Bird flu in the USA

Egg shortage turns Texans into chicken farmers

The high price of eggs is giving Americans some creative ideas.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Kristina Blokhin - stock.adobe.com)

"Our poultry sales have doubled or maybe even tripled," says a delighted John Berry. The breeder from Houston in the state of Texas is benefiting from the egg shortage in the USA.

According to the Department of Agriculture, more than 24 million laying hens have been slaughtered since December due to the rampant bird flu. Eggs have become a rare and expensive commodity. More and more people therefore want to keep chickens themselves.

"We sell a hundred or more hens a week," explains Berry, Managing Director of Wabash. "People are buying them because the price of eggs has gone up or because there simply aren't any left." In some supermarkets, a dozen top-quality eggs cost more than ten dollars (9.65 euros), with the cheapest ones going for six dollars. That is more than double the usual price.

Empty shelves in the USA

(Bild: APA/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Restaurant chain charges extra for egg dishes
In some stores the egg shelves are empty, in others no more than a dozen eggs are sold per customer. The Waffle House restaurant chain is charging an extra 50 cents for every egg in a dish. Last week, 500 eggs were stolen in the middle of the night from the storeroom of a restaurant in Seattle.

US consumers, who are used to spending little on this staple food, are unsettled. More and more want to provide their own eggs for breakfast. However, most customers who now buy chickens have no experience of keeping them, says Berry.

A chicken for 40 dollars
Arturo Becerra has never had hens either. Nevertheless, he recently bought ten of them for 400 dollars, with feed costing another 20 dollars a month. And Becerra wants to keep even more poultry. "I have a big family," says the 57-year-old. "I think it will be cheaper to buy chickens and raise them. I'm happy with one egg per hen per day." However, none of his children have yet eaten an egg from his own hens. The young animals still need a few weeks before they start laying.

(Bild: APA/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Fear of bird flu
Some cities and communities in Texas allow private individuals to keep chickens at home if they comply with certain health regulations. However, the Centers for Disease Control warns that "people who have occupational or recreational contact with birds or other animals infected with the avian influenza virus are at higher risk of infection." In the United States, not only poultry farms but also dairy cows are affected by the disease. 68 people have been infected since the beginning of last year, one died.

This danger does not seem to deter Becerra. "I have space to house the chickens," he says calmly. Building contractor Billy Underhill has been keeping chickens for years. Now he is buying two more. "I buy a couple every few months because eventually they stop laying and die and I want to keep up the supply of eggs for my family," says the 62-year-old.

Stockpiling is the order of the day
It's no problem for private chicken farmers to buy hens. But there are not enough to replace the slaughtered poultry. "You should have anticipated it and bred thousands or even millions of extra chickens," Berry points out. "It will take two or three months or maybe even longer for things to get back to normal," predicts the breeder. Until then, he advises consumers to stock up. After all, eggs keep well.