COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension provided some recent updates on how egg prices continue to jump dramatically while the cost for other chicken products did not climb the same amount during an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

Greg Archer, PhD, AgriLife Extension poultry specialist and associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Poultry Science, pointed out broiler chickens are produced in five-to-seven-week cycles. In comparison, egg-laying hens can grow for years, making for a larger chance of exposure to the virus.

Archer explained that broiler farms usually comprise four to six production houses that may hold 40,000 birds each. If an outbreak occurs it could impact up to 240,000 birds but a commercial egg production farm could be over 1 million birds.

When an outbreak occurs, broiler farms clean, sanitize and monitor to make sure pathogens are not present on the farm. The process can take a few months. However, a commercial egg farm can take six months to resume operations and much longer to reach full capacity, according to Archer.

“The impact on chicken meat just hasn’t showed up in the grocery store and people’s pocketbooks so far because of the nature of the poultry industry,” he said. “Avian flu is impacting farms and farmers, but it would take widespread outbreaks to impact production and supplies.”

Looking at the economic picture, David Anderson, PhD, economist and professor at Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics, detailed how chicken prices went up compared to 2024, but production was not a major factor.

“It comes down to the scale of the losses within the context of production,” Anderson said. “We’ve had outbreaks at broiler farms, but it’s relatively small compared to the number of chickens in production.”

During January, US broiler farms produced 796 million chickens. In a recent livestock report by the USDA, the HPAI outbreak impacted 18 million birds nationwide in December and approximately 2.2 million were in the broiler production chain.

Anderson stated in his update that wholesale boneless, skinless chicken breasts are higher, $1.75 per lb, compared to $1.26 per lb this time last year.

Chicken prices can also vary depending on the demand for production weights for grocers and restaurants.

Anderson added that the slight increase is related to a combination of demand dynamics and chicken’s competitive price alongside a historical upward seasonal price trend in the spring and summer.

“It’s interesting what chicken offerings from chain restaurants have done to the poultry market over the past 10 years,” he said. “If they roll out something new or special, it can be a market-moving event because there is so much volume.”

Both Anderson and Archer explained that the poultry industry faces HPAI challenges before warmer temperatures end avian flu season.

Currently, HPAI continues to be found in migratory birds, other species and dairy cattle around the United States.