Humans have kept domesticated chickens since as far back as 10,000 years ago and are thought to have eaten eggs in some form for just as long. And in March of 2020, as businesses and public spaces closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans were buying more chickens than ever, with The New York Times reporting that hatcheries throughout the country were sold out of chicks due to the increased demand. The fact that people suddenly found themselves stuck at home with less to do was likely a contributing factor, as was the scarcity mindset that took hold during the early days of lockdown. (Remember when it was impossible to find toilet paper?) “It just seems like having a steady food source is a good idea right now,” an Austin-based musician told the paper at the time.
Though tending chickens seems like quite a rustic pastime, even the rich and famous have been filling their backyards with flocks, installing hen houses right alongside their in-ground pools and outdoor pizza ovens. In the second episode of the highly anticipated new Kardashians show on Hulu (which aired April 21), Khloé Kardashian and her friend Malika Haqq poke around Kylie Jenner’s backyard, where the 24-year-old makeup mogul has a raised wooden chicken coop that matches her daughter Stormi’s play structure.
We aren’t sure exactly when Jenner added this to her yard, but the reality star first posted a Silkie Bantam (a fluffy, cute breed that doesn’t produce many eggs) she called Eddie on Instagram back in 2017. It was this same year that AD photographed Simple Life sensation turned fashion designer Nicole Richie next to her chicken coop in Beverly Hills, which she built as “a miniature version of my own house in terms of color and style,” the mother of two said at the time. Richie has since moved, but confirmed that she brought her birds with her and built them a new coop. (The buyer of Richie’s previous house was none other than Adele, though we don’t know if the 15-time Grammy winner kept the matching coop intact or filled it with her own birds.)