Is there a nationwide shortage of chicken? Or just more locally?

[TravelingChris]

We were visiting with dd2 yesterday and near the end of her visit, dh and I were discussing dinner.  I asked how come we just have red meat--- he said there was no chicken when he went shopping.  DD2 also mentioned a lack of chicken and she lives in a different city about 35 miles away.  

And if there is a chicken shortage, is it because there is a bird flu around?  Or something else?

[pinball]

👂👂👂

[Laura Corin]

In the UK, bird flu has had a big effect on free range poultry, chickens and turkeys as well as eggs.

[saraha]

I was in an Aldi and a Kroger today about 25 miles apart in different towns and neither seemed to be short on chicken 

[Arcadia]

We don’t usually buy chicken but there isn’t a shortage here in SF Bay Area. Free range chicken cost so much here they are basically left on the shelves. Costco did have unpredictable supply at one time for inorganic chicken thighs/breast/wings but not last week. 
Plenty of turkey here. Eggs are also plentiful but expensive.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Arcadia
Clarification

[TravelingChris]

I wonder if it had something to do with the Hurricane IAN and TS Nicole- or something else altogether.  I noticed that none of the three groceries have absolutely any chicken on sale- some beef but mostly port is on sale.  Well I will walk by the Publix chicken area tonight and see if it is better.  If not, I can try an instacart w Fresh Market.

[Ausmumof3]

Not here but we don’t have bird flu thankfully. There’s a lot of culling happened in places that do. Because chickens are pretty fast turn around (many of the chickens you eat are around six weeks old) supply chain issues hit quickly and resolve quickly I think. Although there can be downstream effects of breeding birds or hatcheries are impacted.

[prairiewindmomma]

Chicken is kind of hit or miss here. Supply has been better of late, but it's been an ongoing issue. Here's this week's supply report--looks like the issues are likely to be regional since national supply is ok. https://www.usfoods.com/our-services/business-trends/farmers-report/chicken.html

It's been easier to get chicken than eggs, though. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by prairiewindmomma

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-636528

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/why-the-ongoing-bird-flu-outbreak-is-driving-up-poultry-costs-ahead-of-thanksgiving?fbclid=IwAR0WLlHFTiFIk1MruK9mwn3tbKcgeudNUcu4HPSjsYkUhwRQbiYiSXnJqTo
 

 

[Pawz4me]

It's been in short supply here for a good while. There's always some available in the stores, but maybe not the exact brand or parts you want. I've been assuming it's due to the bird flu that's been going around for what seems like forever.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Pawz4me

[Katy]

I think it's very local.  Three weeks ago a local market did fresh trimmed chicken breasts for $1.99 a pound with no limit, more than a dollar cheaper than any other price around here for months.  But then the next day after I stocked up the local news said two major chicken farms nearby had to put down all of their chickens because of bird flu and that shoppers could expect prices to go up.

[EmilyGF]

My local Aldi has been out of chicken breast AND imposed a limit, but I've also seen it for $0.99/lb at Jewel and $1.29/lb at a nice regional chain in the past two weeks.

Emily

[Meriwether]

Chicken is available here, but in limited quantities. Prices are also up. Yesterday I paid $20 for something that would have been about $12 precovid. I would have passed, but my 12 year old has been pukey for days and was finally well enough to eat. She requested chicken noodle.

[TravelingChris]

14 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Chicken is kind of hit or miss here. Supply has been better of late, but it's been an ongoing issue. Here's this week's supply report--looks like the issues are likely to be regional since national supply is ok. https://www.usfoods.com/our-services/business-trends/farmers-report/chicken.html

It's been easier to get chicken than eggs, though. 

I was at Publix again yesterday and there was some chicken but very mostly empty shelves.  Dh told me not to buy since he doesn't want it to go to waste since we had three things out already and three nights before we are gone all day.

[Beth S]

I shop at Walmart, and their usual Walmart brand of frozen chicken breasts is been out for 6 months.  They have an odd off-label brand now, but they truly had ZERO frozen chicken breasts for months.

I paid nearly $6 a pound for FROZEN chicken breasts yesterday.
Thankfully, we're a low-meat-usage couple.

But the irony is that we're in a relatively rural area in western Kentucky, with a HUGE chicken processing plant 10 min from our house.
There are all kinds of chicken farms nearby.
They're just apparently not selling their chicken locally?!?

[gardenmom5]

There is a bird flu going around.  I was at the FW Zoo with dsil just before Halloween, and they had signs announcing birds would not be on display to protect them.

[elegantlion]

We've had issues getting chicken at Aldi for months. It's very hit or miss with less variety in fresh and frozen. 

[City Mouse]

I would guess that it is lingering effects of the bird flu. Birds were killed, which means less egg production and less chicken meat. Lower egg production will lead to slower or less volume of chicken reproduction. 

That being said, I see the inconsistencies of stock of chicken meat here too. Last week my local grocery did not have the whole chickens that were supposed to be on sale, but I got 2 5 lb packages of boneless chicken breasts on clearance which made them cheapest chicken option. Ive seen plenty of turkey, but the prices are much higher than in years past as I would have expected, but even at the higher prices whole turkey is cheaper than any of the chicken right now.

 

[EKS]

Maybe they're getting rid of chicken to make room for turkey.

[ScoutTN]

No shortages here. I shop various places: Walmart, Aldi, Publix, Trader Joe’s. 
 

We get as much of our meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy as we can afford from small, local farms. Animals live outside, are grass fed/pastured. More expensive, but worth the cost in nutrition and taste and zero supply chain issues.

[73349]

I haven't heard about it locally. I'm putting an online order together now, and the chicken all appears to be in stock (whole, breasts, drumsticks, wings, or thighs). I got local chicken in my delivery box yesterday.