this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2025
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H5N1 Avian Flu aka. HPAI
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The egg prices thing is a ploy. They've been one of the most profitable industries as of late.
Jesus. Do you even read the news? The news of the past several years?
This is the new normal. Factory farming gives us cheap eggs, but leads to massive culling operations as a result of bird flu. They culled 100,000,000 birds last time. That's a 1 with 8 zeroes.
Don't like it? Raise your own damned birds. We're starting in the next month or two. Adult layers are $10-$30 each on Craigslist, chicks are stupid cheap.
I already do.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/29/countrys-largest-egg-producer-saw-profits-surge-718-amid-shortage/
The industry saw profits rise 700% due to "shortages". They see this as an opportunity to raise it further.
How do you protect you birds from birdflu?
I buy more of them when they die. Killing them because they have bird flu destroys their ability to adapt and combat that strain. Ones that don't die aren't completely immune from it, but they're pretty close.
I only have like 6 hens; I don't need to take the same precautions that farms do.
And you’re not worried to get infected?
No? H5N1 is rarely transmissible to humans. The biggest fear is a mutation that allows human-to-human transmission.
Do you absolutely need a rooster to have egg-laying chickens for non-breeding purposes?
Chickens will lay eggs regardless, they just won't be viable without the rooster's participation.
Only if you want more chickens. Unless that cock is shooting blanks.
No, but if you have one (or more, but the ratio is roughly 1:5 for rooster:hens) then you can also sell your eggs as fertilizer and make some cash that way as well, while also spreading chickens to others!
Eggs only start to hatch when kept at the right temp and humidity, so they're not anything to worry about by being fertilized if you wanna eat them
My friends had two hens that laid eggs with no rooster. It was great.