When eggs are scarce, the French adopt laying hens.

In some supermarkets, the egg aisle sometimes resembles a shelf that's been forgotten. No national shortage has been announced, but occasional stockouts and rising prices are enough to disrupt consumer habits. As a result, some shoppers are turning to a very practical, almost old-fashioned solution: buying laying hens to secure part of their egg supply.

The chicken coop: a new way to combat empty shelves

In Neubourg (Eure), a pet shop reports a 50% increase in sales in just one year. Nathalie Duval, a saleswoman, says she sells between 200 and 300 chickens a week, a level "unprecedented" in nearly 30 years. Demand isn't solely driven by practicality; it sometimes borders on the aesthetic: certain breeds are chosen for the color of their eggs, especially with Easter approaching. And the practical argument keeps coming up with customers, tired of making countless trips to the store hoping to find a carton of eggs.

Behind the return of the chicken coop, there's also a subtle moral message and a calculated approach. Lise, who often cooks, says she took the plunge after seeing empty shelves and to avoid eggs from caged hens; vendors remind us that a hen lays an average of one egg per day, with variations depending on the breed and the season. Mathilde, for her part, is doing the math: between the price of farm eggs and even those sold between individuals, the purchase of the hens, the coop, and the feed can be recouped over time, with the added bonus of less waste thanks to leftover food. In the background, the industry remains under pressure, between health crises, production costs, and sustained demand, while supply is progressing slowly.