While it may have been forgotten, egg prices have been overall rising since 2020 when they were a cheap $1.20 a dozen. Now they are a whopping $4.95, and still going! Why is this happening and is there a cheaper alternative?
Egg prices right now are at a record high, $4.95 a dozen. This is caused by a widespread outbreak of bird flu, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). This started in January of 2022 and has continued since, killing over 18.8 million commercial egg-laying hens. This has caused the amount of eggs to go down and since demand for eggs has stayed the same, prices have gone up to compensate.
In order to combat this, businesses, as well as citizens, have used various techniques. Some stores have limited the amount of cartons customers can buy and some restaurants have raised their prices of dishes made with eggs. Other citizens are taking drastic measures and smuggling eggs in through the US and Mexico border.
That being said, there may be another solution; chickens! Some people have decided to buy and raise chickens in hopes that this will save them money as this will provide them with free eggs! However, raising chickens requires additional costs such as buying food and bedding for the chickens, in addition to the time you must spend getting the eggs and caring for them. So, is this really cheaper?
According to My Pet Chicken, the total cost per year of raising chickens, both the initial startup and maintenance costs, is $943, whereas the yearly cost of buying eggs is $395.25 (for Large Grade A) or $697.50 (for pasture raised). So, it is cheaper to buy eggs from stores for the first year, but after 7.43 years you will start saving money (if you buy Large Grade A eggs), or after 1.63 years (if you buy pasture raised eggs).
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