Border poultry breeder Braham Metry says demand for chooks is on the rise

Demand has been so great that renowned Border poultry breeder Braham Metry has had the flightless birds virtually flying out the door.

It's all because the cost of living crisis is making a huge dent in family budgets.

"We sold 3000 hens in two days only last week," Mr Metry said.

"The demand is crazy."

Mr Metry has been breeding chickens for almost 40 years and over that time has developed a reputation as one of the nation's top poultry judges.

He has also sent stud birds to all corners of Australia.

Mr Metry said in the days of the Great Depression, now almost a century ago, "everybody had chooks in the backyard".

"Everybody grew their own meat, grew their own vegetables," he said.

"People used to process their own birds. You can't raise a cow in the backyard, it's not practical.

"But you can grow a few chickens."

Mr Metry said people weren't just buying one chicken, but several for "meat and fresh eggs".

"The average person is buying around six hens and are going for all types of birds," he said.

He said people were wanting to know what they were eating, and in turn it meant they were very conscious of where their food was coming from, so "chooks are great addition to that".

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