JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Not only are eggs expensive because of the ongoing bird flu outbreak, now they are also getting hard to find. And when stores do have eggs, consumers are starting to face limits on how many they can buy.
Eggs have become such a hot commodity that there have even been a couple of heists where thieves seem to be treating the yolks as if they were made out of gold.
The problem isn’t going away because the virus continues to mutate and infect more birds, other animals and some people. And anytime a chicken or turkey gets sick, the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the spread.
The shortages tend to be isolated, so they might not be a problem at your store. But there’s no way to predict when a massive farm with millions of birds might get hit, and just one of those cases can cause supply problems.
As a result, prices have skyrocketed.
Jackie, an owner of AAA Chickens And More LLC in Fernandina Beach, said he’s seen more people coming to his business to buy eggs and chicks. Jackie noticed a sizeable uptick a few weeks ago with people coming to get eggs. So much so, that he had to stop selling that product in a stand at the front of their yard and tell people to place orders online for the eggs.
Empty egg shelves are becoming more common across the country. Sometimes shoppers have to check two or three stores or seek out a local farmer to get their eggs.
This outbreak has taken a tremendous toll on poultry since it began in 2022. Nearly 158 million birds have been slaughtered overall with the majority being egg-laying chickens.
That hurts egg supplies and drives prices higher. But with more than 300 million chickens nationwide laying eggs for breakfast and baking, the industry can usually deal with the loss of a few million birds without many disruptions.
The problems come when larger numbers of birds have to be killed. Last month more than 23 million birds were killed, and that came right after 18 million were slaughtered in December.
And when egg farmers do have to kill their entire flocks it takes at least a month or two to get new birds because the carcasses must be disposed of and all the barns must be sanitized before the farm is cleared. So the effects linger.
Trader Joe’s is capping purchases to one carton per customer each day, the Monrovia, California-based chain confirmed. That limit applies to all Trader Joe’s locations across the country.
“We hope these limits will help to ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs are able to purchase them when they visit Trader Joe’s,” the company said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Tuesday.
In addition, consumers and several local media outlets have also reported varying limits at stores like Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger and Aldi locations. But not all those limits are nationwide.