But if they get too greedy then local farming becomes competitive again. I can buy eggs from my neighbor, or at the local farmer's market, or I can get some chickens of my own.
Eh, not really. My sister has a large ranch and keeps chickens for eggs, but it's not something that's going to get even close to breaking even. A huge amount of time and effort is needed keeping predators away. Feed in small amounts is rather expensive compared to large wholesale amounts. And letting them range is a rather large amount of work ensuring they don't get in trouble.
