![]() “A lot of backyard flock people utilize natural daylight.” ![]() “Backyard flock producers don’t necessarily follow lighting programs to support peak egg production,” Anderson said. Improperly stored feed can become compromised and affect egg production, too. Limited daylight hours in the winter can reduce or stop hens’ egg production, as can cold weather, said Applegate. Other factors could explain the individual reports of low backyard egg yields, experts say. Therrell noted, however, that officials have fielded questions from people who saw feed-related claims on social media. “Our members have not really heard any exact reports of any correlation between the feed and egg production,” said Austin Therrell, executive director of the Association of American Feed Control Officials, a group of local, state and federal agencies responsible for regulating animal feeds. But there is no evidence that altered chicken feed is driving steep egg prices.Īgricultural officials in multiple states, including North Carolina and Georgia, told the AP they have received no reports of widespread problems. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and a farmer-led advocacy group have called for an investigation into potential egg price-gouging by producers. “And when there’s fewer eggs, the price goes up.”ĭemocratic U.S. And when you take that many chickens out of production, there’s fewer eggs,” said Ken Anderson, a poultry industry specialist at North Carolina State University. “Because of high path avian influenza, we’ve had to depopulate millions of laying hens. More than 43 million of the 58 million birds slaughtered over the past year to control the bird flu virus have been egg-laying chickens, The Associated Press has reported. “Beyond feed, there are a lot, probably even more so, things from the management and from the bird’s environment that creates different things that would cause her to either go out of production or lower her production.” “Is there a broad conspiracy? No, there’s not a broad conspiracy,” said Todd Applegate, a professor in poultry science at the University of Georgia. While feed quality can affect hens’ egg-laying abilities, state agricultural officials told The Associated Press they have not heard of any widespread issues with feed affecting egg production, and several major feed suppliers say they haven’t changed their formulas.Įxperts say there are far more mundane explanations for the poultry’s meager production. Some backyard chicken owners may have separately found their chickens underperforming, but experts say the issues are unrelated. egg prices in grocery stores more than doubled over the past year due to an outbreak of bird flu, combined with increasing labor and supply costs. CLAIM: Chicken feed companies have altered their products to stop backyard hens from laying eggs and drive up demand for commercial eggs.
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