‘We consume over 9 billion chickens a year’: Farmer says we’re being misled about egg prices. Then he reveals the real reason they’re so expensive

An outbreak of bird flu is sending egg prices sky-high, but this chicken farmer says we are getting ripped off. 

In a TikTok with over 385,700 views, content creator and chicken farmer @fatheracab breaks down why manufacturers are taking advantage of consumers under the guise of a bird flu outbreak.

“They are bull****ing you about the reasons why your eggs are so expensive,” he begins.

@fatheracab reveals that people consume over 9 billion chickens a year in meat alone. He argues that considering the United States alone had over 382 million egg-laying hens in 2023, bird flu has only caused the death of 300 million birds worldwide. He claims egg prices are not linked to a lower supply.

“It doesn’t make sense,” @fatheracab vents.

@fatheracab argues that large egg facilities are taking advantage of consumers by using bird flu deaths as an excuse to unnecessarily increase their prices.

“They say the same [expletive] every year. I see the same alerts. I see the same opportunity to jack up prices and yet I choose not to,” @fatheracab reasons.

Neglect can lead to birth deaths at facilities

He says many yearly chicken deaths in facilities are not because of illnesses like bird flu—but neglect.

“They don’t give them vitamins, oregano supplements, all the supplements they are supposed to get in these major facilities," he claims. "They are dying of disease and neglect.”

As the video ends, @fatheracab emphasizes how bird deaths caused by neglect get co-opted as deaths by bird flu.

“Every time a bird dies they say it’s bird flu. I’m telling you, they are bull****ting you,” he says.

Viewers aren't

In the comments, users react to the new insider information.

“I can agree. I worked in a large scale chicken barn and they would disregard the simplest fixes to internal problems to prevent disease and death,” wrote one user.

“This makes sense. Egg prices have gone way up, yet the six-count bag of refrigerated boiled eggs I buy have not changed in price this whole time. Make it make sense,” a second user chimed in.

“This is exactly what I said. Birds are laying by the time they are 12-16 weeks so it makes zero sense for this constant shortage. There’s a constant turnover period,” a third viewer opined.

“As a chicken farmer, I just found you and I love you!! Thank you!! This is what I’ve been saying, the numbers are mass-inflated. Until I see a VALID necropsy report, I don’t believe it,” a fourth person wrote.

@fatheracab Eggs aren't expensive because of Bird Flu. This is price gouging. #egg #eggs #eggprices #blackcommunity #blackcommunitytiktok #blacktiktok #blacktiktokcommunity #fyp #acabdevil #fatheracab #fba #foundationalblackamerican #freedmen #freedman #freedmantiktok #repostthis #duetthis #stitchthis #fbatiktok #nativeblackamerican #nativeblackamericantiktok #blackamerican #blackamerica #blackamericantiktok #chickenfarmer #blackfarmers #farmer #farmersoftiktok ♬ Woah! (Instrumental) - Black Rob

When did the current U.S. bird flu outbreak begin?

The USDA reports that egg layer flocks suffered a depopulation of birds due to outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI, aka bird flu) in December 2024 and the first six weeks of 2025.

The depopulation has triggered an increase in the price of eggs, which rose 15.2% from December 2024 to January 2025, and 53% from January 2024 to January 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index.

As of this week, more than 160 million chicken, turkey, goose, and other infected birds were euthanized for bird flu. At least 972 dairy herds across 16 states have experienced outbreaks.

What factors are affecting egg prices?

The USDA identifies marketplace losses as the result of “the timing of the losses relative to demand patterns, the type of production systems affected, legislated restraints in certain states, and the intended use of the production either for in-shell or egg products use with most impact currently being felt in the retail cartoned sector." 

The USDA predicts the price of eggs is expected to increase by nearly 20% this year. 

Have egg manufacturers price-gouged before?

With such a drastic increase in egg prices, it is understandable that consumers are looking to manufacturers with suspicion. Are the price increases due to bird flu deaths or an opportunistic money-grab by powerful corporations?

It wouldn’t be the first time corporations who produce eggs are under fire for unnecessary price-gouging. In 2023, an Illinois federal jury ordered $17.7 million in damages (tripled to more than $53 million under federal law) to food manufacturing corporations who sued major egg producers over a conspiracy to limit the egg supply and increase the price of products during the 2000s.

How is the government handling the bird flu outbreak?

Euthanasia has been central to the government's strategy for culling bird flu-inflected flocks and herds. While bird flu vaccination is not yet practiced for poultry in the United States, the Agriculture Department on Friday hinted that the government is considering it. The department has granted a conditional license for an H5N2 bird flu vaccine designed to work against variants of the virus affecting dairy cows and domestic poultry.

Until the outbreak is under control, consumers are looking for ways to protect their pockets from the crippling prices of egg products. Some are considering the benefits of raising their own egg-laying hens.

“I raise chickens and I never had a 'bird flu' issue. Take a tour of one of those commercial egg producing facilities and you probably won’t eat store bought eggs ever again,” one user under @fatheracab’s video wrote.

The Daily Dot has reached out to @fatheracab via TikTok private message for more information.

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