While egg shelves in Massachusetts grocery stores are often found empty, local farmers say more customers are turning towards their small businesses.
Bird flu cases across the nation are on the rise, impacted supply chains of eggs and other products.
Stephen Hall has been operating Nallie Pastures in Dracut for 10 years. He oversees more than 300 chickens on his property.
“I’ve gotten a lot more customer calls,” said Hall.
Hall told Boston 25 Sunday that with rising prices and low stock, customers are relying on farms for eggs.
He continued, “As opposed to maybe something that’s coming from Iowa, where they’re having issues with bird flu.”
Hall purposely separates his chickens into 15 separate coops that move each day to new, fresh grass. He keeps them mobile and away from each other to avoid any outbreak.
Dr. Priya Patel of the New England Wildlife Centers said the bird flu has been in Massachusetts since 2022 – but this is the worst season she’s seen.
“It can affect the domestic bird population,” Patel said. “When they get infected, it causes a huge loss.”
Patel and her team have been fielding calls all week for dead birds in Massachusetts communities.
She explained, “We’re getting reports of sick, already dead, mostly waterfowl which are ducks, geese, swans... This is by far the most cases we’ve seen in the shortest period”
Recent cases have been reported out of Brockton, Plymouth, Hudson, and Norfolk this week.
Hall expects more customers and aspiring farmers to kickstart their own operations in light of the rising prices and shortage on eggs.
He finished, “If they support us with more demand, we can grow.”
Officials ask anyone who finds a group of birds dead to contact their local animal control.
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