North Texans scrambling as egg shortage worsens due to bird flu outbreak
NORTH TEXAS — The nationwide shortage of eggs looks to get worse before it gets better. The shortage is all due to a major bird flu outbreak causing production plants to kill millions of birds and chickens who are infected.
From empty shelves at stores to long lines outside stores, consumers are left scrambling to grab a carton.
"I've paid $12 for a dozen of eggs, it's insane," said Cox Marketplace customer Felicia Whisenhont.
"It's frustrating," said another customer, Kyle Lythjohn. "I'm having to go to other stores and look around for eggs."
Trader Joe's stores are limiting only one carton per customer at checkout.
Some Texans are even taking matters into their own hands and renting chickens.
"They want to take some control back in their food sources and be more sustainable.," said Jenn Tompkins, co-founder of Rent The Chicken. Her company is based in Pennsylvania but rents out chickens to customers in Texas and across the county, providing the coop, chickens, and feed.
"You get to have the hens for the summer, we provide a book and a video tutorial, and if it's not a good fit, you can chicken out," she said.
According to the USDA, there have been 23.06 million birds affected by the bird flu in the last 30 days. The outbreak has affected more than a dozen states with the largest number of cases in Ohio. Texas has had zero cases this year but has had outbreaks in the past.
"Last year was the first time we've ever had any large poultry outbreaks. We had a large laying operation in West Texas that we had to de-populate I think 1,000,000 1/2 birds and that one facility," said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
He confirms there were a few bird flu cases in dairy cows last year in West Texas, but the risk to humans is still low. He assures the public that the USDA is working on a solution to the crisis.
"We're getting real close to having an affordable vaccine for the Bbrd flu and once we get there, I think we'll be OK," he said.
The USDA predicts the cost of eggs will increase 20% before the end of the year.
