Bird flu devastates 7.4 million Pennsylvania chickens in a month
Source: Reuters
February 27, 2026 4:26 PM EST Updated 11 hours ago
CHICAGO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Bird flu has wiped out 7.4 million chickens in Pennsylvania in the past month, a swift and devastating loss that veterinarians and industry members suspect may be linked to an unusually cold winter.
Infections of flocks raised to produce eggs and meat extend a U.S. outbreak that began four years ago and has eliminated 196 million birds nationwide. The virus, often spread by wild birds, has also infected U.S. farm workers and poultry and mammals across the planet.
"We are obviously in crisis mode," Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said at a public forum this week, noting that cases were occurring "dramatically earlier in the season than what we expected."
Wild birds, including snow geese, that spent the winter in Pennsylvania were suspected to be the source of outbreaks in poultry, Shannon Powers, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, said in an email. Pennsylvania is the fourth-largest egg-producing state.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bird-flu-devastates-74-million-pennsylvania-chickens-month-2026-02-27/
= new reply since forum marked as read
They expect it was due to a 2 week period of bitter cold in the PA/NJ/DE area, forcing wild birds to congregate much more closely on frozen rivers/ponds, and thus helping to spread the disease. The Canada geese tend to hang around here during winter, so not much "normal" migration during warm winters. But this winter was a shock, and they apparently got caught not leaving in time.
So it was only a matter of time for this to happen to the domesticated birds.
And ironically, I was just at the supermarket yesterday morning and snagged a sale of 30 eggs for $3.99, lower than the lowest that I had taken advantage of back in late summer 2024, when there was a sale for $4.99 for 30.
But in between this period, eggs were running $6.99 - $7.99 a dozen around here. 
we are truly living in the best of times.