If you’ve recently visited a grocery store in Western Washington during the holiday season, you may have noticed a shortage of eggs or higher prices for the eggs that were available.
This is mainly due to a nationwide bird flu outbreak that has resulted in the culling (or killing) of 6.5 million egg-laying hens across the country, including 2.5 million in California, one of the top egg-producing states.
“It’s been tough for a while,” said Ricky Volpe, a professor of agribusiness at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. “The bird flu has really affected the entire chicken and egg-laying hen supply chain.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price for a dozen eggs in November 2024 was $3.65, an 8.2% increase from October. While this is high, it’s not the highest price ever. The all-time record for egg prices was in January 2023, when a dozen eggs cost $4.83.
It’s important to note that organic or free-range eggs are usually much more expensive, and these tend to sell out quickly in stores.
Volpe has been monitoring egg prices since the bird flu outbreak began in late 2022. A major bird flu incident at a Washington egg farm that year, which killed over a million chickens, severely affected the industry.
He believes that egg prices should return to normal once the outbreak ends, but it’s unclear when that will happen. “We haven’t seen the outbreaks in major egg-producing states calm down long enough for egg supplies to catch up with demand,” Volpe explained.
Besides raising egg prices, the bird flu is causing other issues. The CDC recently reported that the virus is widespread in wild birds and causing outbreaks in poultry and even U.S. dairy cows. There have also been human cases among workers handling poultry and dairy.
In Oregon, a cat died after eating pet food contaminated with the virus, leading to a recall of certain turkey-based frozen pet foods from Northwest Naturals.
While officials from the Washington State Department of Agriculture couldn’t provide details, they confirmed that Washington hasn’t seen a major bird flu event at a commercial egg farm since October. However, the state has had reports of bird flu in smaller, backyard flocks across several counties.
If you’re frustrated by the egg shortage, Volpe mentioned that eggnog, a holiday favorite, is even harder to find. “It’s not cost-effective to make eggnog the traditional way,” he said, making it even more difficult to find this holiday treat.