The Egg Shortage- "It's like toilet paper during Covid!"
If you live in the US, you've probably been affected by the egg shortage in some type of way. Whether you had to go out of your way to find eggs, pay double the normal price, or had to buy the carton of egg whites at the store because that was the only thing they had, it would be fair to say that you've "been affected in some sort of way". If you're someone who normally doesn't eat eggs then you've managed to come out of this whole thing relatively unscathed. The latest report as of Wednesday, Feb 20th 2025 stated that there have been 23.51 M birds affected by the highly pathogenic avian influenza. There is an asterisk by the word "affected", and below it says:*number of birds on confirmed infected premises. The USDA has a specific outlined protocol for any confirmed cases of HPAI. Below is the document that outlines how even just one positive case can lead to the "depopulation" of hundreds of thousands- and even millions in some cases- of birds. Please note the difference between "depopulation" and "euthanasia". I don't really think anything else needs to be said about this protocol. Whether you agree with this protocol or not, I just wanted you to be aware of what is happening right now with regards to the bird flu and egg shortage.Many people have said to me "Oh! It's like the toilet paper during covid situation!" While that's fun to joke about and the fact that there is indeed a shortage is true, the cause is actually very different.The current egg crisis is simply a decrease in supply due to the "depopulation" of millions of laying hens. The toilet paper shortage during covid was due to rigid supply chains that couldn't adapt quickly enough to the change in consumer demand. Demand for industrial toilet paper typically used by restaurants and hotels (the really rough stuff) plummeted due to forced closures while demand for home tp- like Charmin and Angel Soft- sky rocketed. Supply chains for the two different kinds could not adapt and while there was plenty of industrial toilet paper, there was no way to get it into grocery stores and that's not what home consumers are looking for anyways. Manufacturers were found scrambling, unable to adapt and the end consumer, [us], suffered the consequences. All of that being said, we are doing our best to keep our hens happy and healthy throughout the winter. That means providing them with apple cider vinegar for gut support, oyster shell for added minerals and calcium, straw bedding so they can keep warm, and finally a wood ash/compost dust bath so they can stay dry and manage their feathers and skin health naturally. For those of you outside of our pickup location range, I wish we could offer our eggs to you, however, the cold winter temps prevent us from safely shipping eggs without them freezing in transit. If you're struggling to find a local egg producer near you, I'd recommend going on the Eat Wild site that has producers listed by state and category. All you have to do is find your state and search for eggs in your area. We've found the Eat Wild website to be a great resource for consumers like you to find food sources they can trust in their area.
