But they are being warned that keeping poultry is hard work and the cost of looking after hens would likely exceed how much they would pay for eggs at the supermarket.
It comes as a change in animal welfare regulation banned battery cages, which resulted in a shortage of eggs at the supermarket.
Cage egg farms offered their hens up for cheap, which led to thousands being re-homed at the end of last year.
Taieri chicken farmer Josh Adam said the demand for hens had continued even after the market was flooded with ex-cage hens.
People had been "panic buying" hens and he was concerned they did not realise how much work they required.
He listed a hundred of his older hens on social media for $15 each and sold out after about two hours.
Calls asking for hens still came through every day.
He had no idea the demand would be so high and originally did not think he would be able to re-home them all.
Some would enjoy their new animals, but others would be ill-equipped to look after hens, as they had to be properly fenced, housed and fed with grains.
"They are something you have to look after seven days a week.
"They don’t just eat scraps."
He believed there would be people needing to re-home hens in the months to come.
People could still buy eggs at the supermarket and it would probably cost less to just buy the eggs there.
The new regulations had upset the market, but the supply would normalise eventually.
"All the farmers are trying to grow as quick as we can."
He had an operation of 2500 chickens and would be expanding as soon as possible to meet the demand.
A Farmlands spokesman said it was seeing more customers with an interest in keeping chickens.
It had seen strong sales in chicken feed and chicken-related products, which was typical for the summer holiday period as people stocked up.
"Like with any animal ownership, it’s important that customers understand how to look after their chickens the right way to ensure they’re healthy and happy."
A flock needed at least three birds, as chickens were social animals.
"You will need to be able to provide a safe, enriching space for your chickens to live in."
A chicken coop should be weatherproof, well ventilated and have an indoor area where birds could shelter, sleep, roost, perch and lay eggs.
They should also have access to a safe outdoor area where they could exercise and express behaviours such as foraging and dust bathing.
"The outdoor area should have good overhead cover to protect the chickens from predators.
"Keep the grass short in this area to avoid grass impaction from them eating long grass."
Eggs had to be collected every day to prevent the eggs from going rotten, getting broken or to stop hens eating their own eggs.
Rules for keeping chickens vary between districts, but most have a ban on roosters in urban environments and a maximum number you can keep in a flock.
Counting chickens
The maximum number of hens you can legally keep within southern districts in urban areas:
Southland 10
Central Otago 12
Queenstown Lakes 5
Clutha 10
Waitaki 12
Invercargill Limits based on space
Dunedin No limit
Gore 12
