On January 6th, the Denver Post reported on a shortage of eggs in supermarkets in urban areas in California. During 2022, four large egg production complexes in Weld County were affected by five outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza requiring flock depletion of close to 5.5 million hens and pullets. Demand increased sharply in December with severe weather as consumers “scrambled” to stock up on available eggs shipped into the state from the Midwest and surrounding states.
House Bill 20-1343 enacted in 2020 will require cage-free housing of egg-producing flocks for farms with over 3,000 hens. Producers are currently in the process of converting to cage-free facilities.