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Experts say bird flu, not new cage-free law, to blame for egg shortage at some Colorado grocery stores

In the meantime, some Colorado residents are turning to local farms for their egg supply ahead of Thanksgiving week.
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PARKER, Colo. — Denver7 is getting more answers when it comes to bare shelves in the egg section at some grocery stores after viewers sent videos of empty egg shelves at various grocery stores.

At one Whole Foods in Denver, a notice posted on the egg section stated, "We are currently experiencing difficulty sourcing eggs that meet our strict animal welfare standards." At King Soopers, bare shelves come with a notice about a 2020 Colorado law requiring cage-free eggs.

“Those signs in the store got people up in arms. The word that I got is that the shortage is caused by the [cage-free] law, and that is not true. That's just not true,” said Bill Scebbi, executive director of the Colorado Egg Producers.

Scebbi said the bird flu outbreak is to blame for empty shelves – not the cage-free law.

“Farms have had to decrease their flocks by over 100 million hens. When you take that many hens out of the system, you don't get eggs. That's just the bottom line,” said Scebbi.

Egg Shortage Sign

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While supply seems to be down, prices appear significantly higher. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows egg prices increased 39.6% in September 2024 compared to September 2023 — the largest increase of any food tracked.

Meanwhile, local farmers have been seeing an influx of customers looking for a carton or two. Nick Shor, owner of Sher Farms in Parker, is trying to keep up with the demand.

“Just in the past week, we've almost doubled the amount of customers,” said Shor. “Out of my total customer base, half of them are coming to me just because of reliable eggs.”

However you scramble it, local farmers like Shor are ready to step in, even through the cold winter months.

“Whenever the sunlight decreases, the amount of sunlight per day, the chickens produce less eggs. We put out lights so that way we can at least get eggs year-round,” said Shor.

Hear from experts in the video player below:

Experts point to bird flu as cause for Colorado egg shortage

This summer, Governor Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency after more than 1.78 million chickens had to be killed in Weld County. Nationwide, producers have not recovered from the outbreak, and until they do, the egg supply may remain scrambled.

On the bright side, experts say these shortages won’t last forever.

“The bottom line is, you'll see, you won't see stacks and stacks of extra eggs, but you will see a supply of eggs,” said Scebbi.


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