Are there fears over a chickpea shortage because chickens are laying fewer chickpeas? No, that's total nonsense, if you believed that you've been taken in by a joke website publishing a satirical articles. Chickpeas are not laid by chickens, it is not real.
The joke story originally appeared in an article published by the Waterford Whispers News on June 20, 2018 titled "Chickpea Shortage Feared As Chickens Lay Fewer Peas" (archived here) which opened:
RETAILERS are reporting a large decrease in chickpea stocks around the world as chickens are laying fewer peas, sparking an increase in both demand and the price of chickpeas.
Chickpea or the 'Egyptian pea' is a legume of the family Fabaceae and was named so due to the chickens from that area often laying small circular legume in place of eggs due to the hot and humid conditions of the North African country.
The main ingredient in hummus, chickpeas grew in popularity in the West and lead to mass production in America and some parts of Europe, importing Egyptian chickens while recreating the climate conditions they experienced in Africa in large industrial style units known as hummus farms.
Users on social media who only saw this title, description and thumbnail may have thought it was a real news story:
Chickpea Shortage Feared As Chickens Lay Fewer Peas
RETAILERS are reporting a large decrease in chickpea stocks around the world as chickens are laying fewer peas, sparking an increase in both demand and the price of chickpeas. Chickpea or the 'Egyptian pea' is a legume ...
But Wikipedia defines a chickpea as:
The chickpea or chick pea (Cicer arietinum) is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae.[2][3] Its different types are variously known as gram[4][5] or Bengal gram,[5] garbanzo[5] or garbanzo bean, and Egyptian pea.[4] Its seeds are high in protein. It is one of the earliest cultivated legumes: 7500-year-old remains have been found in the Middle East.[6][7] In 2016, India produced 64% of the world's total chickpeas.[8]
So it is clearly plant-based in origin, not laid by chickers, should you still doubt it.
The site Whaterford Whispers News has a disclaimer page which reads:
Disclaimer
Waterford Whispers News is a fabricated satirical newspaper and comedy website published by Waterford Whispers News.Waterford Whispers News uses invented names in all its stories, except in cases when public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.
For that reason alone you should probably never believe anything they publish.
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