Sounds like a plan! Some of the chickens might simply be running loose but the PCs might rapidly figure out these are all hens... Where is/are the roosters? And the answer might be that the saboteur is hiding the rooster and several hens in the pet store so he/she can restart the chicken farm even if the raiders and defenders get a little over-enthusiastic with their AOEs.

Pet store name... The Cat's Meow? >_> https://toughnickel.com/starting-business/pet-store-names