KUALA LUMPUR: Chickens are still available in markets, but most sellers only have a limited number of birds to be sold daily.
Checks at several hypermarkets in Shah Alam saw long queues of consumers trying to get their hands on the week's supply of chicken.
At a mart in Seksyen 9, a store assistant the New Straits Times approached said there was an unusual number of consumers lining up to get their chickens since 8am, following the shortage of birds.
"Some of them said they were unable to get even one bird at the market near their houses, hence they came here," he said.
At a hypermarket in Seksyen 15, less than 10 birds were left on the stand for today's sales as of 3pm, with fewer than five customers queueing.
At a sundry shop in Seksyen 18, only chicken parts and "ayam pencen" (spent chicken) were available as of 3pm.
According to the shop assistant, only 15 birds were available today and all of them were sold out by 10am.
"Of the late, we get less than 20 birds daily from the supplier due to the shortage of chicken. It is not enough to meet the demand from consumers and there is nothing we can do.
"We don't know for how long this situation will last. We hope the government will do something about it," she said.
Checks at a hypermarket in Bangsar found chickens being sold in packs of between RM8.90 and RM9.50 per bird.
A store worker who declined to be named said there was an obvious increase in chicken sales since Sunday.
"Since Monday, from my observations, many consumers still come around either as early as the store opens or sometimes after office to buy just chickens.
"But there are not many people buying a whole chicken, rather just parts of it," he said.
He said the management was confident that their stocks would last throughout the week.
Housewife, Zaiton Ismail, 53, said so far, she had no problem getting fresh poultry for her family.
"My son will get the supply from his friend, who is a chicken seller at the night market. However, the price is at RM10 per kg.
"I hope the government will pay serious attention to this issue as I don't think many of us can afford to buy fresh poultry if the price continues to increase," she said.
Meanwhile, pensioner Noraida Haroun, 61, who is set to host a wedding reception for her son this Sunday, said she was worried by the soaring prices.
"I called my caterer to ask him if chicken will be served. (And) he assured me that there will be 'ayam masak merah' on the day."