Why egg prices soared so fast at Idaho stores, and why ‘free range’ hens are at risk

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – Shoppers might have already noticed, but egg prices have escalated at Boise-area grocery stores — if the stores can even get their usual supply.

The cause? Bird flu.

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The WinCo Foods at 8200 West Fairview Ave. in Boise taped a sign to the doors of its refrigerators indicating that its egg suppliers have been affected by outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, leading prices to go up for the remaining stock.

“We will continue to monitor eggs costs closely, and as soon as costs come down, we will adjust our prices accordingly to pass those savings back to you,” the sign read.

A pack of 12 large grade-AA eggs was listed for $4.53 last week. In 2022, the same pack of eggs at WinCo cost $1.78, according to a report on grocery prices from KTVB. Since then, bird flu has caused persistent outbreaks in flocks in Idaho and across the country, making it difficult for commercial poultry farms to keep up with demand.

“This has been ongoing,” Idaho State Veterinarian Scott Leibsle said Friday. “It’s been ebbing and flowing for the last two years.”

Right now, it’s flowing.

In late November, reports of bird flu in Idaho began to trickle in, but only in backyard chickens. By January, “we started to see a surge,” Leibsle told the Idaho Statesman by phone.

Five backyard farms in the state reported positive cases of bird flu in the past week, he said. So far, no commercial poultry farms in Idaho have been affected.

But a number of large farms that distribute eggs around the country have been. In the last month, there were 63 bird flu detections on commercial poultry farms in the U.S., according to a news release Thursday from United Egg Producers.

The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average cost of a dozen large grade-A eggs rose to $3.65 in November, a 40% increase from January 2024, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the “record-high prices” were driven, in part, by bird flu outbreaks.

At the Fred Meyer at the corner of Franklin Road and Orchard Street in Boise, another sign explained the situation to shoppers.

“Due to recent supply shortages, the cost to source cage-free eggs that meet our strict quality standards has increased drastically,” the sign said.

The main way bird flu spreads to poultry farms is through migratory birds that fly into barns or land on coops. The birds interact with the hens, Leibsle said. The virus also can spread through waterfowl by similar means, especially when the property is near a river or a pond.

The state veterinarian said workers should always be cognizant of what they might be tracking off or around the farm on their clothes, boots or equipment.

Bird flu outbreaks cause egg prices to spike because the flocks that get it are culled, according to Leibsle.

“When a facility is identified as positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza, we have to depopulate all the birds that remain alive, because they can continue to be a source of the virus,” he said. “Once these commercial poultry operations are cleaned and disinfected, they’ll look to repopulate, but that takes time. You need to get the birds and let them grow and start laying.”

On a major commercial poultry farm, it can cause a significant disruption. In the past week, Ohio identified a farm that had 250,000 hens affected by a bird flu outbreak, and North Carolina had a farm with 2.7 million hens affected, he said.

“They’re just so massive that when they get hit, it takes down millions of birds at a time,” Brad Keasal, the owner of Western Farm of Idaho, told the Statesman on Friday.

He said that when the commercial farms raise their prices, he sells more eggs.

Keasal has about 2,000 hens and a small amount of shelf space at local Albertsons and Natural Grocers stores. His farm hasn’t been affected by bird flu yet, and he’s taken a number of precautions to make sure it isn’t.

“We’ve reeled them in,” Keasal said by phone. “I’ve taken free range off of our packaging, because they’re not going outside anymore. It’s just too risky, especially when you’ve got migratory geese, ducks, doves, you name it. Any bird that migrates south during the winter is a potential hazard to a chicken organization.”

Business and Local Government Editor David Staats contributed.