Bird flu: High egg prices prompt discussion on vaccinating chickens in the U.S.
The Brief
Bird flu is being blamed for high egg prices recently.
When bird flu is found on a farm, the flock is killed in order to limit the disease's spread.
Some are wondering if chickens should be vaccinated in the future.
PHOENIX - Egg prices have been on the minds of many Americans recently, and there is a big reason why prices are going up.
According to an article published by the Associated Press on Feb. 13, the main reason that eggs are more expensive is the bird flu outbreak.
"Well, it seems almost daily that another big farm someplace in the country is becoming infected with bird flu," said Glenn Hickman, President of Hickman's Egg Ranch.
By the numbers
The AP article states that when the bird flu virus is found on a farm, the entire flock is killed to limit the spread of disease. As massive egg farms may have millions of birds, just one outbreak may put a dent in the egg supply.
Per the article, nearly 158 million birds have been slaughtered overall since the outbreak began.
The AP states there are other factors that are driving egg prices up, such as higher feed, fuel and labor costs due to inflation, investments in more biosecurity measures to try and protect chicken, and an increased demand for eggs in recent years.
As bird flu affects more chickens, some are wondering if chickens can be vaccinated.
Hickman owns four egg farms in Arizona, and said one of his egg farms was infected with bird flu twice. He said vaccinated chickens could certainly help the situation.
"It's how we gain control," said Hickman. "Our birds are about productive for about two years. So when we vaccinate the young flock coming in, it'll take about two years to get all of the birds vaccinated."
Chicken vaccination is also on the minds some political leaders. In fact, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) recently shared his thoughts about getting chickens vaccinated, via a post on X.
What Sen. Gallego Said
"Actually, I did push President Biden on this and the USDA, as well as the Department of Agriculture to actually start doing this, because I actually noticed the same problem last year," said Sen. Gallego. 'They didn't do it because eventually, bird flu went away. But they should have instituted a law saying that we need to start vaccinating these chickens, so we don't have these huge jumps prices in eggs."
Sen. Gallego is now pointing to the president.
"It's very simple: Donald Trump should start vaccinating chickens against bird flu, and that will eventually bring down the cost of eggs, because for now, we are going to have to see them for quite a while," said Sen. Gallego.
"Just on Friday, the government did approve the vaccine," Hickman said. "We're waiting on instructions about how to obtain it and how to use it."
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