>

Where do you live? I'm in Missouri, so close to a lot of chicken producing states and eggs were $5.12/dozen at Walmart. Smaller grocery stores were more.
Per WHO, it has a case fatality rate of 53%....
W.H.O update from last week
| As of 5 January 2023, a total of 240 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus have been 
reported from four countries within the Western Pacific Region since January 2003. Of these
 cases, 135 were fatal, resulting in a case fatality rate (CFR) of 56%. The last case was reported from China, 
with an onset date of 22 September 2022 and died on 18 October 2022. This is the first case of avian 
influenza A(H5N1) reported from China since 2015. >

That means it will likely never become a pandemic. The problem would be it constantly popping up >

I'm just some dummy but isn't that exactly what is happening with birds? Granted humans can learn to take precautions and avoid the virus in a way that birds can't but it seems deadly to birds and they are still passing it around. >

People gonna hog the eggs like they hogged toilet paper >

TP is a safe investment cuz the price is almost guaranteed to go up, and it is stored easily and doesn’t expire. Plus it’s fun to stack . >

I misread this at first and thought you said it was a fun snack. >

It’s a good source of fiber >

A bit powdery, though. If you're lucky, you can sometimes find some with what seems like chocolate on it, so there's that. >

Meanwhile, my family thinks Biden is pressing the "raise egg prices" button in the oval office. >

I truly believe most of the older population in the US is experiencing late stage lead poisoning. >

I’d be very interested in comparing voting patterns to lead gas phase-outs >

I believe there is research showing that crime decreased within a decade of the discontinuation of leaded gas. >

And abortion legalization/birth control proliferation >

But it was when the government offered unleaded abortions that crime really started to decline. >

I laughed, I cried, I hurled. >

And everyone applauded >

I caught the slow clap. >

That'll take the lead out of your pencil. >

Please God please make the global crisises stop >

This is our fault. We raised 119 billion chickens last year alone. >

"our", "we" >

Yes, we humans. It's our human created problem. >

Some of us don’t participate. >

I do >

Relevant, edited from a previous comment:
Perhaps the biggest risk of disease concerning livestock and poultry is influenza A - the only influenza virus known to cause pandemics.[9]  It is hypothesized that every influenza virus that causes pandemics in humans is derived from avian influenza in aquatic birds.[10]  Normally this wouldn't be an issue for us.  The infected wild birds usually don't get sick, and the virus doesn't easily spread amongst humans.[11]  But industrialized animal agriculture has changed that.  One scientific review writes:

Hosts such as swine and gallinaceous poultry that are favorable for transmission and efficient replication of both zoonotic and human viruses can serve as mixing vessels and pose the greatest risk for the development of novel reassortments that can replicate competently in humans.[12]

In other words, livestock and poultry are great at making it easier for viruses to spread amongst humans.  As to why this is, one author explains:

...virtually every effort to further industrialize broiler [chicken] biology has resulted in the emergence of new risks and vulnerabilities. Intensive confinement combined with increased genetic uniformity has created new opportunities for the spread of pathogens. Increased breast-meat yield has come at the expense of increased immunodeficiency.[13]

It is likely that animal agriculture enabled the 1957 Asian Flu, 1968 Hong Kong Flu,[14] bird flu,[15] and the 2009 swine flu.[16]  Of these, bird flu is the cause for most concern.  In past outbreaks, the case-fatality (CF) rate was 60 percent, although one study suggests that if it became a larger pandemic, it would have a median CF rate of approximately 23.5 percent.[17]  It is thought that the 1918 Spanish Flu may have infected one-third of the global population and had a CF rate of 2.5 percent.[18]  If bird flu were to mutate in such a way that it was anywhere near as contagious as Spanish Flu, with a CF rate almost 10 times higher than Spanish Flu, the results would be apocalyptic.  As two authors wrote in a WHO publication:

We can't scare people enough about H5N1 [bird flu].[19]

References >


one study suggests that if it became a larger pandemic, it would have a median CF rate of approximately 23.5 percent

MEDIAN CF RATE OF 23.5%??? >

But people will just bitch about having to pay more for eggs while funding the industry that will just keep chugging along and creating the environment where this will eventually happen. >

I understand where you’re coming from but most people are too busy surviving to take serious action against an industry they don’t understand. It’s the same story with gas and the fossil fuel industry. >

It is much cheaper (but less convenient) to eat a plant-based diet.  Many of the poorest people in the world barely eat any animal products because they are too expensive.
But yeah, most people have no idea what is actually done to produce eggs or milk or meat. >

Good point, I won’t argue that vegetarianism is overall a healthier, more economic diet option. You’re correct. But people are uneducated, tired, and propagandized against that diet choice. No? >

…. The more chances to make a more complete zoonotic jump and spread between humans. Yay. >

This is what keeps me up at night. >

The Black Death would be quaint afterwards. >

At least we can easily treat the plagues (for now) >

You sure about that? A few Yersinia pestis strains are already reported to have resistance to antibiotics. >

It’s probably true for eggs. The US alone collectively eats some 8 billion eggs a year and are a staple for protein is just about every country. >

That sounds super low, that's 7% of an egg per day per person.  I'd assume consumption is closer to one egg per day on average at least, considering eggs go into many breads let alone the typical American breakfast.  Probably more like 80b eggs per year >

Was curious so looked up number of eggs produced yearly in the US... found a few different figures, though it seems to be around 100 billion. So you're pretty close. 8 billion may be around the amount of whole eggs consumed.

U.S. table egg production totaled 96.9 billion in 2020, down 2% from 2019. The U.S. had 325 million commercial laying hens at the end of 2020, down 5% from 2019.  ... On average, each laying hen produces 296 eggs per year. 

Per capita that's a bit under an egg per day / 286 per person yearly. So basically one laying hen is needed per person. >

Nailed it! >

Jeez, where did this strain of Bird Flu come from? >

That's Avian Flu in general 
What about this strain? >

It’s H5N1 so Southeast Asia. It’s enzootic(endemic, but not people) in the local bird population. >

Nearly all strains of Avian H5 can be traced to Guangdong (from 1996), but this specific strain and clade is dominated by the reassortment that occurred in The Netherlands. Saying H5N1 comes from one country simplifies influenza WAY too much. There's a reason these strains are further typed by their origin in the subclades. >

That’s it, I’m getting a chicken, screw the HOA >

Got some bad news about the price of chicken feed...
But you can try using it as a living, squawking compost pile too.  Sometimes they survive. >

Chicken feed is still 50 cents a pound. I spend like $30 a month feeding my chickens and get 3-4 eggs a day. >

I shall name my chicken Tina and feed her ham. Problem solved /s >

They do, in fact, like ham. I’ve seen one of my girls have the audacity to take a ham bone from my pitty. My dog looked at me like “wtf?” >

Chickens are tiny semi-domesticated dinosaurs. Land piranhas, in groups they can pick a carcass clean. Your poor pitty! >

Oh for sure. I’ve seen my girls hunt mice and ground squirrels. 
When I open their coop and they follow me around I may be guilty of pretending to be Chris Prat from Jurassic World. >

I love that you refer to them so affectionately, "your girls", aww 🥺 >

Thanks. I’m not as attached to them as some crazy chicken people can be (they knit them sweaters and let them wonder around in their house), but I say “good morning/good night ladies” whenever I let them in/out of their coop and try to treat them more like family members than livestock. Mathematically, they’ve probably produced more than 5000 eggs since I’ve had them, so they’ve definitely taken care of us. >

My mom’s chickens are an interesting bunch, one lays eggs in the stupidest places, it’s like an egg hunt - last I heard one was on the riding mower’s back wheel. One is always broody but will sit on a nest of golf balls happily while they take her eggs. My mom had to teach the rooster to behave, she used a nerf gun (he was aggressive, now he fears the nerf). Another one has a feud with the declawed (rescued that way) cat. It’s a never ending list of something bizarre, and she “won’t get rid of them just because they’re crazy, as long as they do their jobs.”.  Equal opportunity employer, they eat pests from the garden and lay eggs, they get room and board and tolerance. No knitting or indoor chickens though. >

i've taken my 12+ bird feeders down around my property so they aren't congregating in groups (still feed them, just scattering the feed)
luckily my chickens are indoors for the winter and diverse enough (i have a few of every breed) that they're spread out pretty good in the coop/barns 
while risk to song birds is low, and transmission to/from my chickens is therefore unlikely, i am still not fucking around
i like my chickens, they actually make decent pets (not to mention the bug eating and the free eggs) >

Can they get vaccinated for it? >

left a message for my veterinarian re this - haven't heard back yet
but i live pretty remotely (vets is nearly 50 mile round trip) and they're pretty busy being the only vet in a large rural farming area >

I was part of a bird flu vaccine trial like 10 years ago, I wonder if it’s still any good? >

Part of this is because we depend on egg farms that have thousands of hens instead of forty. Small farms are almost non-existent these days.
I've seen a lot of local interest in raising hens locally. Turns out you can have up to three hens in the city of Buffalo, NY, but no roosters. >

If you get the right breed of chicken. Just 2 hens will give you about a dozen eggs a week during the summer & half a dozen during the winter. Tho idk if that's the same in Buffalo since it's a lot colder in the winter than it is here. One 40lb bag should last 2-3 months with just 2 hens. I'm not saying you don't know this, but I've come to realize in the past couple of weeks, a LOT of people don't know you don't need a rooster for your hens to lay eggs. >


LOT of people don't know you don't need a rooster for your hens to lay eggs.

People are generally fucking stupid about this. I had SO MANY people at work who I casually told I had chickens asked about a rooster. Most seemed to imply I must have a rooster to get eggs. And even after telling them thats not true, they still stuck to the idea that I should. I never had a rooster because 80% of them are assholes and I didnt want to roll those dice. >

Some of those people think any eggs bought in store can turn into a chicken too. It’s crazy. >

Only if you take it as a suppository. >

Store here was selling store brand eggs for $4.50 a dozen. That's what I used to pay for the "nice" eggs. Even Aldi eggs were like $2.75. 
Houston, we have a problem, and we're not doing anything about it. If this thing goes to humans, with the potential physical and immune system damage people have had from COVID/flu/etc, we're in for an interesting ride.
Edit : goddamn y'all's egg prices are insane. I thought the $4.50 here was nuts. Didn't realize I was that lucky for it to be so low! Not a complaint on my part. >

I'm a dairy manager for a major grocery store chain in CT. Our store brand eggs for one dozen is currently $5.99. What's interesting is that is the same price for all of the organic, free range and cage free eggs (private label) too. It was explained to me from our warehouse that the prices for the "private label" (organic, free range) are locked in for months at a time while the store brand prices literally change weekly.
People are buying all of the organic/free range eggs anyways because it's the same price yet they're in limited supply from the warehouse so I always run out in between deliveries.
What gets me is that everyday people will complain about egg prices and they'll say, "I'll buy my eggs elsewhere" or "who would buy eggs here at these prices" yet I'm constantly filling eggs all day everyday and I'm still selling tons of them everyday. >

Omg I work in the dairy dept of a grocery store too and I’m really starting to hate eggs and their buyers. Holy shit some people get so bitchy about the lack of eggs and when we do have them, their prices. Some lady once told me “I can’t believe you guys don’t have eggs, even the gas station has eggs!” Like, lady, why didn’t you buy them there?! >

I love how batsh!t consumers become armchair supply chain experts whenever they are inconvenienced >

Guys, maybe factory farming isn’t the solution >

I agree with you, but serious question. You ready to pay 10x for eggs and things derived from eggs?
(Multiplier made up for effect) >

Ready to stop eating eggs >

Good man! >

I’m hoping to raise poultry again, though on a much smaller scale than I did before. A trio of hens would keep me quite happy. >

I work in Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation where we call it the “Highly Pathogenic” Avian Influenza because it kills pretty much every bird that contracts it, except song birds for reasons unclear to me. HPAI is so virulent and deadly that we have euthanize anything with the symptoms, less we risk infecting other patients and resident education animals. Regardless of whether or not the bird has HPAI, an animal with those types of symptoms is rarely treatable anyway. State testing labs were so overwhelmed that the DNR directed rehabbers across the state to stop sending specimens in for testing. We assume it is because they were prioritizing commercial poultry operations. 
Anyway, this sucks and the wildlife rehabilitation community is very worried. >

Maybe it has something to do with the inhumane conditions the chickens are kept in. Factory farming needs a reckoning. >

If this mutated to spread to humans, it would make covid look like a joke. >

Every year it jumps to humans >

Every year? Where are you getting this from??? According to the CDC, Bird flu infections among people are rare. >

We detect about a dozen or so human cases of bird flu infections a year globally, for like two decades or so. It is very rare for now. It may or may not mutate to transmit between humans who knows. >

Well well well if it isn't the consequences of my own actions... >

Why doesn’t the industry vaccinate the poultry? >

The birds don't want Bill Gates tracking them >

I heard they recently were allowed back on Twitter #cluckforfreedom #redwhiteandcluck #Weaintcluckingaroundpelosi >

Just bought eggs today $4 per 18 eggs carton. >

$10 for 18 in California >

Can confirm. (California SF Bay Area here.) >

yeah, i'm in Fairfield. >

someone is going to figure out how to produce eggs like how we're working on producing cultured meat and is going to make a mint.  growing and keeping alive a whole chicken just to get eggs seems like total madness, especially given how easily illness can ravage them. >

It's not exactly the same but I find the Just Egg plant based stuff a pretty good substitute. >

I'm very glad it's not exactly the same. Tastes very very similar, but no cholesterol, no animal abuse or cruelty, yay! >

Meanwhile I just got back from the store where eggs are $2.39 a dozen and whole chickens on sale for $.99 per pound