Americans taking 'egg-stream' measures to crack inflation

Americans are flocking to the chicken coop – literally.

With the price of a carton of eggs rising nearly 64% in some states, consumers are choosing a more traditional alternative by renting fully operational chicken coops.

"The price of eggs have definitely increased our sales," Rent the Chicken owner Phil Tompkins told FOX Business’ Jeff Flock Friday on "Mornings with Maria," after bringing a coop to Flock’s Pennsylvania home.

Tompkins, who’s been helping families raise backyard chickens for 10 years, can ship a barn-like coop equipped with the chickens and feed almost anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.

Business has allegedly boomed for Tompkins as the food staple has seen a recent significant price increase. While prices vary throughout the country, photos of 12-and 18-count egg cartons priced at around $8 have gone viral in the last week.

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On Friday, Flock got to meet one of Tompkins’ many chickens, Laverne: "She makes a little clucking noise because she's egg-cited to tell the world that she's going to lay an egg."

Andrei Rjedkin, a NYC-based junior economist at food industry market information publisher Urner Barry, previously told FOX Business the combination of high energy prices, cost of feed, labor shortages and the highly pathogenic avian influenza have contributed to "egg-flation."

"All of these factors converge to result in a staggering 247% increase in the wholesale cost of a dozen eggs from $1.47 in January 2022 to $5.09 last month," Rjedkin explained.

As of December 2022, the "U.S. city average" cost of a dozen large Grade A eggs reached $4.25, according to the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED).

"The prices really should stabilize in the next 24 to 36 months," Tompkins said of the egg market. "But right now I can tell you, I can bring you some chickens."

Rent the Chicken customers pay around $500 per season, or six months, for the coop and all its supplies. Plus, you can name your new feathered friends.

"I drop off in the spring, you enjoy your chickens all summer, and in the fall you can either keep them, or at any time, you can chicken out and I'll pick them up."

The ultimate goal and hope of Tompkins’ chicken coop rental business is for consumers to become attached to their chickens and adopt them.

"When you adopt, we are your chicken friends for life," Tompkins noted, explaining that the company will continue to support your coop upon adoption.

In reaction to the eggs-tra costs, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., called for the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into "potential price gouging and other deceptive practices" as prices have spiked.

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The Rhode Island Democrat noted in a letter to the agency's chair, Lina Khan, that the price of a dozen eggs climbed 138% in December compared with the same time a year prior, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Consumers are used to seeing some volatility in the egg pricing market, but the current price spike in the industry’s favor warrants careful scrutiny. Independent federal watchdogs should look at the facts and follow the evidence to ensure consumers are treated fairly," he said in the letter to the FTC. Reed noted that the Department of Agriculture had found the price increase in the sector was "much larger than the decreases in production" caused by the avian flu.

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FOX Business’ Cortney Moore and Julia Musto contributed to this report.