(StatePoint) About 20 years ago, chickens—long a staple of farms and homesteads—began showing up in urban and suburban yards. They enabled city dwellers to source homegrown food, provided a touch of nature amid the urban jungle, and have continued to rise in popularity ever since. According to the American Pet Products Association’s 2025 State of the Industry report, 11 million U.S. households own backyard chickens, a 28% increase from 2023.

Caroline Komar-Steiner, a Team Lead at the Tractor Supply store in Antioch, Illinois, is a passionate chicken expert who regularly guides individuals into the world of chicken ownership. She and her husband have been raising poultry since 2018, and she describes it as one of the most rewarding things she has ever done. “Raising those chicks and getting your first eggs is an ‘eggsperience’ unlike any other,” she said.

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