Does HPAI discriminate between cage-free, conventional?

Avian influenza has caused the depopulation of over 14 million U.S. layers in the first 30 days of 2025.

Meredith Johnson Headshot
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Courtesy Andrea Gantz

Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) are rampant in the U.S., and arguably worse in the first month of 2025 compared to any other month since outbreaks began in 2022.

So far in 2025, layer farm outbreaks have mostly occurred in Ohio, Indiana and Missouri, with the largest reported outbreak in North Carolina at 3.3 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection System (APHIS).

Outbreaks across the poultry and dairy industry are so widespread that industry groups, such as United Egg Producers (UEP), are calling on the government and the poultry industry to expand research and funding to understand how the disease is spreading and why it remains so resilient.

While HPAI has indeed reduced the supply of cage-free eggs, as many sources have reported, it has reduced the supply of all types of eggs and caused recent price spikes.

The supply has become so restricted that grocers are limiting promotional activity for eggs and limiting the number of cartons one can purchase per day in an attempt to stretch their inventory, according to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) January 17 Egg Markets Overview.

Does housing type play a role?

With an uptick in outbreaks, the question has been posed: are cage-free layers more likely to contract HPAI compared to conventionally housed layers?

Some consumers believe that cage-free housing laws are contributing to the increase in HPAI outbreaks. This is due to a common misconception that cage-free layers have outdoor access.

American Egg Board President and CEO Emily Metz said that cage-free housing is not correlated to the HPAI outbreaks we are seeing in the U.S.

In a recent statement to WATT Global Media, Metz said: “Currently, supply disruption—and consequently, pricing volatility—may be more pronounced with certain retailers and in states that exclusively sell cage-free eggs due to impacts from HPAI on cage-free farms, which were disproportionately affected late last year. Though more than one-third of all U.S. egg laying hens are cage-free, more than 50% of the egg-laying hens impacted by HPAI late last year were cage-free birds. It’s important to know that this has nothing to do with the cage-free production environment; bird flu does not discriminate by the type of housing or the size of the farm. The disease is carried by wild birds.”

In all my local grocery stores, eggs are wiped out. Its hard to find any eggs to purchase, specialty or not. Some of the public still thinks that the supply of eggs is linked to a political aspect. However, everyone in the poultry industry knows that is not the case. Hopefully the disease can be tamed soon so that eggs can be purchased for less than 7-8$ a dozen.

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