250K Birds Killed In CA As Flu That Caused Egg Prices To Soar Continues

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — More than 250,000 poultry were euthanized in recent days in Sonoma County as the bird flu that caused egg prices to soar last winter continues to spread.

Several California facilities were affected this fall, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They include the Sonoma County farms — a commercial egg layer and a duck breeder that lost 82,500 and 169,300 birds, respectively, in late November, as well as duck breeders in San Benito and Fresno counties that lost a combined 28,400 birds, also in November.

In Merced County, a turkey farm lost 31,600 birds in late October, the agency reported.

"It’s just been devastating for us, nothing but devastating," Mike Weber, co-owner of Sunrise Farms near Petaluma, told KTVU.

Sunrise Farms and neighboring Reichardt Duck Farm were the two Sonoma County facilities that were affected, according to The Press Democrat.

"They lost their entire operation, 170,000 ducks, and those ducks are coveted across the state," Weber told KTVU.

While very contagious and often fatal for birds, the highly pathogenic avian influenza does not pose a significant risk to human health, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which noted the virus can be spread by migrating waterfowl.

Nationally, far fewer birds had died of the flu in 2023 compared to 2022 as of mid-November, according to the Associated Press, which reported 4.6 million birds killed this year vs. almost 58 million slaughtered last year in the first year of the outbreak.

While that decline is welcome news, the fact that infections continue is a worrisome indication that, unlike earlier outbreaks, the current virus has found a way to survive through the summers, and poultry will likely always be at risk for the disease.

Bird flu vaccines are being developed and might help in the future, but at this point, they remain impractical. Export markets might not accept vaccinated birds, every bird would have to get shots individually and costly testing would be needed.

Egg prices peaked at a nationwide average of $4.82 per dozen in January — more than double the $1.93 per dozen charged a year earlier before the first bird flu case was confirmed in Indiana in February of 2022. They remained at $2.07 per dozen in October, according to numbers released last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.