On Saturday December 16th a fire at Puglisi Egg Farm in Middletown, DE. destroyed a two-level cage-free house together with the flock of 200,000 hens.
An investigation is in progress to determine the source of the conflagration.
For the information of journalists reporting on this unfortunate event the loss was not $1 million. A modern building with aviaries and installations to accommodate 200,000 hens has a replacement value of between $9 and $10 million and the flock would have an amortized value of $2.50 per hen amounting to $0.5 million.