posted on
October 11, 2023
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Ask anyone who buys eggs regularly at the grocery store, and you'll be met with the question.Why are egg prices so high?!Basic conventional raised eggs at the grocery store have reached record-high prices, and most stores are limiting the number of eggs people can purchase.There is clearly a supply and demand issue at the moment, but what is causing such an egg shortage?This might surprise some of you, but the egg shortage is directly correlated with the governments policy of handling the outbreak of the avian bird flu.Bird flu isn't new; it has been present worldwide since the early 2000s, yet it has recently gained renewed attention.The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) policy regarding bird flu states that if your flock tests positive for the virus, all poultry on that farm will be "depopulated" (a euphemism for being killed). This means that if one bird shows signs of illness or dies and the USDA confirms it as bird flu, they will eliminate the entire flock of chickens or turkeys on the farm. The testing method used for bird flu is the PCR test, which gained notoriety during the COVID outbreak for its false positives.This isn't speculation. We witnessed this firsthand with our friends this fall when their turkey flock became sick and died. The USDA came and tested, confirming that it was indeed bird flu. They didn't have to kill any turkeys because their flock succumbed to the virus quickly. However, their small group of laying hens, which they kept for personal egg consumption and were healthy despite being exposed to the turkeys, had to be killed if they wanted any compensation from the USDA.Large confinement operations can house up to 250,000 chickens. Many of these farms have multiple houses, so if a large operation is confirmed to have bird flu, it is required to cull all the chickens on the farm; sometimes, this number well exceeds 250,000. In the last two years, over 160 million chickens and turkeys have been killed to "slow the spread." Yet, bird flu continues to spread.The USDA blames wild birds for carrying and transmitting the disease, yet I have yet to hear the USDA consider a widespread extermination plan for wild birds like starlings, pigeons, and chickadees, but only for the farmers who have chickens and turkeys?For a chicken to start laying eggs, they must be at least 5 months old before they begin to lay regularly. So if a laying operation has to depopulate their entire farm, they will have a minimum of 5 months before they have eggs again, and that's IF they can find chicks to restock their farm. There has been no discussion about breeding chickens that have contracted bird flu but survived the disease. What happened to the survival of the fittest?With millions of chickens being exterminated from the food supply, it's no wonder that egg prices are skyrocketing! Unless the USDA policy changes, it's unlikely we'll see a significant drop in egg prices, unless many new farmers enter the market willing to raise and sell eggs. In the meantime, we will continue to supply our customers with our small flock of laying hens that my daughter raises.
Each winter, when the creeks on our ranch freeze over, our kids rush out to check if the ice is thick enough for skating. Once it is, they spend hours on the ice, knowing the cold may not last. This year, we enjoyed nearly a week of perfect skating, though it got crowded with six kids on the creek. Our younger ones joined in, being pulled in a sled by their older siblings. After hours of skating and plenty of laughs, warmer temperatures ended the season, leaving behind great memories.
This week, we had some surprise early calves after a bull escaped his pasture. Normally, we don’t start calving until March, but these early arrivals faced challenges with the cold, wet weather. While most did well, one calf struggled to stay warm and had to be brought inside to warm up. After some time, we sent him back to mom for a good nursing. This experience has reminded us to check our fences and keep a better count of our bulls next spring!
