Massive Bird Flu Outbreak Forces Culling of 1 Million Chickens at Minnesota Egg Farm

Nearly 1 million chickens will be culled at a Minnesota egg operation, marking the largest death toll at a single poultry farm in the state during the current bird flu outbreak. The virus, which is typically spread by wild migrating birds, has resulted in the culling of approximately 5.5 million birds in Minnesota since early 2022. Despite the outbreaks, Thanksgiving turkey availability and prices are not expected to be impacted. Bird flu does not pose a risk to food safety, but it did contribute to record-high egg prices last winter. In Iowa, the largest egg producer in the US, 16 million birds have been killed in the outbreak, accounting for over a quarter of the nationwide death toll.