What costs more, the chicken or the egg? Missouri expert’s guidance for raising backyard chickens
By Beth Carlson, KOMU 8 Reporter
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KOMU) (KOMU) — After months of high egg costs, demand for backyard chickens has skyrocketed as mid-Missourians try to combat grocery costs. However, one expert on raising chickens said the trade of the chicken over the egg doesn’t combat costs the way many homeowners may think. Tatijana Fisher, State Extension Poultry Specialist at Lincoln University, spends much of her time teaching Missouri families how to take care of and raise chickens at home. “There’s something to be said for being able to provide high-quality protein sources at low prices, which the commercial industry can do through economy of scale, but I can’t produce an egg for under $2 a dozen, even when the price is good for things like feed. The big companies can,” Fisher said. Fisher meets with chicken owners across the state who are raising small flocks on their own. At Lincoln University’s campus farm in Jefferson City, she raises over 130 chickens to help research the best practices for homeowners. She said raising chickens can be incredibly gratifying and a great learning process, but owners should consider more than just the cost of eggs. “I’m not encouraging it. I’m trying to educate the people that are going to do it anyway,” Fisher said. “Part of the role of Extension is to provide science-based education.” Egg costs in Missouri The Missouri Department of Agriculture said the spike in egg costs is driven by bird flu, officially known as H5N1. The USDA has confirmed 5,109,609 chickens affected by bird flu in Missouri alone. “The most recent few months, it’s been mostly in western and southwest Missouri, but we’ve had it all over the state, and I would suspect that those ducks and geese flying overhead throughout the state are probably carrying it,” said Steve Strubberg, Missouri state veterinarian. “So I think all of our flocks are prone to carrying it.” Families in Missouri have felt the effects of inflated egg costs since the beginning of the year. In August 2023, a dozen eggs cost $2.04 on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In March, the average cost tripled to over $6.23. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bird flu has a 90% to 100% mortality rate in chickens, causing a shortage in egg-laying hens across the nation and spiking the price of eggs. The Missouri Department of Agriculture has been working with the State Extension program to help producers limit exposure to bird flu. “As far as protecting your flock from the avian influenza, it would be mostly just protecting them from outside incursions by wild birds or visitors that don’t maintain clean practices,” Strubberg said. “So if they’re around their flocks or around wild birds and then come visit your flock without taking some sanitary precautions, it really could bring influenza or other diseases into that flock.” Strubberg said local, small flocks may be more susceptible to bird flu than commercial producers. “Most of those small producers have more outside access, so they may be more commonly exposed to the wild birds,” Strubberg said. Don’t panic buy the birds Despite the numbers, recent trends have shown the number of birds to be lessening as the wild bird migration phase ends. Though this might not mean instant price drops, this gives hope to Missouri producers. “We’re mostly just trying to help the industry control the disease, hopefully rid ourselves of the disease going forward,” Strubberg said. But even if prices remain as the industry slowly tries come back from the losses, Fisher recommends sticking to the grocery store to keep costs low. “What small flock producers don’t factor in is labor,” Fisher said. “So they’re actually costing themselves, they’re not really making money, if they factor in all of their costs.”
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Jacob Richey
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