Is bird flu to blame for higher egg prices?
Two different strains of bird flu have been cropping up across the country, posing a threat to livestock and possibly raising prices at the grocery store.
So far, only one case has been reported in Vermont, and none have been reported in the North Country.
According to the CDC, HPAI A is affecting dairy cattle and has shown up in sixteen states across the nation.
The avian strain of H5N1, affecting birds, has hit just over one hundred flocks across the country.
There have been no reports of either strain in New York. But local farmers are still concerned and taking precautions to protect their animals.
Mary Bushey has a small flock of 15 chickens at her farm in Beekmantown.
“At the moment it is not a big concern because there hasn’t been a lot of reports of bird flu in this particular area,” she said. “But it is something that you think about and something that you worry about because we have a lot of sparrows that get into the chicken coop and those sparrows can carry the bird flu.”
Meanwhile, the chickens at Giroux Poultry, in Chazy are kept indoors and have no interaction with wild birds. But the threat could come from the people working there.
“You don’t want your people tracking in (contaminates) working with the flocks,” said Greg Giroux. “You have to be careful that when people go in they have clean shoes and clean clothes. We have boot baths. We disinfect all vehicles that come on the farm. We try and keep the hen houses themselves relatively safe zones where they’re clean and isolated.”
If a single bird in a flock contracts the flu, the entire flock must be de-populated or killed.
Giroux said if a bird tests positive, the government comes in and stops the spread by de-populating the entire facility or farm.
Giroux Poultry has been lucky, so far. Poultry farmers in other parts of the country have not been quite so lucky.
Giroux said that this year the industry has de-populated about 40 million, which is about 15 percent of the nation’s total flock.
That is most likely a main cause for the increase in egg prices across the nation. When the supply is constricted, egg prices generally go up. Some stores are currently selling eggs for more than $5.00 per dozen.
For small “backyard” bird owners, security measures are a bit simpler and more limited.
“You have to keep an eye on the birds to make sure they’re still healthy and there’s no problems with them,” said Bushey.
The CDC said bird flu infections among humans, although possible, are rare, and would likely be a result of prolonged contact with an infected bird, and without proper PPE such as masks, gloves and eye protection.
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