Why are eggs so expensive?

What is going on with eggs?  Have you been to the grocery store lately and seen empty shelves in the egg section?  Have you seen prices for a dozen eggs higher than ever before?  What is happening?

There are three things going on that are affecting the egg supply.  

First is avian flu.  This disease is spreading in large factory farms.  If a few birds on one of these farms is found to be sick, the government response is to depopulate the entire farm in the hope of eliminating this disease and containing it’s spread.  This has resulted in the slaughter of over 100 million hens.  That means that 50 million Americans are left without their two egg omelet for breakfast.  Shortage means higher prices.

Second is a new law in Michigan which eliminates cages from chicken housing.  Large production farms have for years raised hens in cages where the are kept clean as their poop can fall through the wire from time to time the floor can be cleaned with automated scrapers.  When the hens lay, their eggs roll along the cage wire to a conveyer that brings the eggs to the packing room where they are washed, candled to look for cracks and packed into cartons or flats.  Now cages have been removed from these barns and the birds are crowded on the floor where they can scratch in a mixture of litter and their poop to their hearts content while breathing in the ammonia fumes. They lay their eggs in nesting boxes along the walls.  This necessitates workers to go into the barns and pick the eggs from the boxes and bring them to the packing room which involves more labor.  From time to time the floor has to be cleaned and replaced with fresh litter.  The increase in labor costs will result in a permanent increase in the price of cheap eggs.

Third is the seasonality of eggs.  Most hens will lay 200 to 250 eggs in a year.  They start laying at about 21 weeks of age, usually in the spring.  By fall they are in need of new feathers to keep them warm for the winter so they molt.  During this time they do not lay eggs.  After molting, they typically will ot start to lay eggs again until there is close to 14 hours of daylight.  That means that early winter is the time when the fewest eggs are laid.  Now is the time when chickens ignore any signs the groundhogs may have given and decide spring is coming and begin to lay again.  By Easter time eggs will once again be in abundance.

Coming soon:  How do these 3 things affect backyard flocks and small farms?