Egg prices have been on the rise causing shell-shock for consumers in grocery stores. As a result, people are opting into incubating or raising their own chickens in hopes to offset those high prices. Here’s why egg prices have been on the rise and why people are shopping for their own backyard flock instead.

Egg Prices

Egg prices have been generally stable for the past 40 years as supply and demand have been in sync. Why are eggs so expensive? As supply issues are occurring, like with the bird flu outbreak, egg prices have been spiking. In fact, egg prices have jumped 59.87% in the past year, more than any other grocery category, according to the consumer price index. The average price for a dozen large white eggs was $4.25 in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's more than twice as much as the year before. With the bird flu being the major catalyst to egg prices rising, many are turning to investing in their own flock for farm fresh eggs.

Avian Influenza

While increased inflation in 2022 was somewhat a contributor, Avian Influenza, otherwise known as, “Bird Flu” is the primary culprit for these eggsausting egg price increases. More than 50.54 million U.S. birds have died in what is the worst Avian flu outbreak in U.S. history, according to data from the Department of Agriculture. Inevitably, egg production is majorly affected leaving egg supply depleted while demand remains constant. About 8.9 billion eggs were produced in November 2022, down from 9.7 billion in December 2021, according to USDA data issued on Dec. 20. With demand remaining constant for cartons of eggs, many people are looking to source their eggs right in their backyard.

Backyard Chickens

Many people are choosing to incubate or raise their own chickens to get free eggs. Is it hard to raise your own chickens for eggs? Keeping backyard chickens comes with its own challenges, but also has many enticing benefits. Not only can chickens make wonderful pets, but they teach self-sufficiency allowing people to produce their own food and eliminate a trip to the grocery store for a carton of eggs. Many backyard chicken keepers are already enjoying the peace of mind knowing where their food comes from without having to pay the eggspensive prices. Owning your own flock of backyard chickens is a commitment that can help save money in the long run and brings a fun experience with it. Interested in incubating or getting started with backyard chickens? Check out these Tips for Getting Started with Your Incubator and Getting Started with Backyard Chickens for more information. Check out our video on Egg Prices Causing More to Raise Backyard Chickens:

To learn more about our Little Giant® Incubator line, check out this video: Already an avid backyard chicken keeper? We would love to see how your flock is doing! Share your photos by tagging us on Twitter @MillerMFG