Why Eggs Are So Expensive - By Harry Carr
We hope that our experience & focus on holistic animal health as well as keeping up with latest research helps our farm continue resiliently despite the risks farmers are under currently. Bird flu is a growing and serious issue, while concerns about egg pricing are blowing up, as well.
When asked to reflect on all this, farmer Harry wrote a vignette, a farm fiction, based on following the industry for years, below. In scary times, the healing balm of humor is all the more important.
1. Imagine you are a chicken. Your boss wants you to work hard gathering edible nutrients all day long so you can get a good night sleep with one eye closed. Then struggle to lay an egg in the morning. Whoa! How much are you gonna pay me, boss, for doing all that? He answers a couple nuggets of corn. It is gold you know.
After a little clucking, considering other options, (the job market for chickens are tight right now, the main other alternative being extreme self sacrifice), not very attractive to say the least, the United Chicken Layers Union decides to accept a new contract. At least they won over the right to be outside a cage on this one.
2. As we have witnessed recently, every action instigates a reaction, as the law of unintended consequences reigns supreme. What the United Chicken Layers Union failed to consider, while trying to protect chicken rights, was that when their constituents are on the outside of a cage, they become very vulnerable to predation. Now it’s open season on the chickens. Every predator imaginable has declared war. Coyotes, red-tail hawks, raccoons, and opossums, to name a few. Then there are the unseen predators, coccidia, internal parasites, and oh no, bird flu exposure. Eeek!
After long deliberation, the United Chicken Workers Union struck a deal with the Association of Fierce Guard Dogs, and agreed to pay protection money. They signed a non-disclosure agreement as to the exact terms, but our guess is there was a hefty amount of eggs bartered for this protection.
3. To circumvent the sneaky, too small to see viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasites, they called on an old Chinese herbal remedy of artemisinin, which has excellent anti-viral and antiparasitic properties. This is another significant expense having to be sourced from outside the country and then brewed locally.
4. Contract terms: Previously chicken contracts were rather short term. Often the old chickens could not keep up with the young ones as they just couldn’t lay every day, needing a day of rest in between. The old chickens were then laid off, (no pun intended). The United Chicken Layers Union, after holding out with no corn for six months, successfully signed a 3 year contract. While this means less eggs per bird, it does mean a flight forward in avian relations.