Have you noticed the price of eggs lately? In a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that tracks food price outlook, eggs have risen up to 59% in December 2022, the highest year over year rise in prices among food items. I asked my favorite search engine why the increase and here was the answer handed to me:
The main reason egg prices remain high is the spread of an avian influenza virus which started in early 2022 and has already affected more birds than the 2015 outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Forbes, Jan 24, 2023
A look at the numbers
So I looked into the history of egg prices in the last 10 years. I wanted to compare the current prices to last time we had a big avian flu outbreak in 2015.
In 2022, the retail price for a dozen eggs in the United States was 4.25 U.S. dollars. Egg prices in the United States peaked in this year. Previously, the highest average price was in 2015, when a dozen eggs cost 2.75 U.S. dollars on average.
Retail Price of Eggs – Statistica
A $2.50 difference from 2015 and today? I then asked myself, if it’s because we had to euthanize millions of birds, it must have effected the cost of chicken as well, right?
In 2022, the price for one pound of boneless chicken breast in the United States amounted to 4.35 U.S. dollars, the highest price for the period under consideration. Until 2022, the retail price had remained between 3.00 and 3:50 U.S. dollars per pound in the country.
Retail Price of Chicken Breast – Statistica
It has increased, but not near as significant as the difference in the egg prices. It has to be more than just the ‘flu’. First, there are the fires that have been wreaking havoc on our food supply for the last year.
But, hens stop laying eggs every winter.
As long as the chicken is exposed to at least twelve hours of constant daylight (with 16 hours being optimal for egg production), she’ll lay an egg roughly every 26 hours. The first year of a hen’s life, they lay even during the winter, but every year after, they need a break.
Adding lighting to the coop is one way to extend the laying time, but older chickens can develop problems if not allowed to rest. Some chicken farmers will add new chick every year so they have a little overlap during the winter. Others may add ducks or specific breeds of chickens that will lay over the winter.
I started asking my friends who have chickens about their experience. One of them doesn’t modify the sunlight, so she always sees a decrease in production every winter.
They stopped laying in November and started up last month. It happens every year. They need about 12 hours of sunlight each day. I used to have a lamp in their coop to ensure eggs during the winter, but now I give them a break.
Karen, local farmer using Dumor from Tractor Supply
Last winter they never stopped but this year they stopped for about 4-6 weeks with maybe 1-2 eggs a week. Just in the last couple weeks they started laying better. I started adding crushed red pepper & oregano to their feed. Not sure if it helped or not lol. I read that commercial feed is causing an issue too. I am switching to a feed from a local feed mill in Henrietta.
Tina, farmer from Henrietta, TX
Tucker Carlson reported on the ‘egg crisis’ from the point of view of the farmers in the coop, unlike the rest of the main stream media.
Making the connections
But Tucker didn’t mention the latest connection that was brought to the attention of twitter users. An article from July 18, 2022 highlighted the use of egg yolks to develop SARS-CoV-2 antibodies quickly & inexpensively. According to the university, these antibodies could be used to treat or help prevent COVID-19 infection.
Sounds like good news, right? Well, good news can’t last long in this ‘health crisis’. One farmer made the connection between the egg shortage and the newest finding on PubMed that the egg yolk antibodies would actually block spike protiens, not just ‘lessen the severity’.
Our chickens had not laid an egg since September. We chalked it up to several things, but didn’t think too much about it. Then all the stories came out about the feed causing chickens to stop laying eggs. We switched to a homemade feed and exactly one week later, we had our first egg in 5 months. Today, my husband found this …
Farmer in Howe, TX
Follow the money
It always goes back to who has something to gain in this whole fiasco. Well, maybe it’s right here:
Leave a Reply