I have a question

[94user]

If the reason eggs have gone to $3 a dozen is because so many chickens have been culled to stop the spread of avian flu how can I buy chicken from  $.99 to  $1.49 per lb ?

Edited August 9, 2015 by 94user

[Wingshooter]

If the reason eggs have gone to $3 a dozen is because so many chickens have been culled to stop the spread of avian flu how can I buy chicken from $.99 to $1.49 per lb ?

There's a surplus of dead chickens available for sale now that they have culled so many? :) Edited August 9, 2015 by Wingshooter

[Raoul]

Where do you think the culled chickens go? lol

[94user]

Hadn't thought of that. So does this mean that when the culled birds are gone chicken prices will rise ?

[Oh Shoot]

Seriously though, seems for some reason 70% of the birds snuffed were those in egg industry:

 

http://qz.com/457779/eggs-are-now-more-expensive-than-chicken-in-the-us/

 

- OS

Edited August 9, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[94user]

Those birds, if recycled into the supermarkets can't last long.

[Oh Shoot]

Those birds, if recycled into the supermarkets can't last long.

 

They're not, of course. Interesting article on how they are killed and disposed of (several methods, and the "compost in place" one is sort of surprising):

 

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/06/01/bird-flu-euthanasia-disposal-process

 

- OS

Edited August 9, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[94user]

Thanks Mac,  So that gets me back to my question. Why have eggs gone up so much but I can buy chicken  cheaper ?

[Randall53]

Egg layers and fryers are not the same birds. I know some people in both worlds. Chickens and eggs are both fine tuned production systems. The scare must be in the egg production portion is my guess.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Randall53

[94user]

Not the same birds ? A chicken is a chicken is it not ?

[Wingshooter]

Some chickens' sole purpose in life is to pop out eggs... these must be the chickens that were culled. Other chickens exist just to be eaten, and maybe these birds are not as affected.

[dawgdoc]

They're not, of course. Interesting article on how they are killed and disposed of (several methods, and the "compost in place" one is sort of surprising):

 

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/06/01/bird-flu-euthanasia-disposal-process

 

- OS

 

Several years ago, during one of the previous disease outbreaks, some people got in trouble for using a wood chipper for both euthanasia and disposal of chicks, I believe.  Although it is debatable how much pain the birds actually could feel before dying, it was gruesome enough to cause an outcry.

[Oh Shoot]

Thanks Mac,  So that gets me back to my question. Why have eggs gone up so much but I can buy chicken  cheaper ?

 

Because 70% of the birds that were euthanized were egg layers not table birds just doesn't work for at least part of the answer?

 

Quick search suggests lots of egg farms went bankrupt cause of this too.

 

- OS

[94user]

Because 70% of the birds that were euthanized were egg layers not table birds just doesn't work for at least part of the answer?

 

Quick search suggests lots of egg farms went bankrupt cause of this too.

 

- OS

If 70% were egg layers where will the next generation of fryers come from if not from eggs ?

[ArmyBrat61]

The white eggs in the store are not fertile....will not produce a live bird. The meat production chickens are raised in a different facility, hatched from brown fertilzed eggs and are produced enmasse just for slaughter. A portion of the fertile eggs go into incubaters to begin the process again. Why are eggs so expensive? Well they came first.....

[mikegideon]

Where do you think the culled chickens go? lol

 

To chicken heaven. DUH.

[Oh Shoot]

If 70% were egg layers where will the next generation of fryers come from if not from eggs ?

 

See ArmyBrat's post.

 

Totally separate operations, no egg sharing, or roosters.  :)

 

- OS

Edited August 10, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[btq96r]

...and we still haven't settled which came first, chicken or egg.

[mikegideon]

...and we still haven't settled which came first, chicken or egg.

 

It's settled. Post #15. Leave it to TGO

[K191145]

Sure you can eat egg layers and even old roosters if you don't mind chewing on rubber. Been there tried that, tossed a whole bird out because it wasn't eatable. Well if you're dying of starvation during the zombie apocalypse you can saw them up into little chunks, pinch your nose and eat them. Been a long long time since I processed my own chickens, don't let them get too old. 

Even if they were fryers that were affected I would still eat them, I don't worry about salmonella or e coli in meat, anything biological, virus or bacterial can be cooked out of meat and never cook poultry rare and don't eat runny yoke eggs. Got salmonella a few years back but it was from raw vegetables.

[gregintenn]

As others have stated, egg production and chicken production are two seperate enterprises. Much like milk cows and beef cows. If a dairy, or a series of dairies are infected with something, this doesn't mean the beef supply will be compromised.

[vontar]

buy eggs at Aldis.  Normally .99 a dozen.  Seen as low at .79 a dozen.  They fried well.

[rmiddle]

Not the same birds ? A chicken is a chicken is it not ?

 

No they are not.  There are some chicken that lay lots of eggs but they never get really that large.  On the other end there are chickens that get pretty large and really meaty but they don't do a good job of laying eggs.  

 

Thanks

Robert