“We’re going to have to wait to replace those with new hatched chicks, and it takes 20 weeks before they even start laying,” Shane said. “So I don’t know where they’re going to get the eggs from.”
Prices may ease somewhat later this year after peak demand, which happens around Easter, if massive egg farms in Iowa, Ohio, California and elsewhere can avoid more outbreaks.
The USDA has predicted that average egg prices will be 41% higher than the 2024 average of $3.17 per dozen. That would mean $4.47 per dozen, slightly below the current average.