Colorado’s High Egg Prices are Blamed on Bird Flu, but There’s More to the Story
February 6, 2025 | 1 min to read
Egg-laying chicken farmers in Colorado are struggling to recover from the 2022 virus outbreak amid new challenges, including a cage-free law, mutations, and intensified competition due to ongoing bird flu issues across other states. Consumers are experiencing shocking prices for eggs, with many stores facing shortages. The spread of this contagious virus has previously devastated the industry, leading to a crisis when 85% of the state’s egg-laying hens were lost.
Egg-laying chicken farmers are still recovering from the virus outbreak of 2022 but now there’s the new cage-free law, mutations and more competition as bird flu devastates other states.
Walk into nearly any grocery store at the moment and the price for a dozen eggs may shock you — if any eggs are in stock at all.
More than anything else, blame bird flu, say Colorado egg farmers, the grocery stores, the state agriculture department and nearly anyone involved in getting fresh eggs to consumers. The contagious virus can wipe out entire flocks of egg-laying chickens in days.
Coloradans already went through this three years ago when egg prices spiked after 85% of the state’s egg-laying hens were destroyed. There was also high inflation, the state’s looming cage-free law and shortages at pretty much every grocery store.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The Colorado Sun.