In other words: Chicken prices have remained stable because broiler producers have had an easier time keeping up with demand. Egg-laying chickens have fared much worse, accounting for more than 75 percent of all the birds affected by the outbreak between Feb. 8, 2022, and Jan. 29.

Chicken prices are not suffering the same price hikes because broilers, the variety bred for meat production, are a different kind of chicken. According to The Hill, egg-laying chickens have been harder hit by the avian flu.

Still, a lack of eggs and steep prices may lead consumers to move to other cheap forms of protein, which could lead to consumer-induced shortages and price increases, one expert told USA TODAY. Egg-laying hens and broiler chickens – poultry raised for meat – are different,