily infects birds, has created an egg shortage nationwide, and while the disease is highly contagious among poultry flocks, the risk to humans is considered low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With such measures causing egg availability to dwindle, store prices have steadily risen, and many families have made the decision to invest in some egg-layers rather than depending upon area supermarkets.
“Laying hens are what people are wanting now,” Greene said. “Four or five hens can supply an average family of four with enough eggs,” she noted. “Of course, that’s assuming they aren’t eating eggs every meal.”
To begin to meet the need, Greene purchased an incubator, and began hatching out eggs, but noted that it is still difficult to stay ahead of the growing demand.
“I’m hatching out 40 to 100 chicks a week, and that barely keeps up with what’s being requested,” she said, adding that she is also working through a supplier to procure mature (9 months to 1 year) laying hens for customers who don’t want to go through the process of growing hatchlings into full-grown chickens.
Greene is quick to promote the benefits of purchasing eggs from local farmers. The benefits include increased shelf life and more stable pricing, she said.
“Unwashed eggs, sitting out on their own, on your kitchen counter, will last up to two-ish months,” Greene said. “On the other hand, eggs that you buy at the store have already been washed and refrigerated, and the bloom has come off. This lets bacteria creep into the egg, and they don’t last as long.”
Another benefit, Greene says, is more consistent pricing.
“I’ve sold eggs for $5 a dozen (slightly higher than most supermarkets) for quite some time, and that’s kind of a set price among local farmers,” she said. “The extra amount is to cover the cost of feed for the hens. Those feed prices are more stable, and they aren’t going up, so our price for the eggs won’t be fluctuating, like the store prices.”
Greene also raises ducks and myotonic goats at the farm, but chickens remain her priority. As such, she also is known to many as “The Rooster Lady.”
“We will re-home roosters,” she said, noting that while hens “pull their weight” through egg production, roosters don’t, and because of their crowing, they often aren’t allowed to be kept inside city limits or within housing developments.
“Not many people want roosters,” said Greene, “but we’ll take them in.”
Greene Acres Farm is at 32627 Bridge Road, Mt. Pleasant. Call 704-991-5583.

Toby Thorpe is a freelance writer for The Stanly News & Press.