KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Consumers continue to be impacted by the high cost of eggs at the grocery store.
According to the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service, the average wholesale cost for a dozen eggs in Midwestern states is $8.09.
The main reason is Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), known as bird flu, continues to impact chicken flocks.
"It's an ever-changing situation," University of Missouri Extension Swine Veterinarian Corinne Bromfield, said. "It can be spread and is most commonly spread by wild birds. So, we don't have control as a country, government, and as a person."
Bromfield specializes in bio-security, including the spread of disease among hogs.
"Biosecurity is the set of protocols or the set of actions we take to minimize the spread of disease," she said.
Sarah Kaldenberg capitalized on Kansas City, Missouri, allowing residential chicken farming in urban neighborhoods.
"We've been doing it for about three years," Kaldenberg told KSHB 41. "The reason we got them in the first place was, way back when, egg prices were pretty expensive. And they’re still high, maybe only getting higher.”
Egg prices continue to climb because of bird flu's impact on commercial egg producers in the United States. Viral infections among flocks forced producers to cull millions of birds.
Pleasant Hill, Mo., passed a residential chicken ordinance on Feb. 10.
Residents can get a permit and raise five birds, with limitations on where chicken coops can be built. The ordinance permits urban chickens on single-family homes and does not permit roosters on the property.
"I never had to sign any paperwork," Kaldenberg explained. "I understand there are some limitations with roosters. We don't have any because they can cause problems with neighbors, because they're noisy. I have communicated with all my neighbors to not cause any problems."
University of Missouri Extension specialists say reporting to neighbors can help mitigate any spread of disease and bird flu as residential chickens become more common in urban areas.
"It becomes a little bit more difficult to know who's nearby," Bromfield said.
In large, commercial, egg operations, producers report their flocks to the government and obtain identification numbers.
Bromfield said the large operations can better track spread of disease. In the residential chicken farmer's case, unless the ordinance requires a home to report chickens to the local government, tracking any potential outbreaks can be difficult.
In Kansas City, Mo., there is no mandatory reporting for backyard chickens, only a 15 total chicken limit, and roosters within backyard boundary limitations.
"If I personally have six chickens at home, and my neighbor three doors over has six chickens, and, another neighbor in the neighborhood has some more chickens as well. If my birds get sick, I don't necessarily know to tell them," Bromfield explained. "Let people know where you are. Let people know where you are, so that you know that this is where some chickens are, so that if there is a reason to do something different, you'll get a call about it."
Bird flu is typically spread through migratory waterfowl.
Bromfield said unless urban chicken populations are exposed to wild birds, the chance for infection is low but still possible.
She recommends urban chicken farmers practice good hygiene, designate boots and clothing as "chicken clothes." She also recommends regularly washing the birds, changing the bird's water, and frequently cleaning the coop.
"It’s really about just keeping an eye on them and making sure they’re happy," Kaldenberg added. "It's an investment... People should consider having chickens but it’s definitely an investment. You have to buy the coop, you have to buy the straw, and the food. The chickens don’t lay eggs for at least the first six months. If anyone is thinking about chickens, you have to think long term."
The Pleasant Hill City Council set the final permit fee for its Residential Chicken Ordinance. For more information, click here.
KSHB 41 has covered numerous communities pushing for urban chicken ordinances, including Blue Springs and Overland Park.
