(WHTM) — If you eat a lot of eggs, those high prices can bust your grocery budget. Some people are taking matters into their own hands and raising their own chickens.

This is one of the hottest trends of 2023: raising hens to save on eggs.

A couple of chickens, laying one egg a day, can produce 600 a year.

Farms like the Mt. Healthy Hatchery say they are selling more egg-laying birds than ever before.

“Right now, it’s pushing us to the limit of what we can do, phone lines are jammed constantly.”

But a report by the Alliant Credit Union called “Egg-o-nomics” says you won’t save any money unless you run a restaurant.

It says you will pay about $500 for a chicken coop, then $60 for hens, and $25 a month for hen food and wood chips.

That comes to about $800 your first year, when a dozen eggs per week at the grocery store is less than $300 a year, even at today’s high prices.

Neighbors may not be happy with your chicken coop, and you can expect to hear some complaints. Don’t even dream of having a chicken coop in a condo community with an HOA.

If you have some land and think you’ll enjoy it, give egg farming a try. They will be the freshest eggs you’ve ever had.

The bottom line is, you should raise chickens because you want the experience and the fresh eggs. Not to save a few bucks. That way you don’t waste your money.