ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) – You have probably noticed that eggs are in limited supply right now. It is because of the ongoing bird flu outbreaks all across the country.
“Shelves have been getting bare on the eggs … Prices are spiking,” said Lemuel Currie Sr.
For many households, eggs are a necessity.
“We eat a lot of eggs in my house … It goes with your breakfast,” Currie said.
When the grocery store shelves get bare, some people head to the backroads.
“I have a friend that has chickens, and I get my eggs from him. He doesn’t sell it to anyone but family and friends,” Kirchner sid.
Small operations like Tater’s Farm in Alamance County have noticed the increased need.
“There is more people coming to me wanting eggs because the prices are rising … I sold out of the eggs,” said Laura Ridge, the owner of Tater’s Farm.
But it’s hard to keep up with unpredictable birds.
“Now the chickens have kind of decided the weather is changing … I am waiting for more to come in so, I can get more eggs for people,” Ridge said.
It could be six months or more before the supply returns to normal.
“When a flock of egg layers go down, the replacement time is a pretty long drag on that,” NC Extension Specialized Poultry Agent Richard Goforth said.
At a big facility, it takes about two months to clean, disinfect and follow all protocols. After that, it’s about another fie months before the chicks can hatch and start laying eggs.
“This strain is very deadly to our commercial poultry, but it typically doesn’t do a lot to the migratory waterfowl that spread the disease so rapidly,” Goforth said.
The strain circulating right now is the same one that first arrived in 2022.
“It has been a particularly hearty strain … Probably the longest outbreak that we have had,” Goforth said.
North Carolina has a handful of large operations impacted and a few backyard businesses.
There are no estimates when the outbreak could end, but some experts are hopeful the summer months can help kill the virus and mutate it enough so the impacts go down and the egg supply can get back up.
