Business booming for small Mass. farms as growing bird flu causes egg shortages at grocery stores

WALTHAM, Mass. — Bird flu cases across the country continue to rise and with that so does the price of eggs.

You might have noticed during your last trip to the grocery store that the shelves looked a little sparse—-or there might have been a limit on how many cartons you can buy. That’s because suppliers are dealing with a shortage due to the bird flu.

Egg prices unfortunately aren’t going to get any better either. According to the US Department of Agriculture, egg prices are estimated to increase about 20% this year. A resurgence of bird flu killed about 17.2 million egg-laying hens in November and December. A smaller supply means a bigger price increase. The average price for a dozen large eggs was $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November.

The one bright spot—this is helping local farmers. Boston 25 News went to Nallie Pastures in Dracut where people are turning to a trusted and reliable source for their eggs.

“As opposed to maybe something that’s coming from Iowa where they’re having issues with bird flu, if they support us with more demand, we can grow,” said Stephen Hall from Nallie Pastures.

Hall says they feed their chickens fresh grass to avoid a bird flu outbreak. Just last week, a park in Brockton was closed over bird concerns and in Plymouth 60 birds were found dead, killed by the bird flu.

There were outbreaks in states across the country where more than 8 million birds died in January. So as long as the outbreak persists, expect to see higher prices at the grocery store.

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