This is everything but eggcellent.
A fire at one of the nation’s top rated egg producers broke out around the weekend, leaving an estimated 100,000 hens dead, the Division of Agriculture verified.
Hillandale Farms in Bozrah, Connecticut went up in flames on Saturday in an incident that is nevertheless less than investigation.
A video clip posted to Twitter which is been viewed extra than 5.7 million periods displays the facility engulfed in flames and horrifying clouds of smoke as firefighters check out to diffuse the condition.
Biggest egg producer’s plant burned down. pic.twitter.com/R1MbWvjVVX
— @amuse (@amuse) January 29, 2023
“Our team continues to work intently with the community fire departments and point out officials to thoroughly look into the hearth that transpired on Saturday, January 28,” Hillandale Farms stated in a assertion. “We can ensure that one hen home was misplaced and that no other properties were compromised. We are deeply grateful that no workers ended up hurt in the fireplace.”
Connected: ‘Are the Chickens On Strike?’: Individuals Furious As Egg Rates Skyrocket In excess of 64% In A person Thirty day period In Some U.S. States
The coop that caught fire was about 50 toes by 600 feet, and the blaze needed extra than 100 firefighters from 16 region firefighting crews to place out.
“We are even now family owned and operated and we still care about the safety and disorders of our birds,” the business states on its web page. “They get only vegetarian feed, and we have designed quite a few proprietary tactics and systems to boost their safety and comfort.”
The Division of Agriculture also confirmed that the hearth will have negligible to no affect on egg charges, some thing that’s been a major issue of rivalry for shoppers in the U.S. lately.
Before this month, info from the CPI confirmed that in 3 U.S. states (Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada) egg charges greater 64% in December 2022 whilst in 3 other states (Oregon, California and Washington) price ranges improved 18%.
Inflation and latest file-level outbreaks of the chicken flu feel to be to blame.
Hillandale Farms, which is headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is a person of the leading five egg producers in the state, elevating an approximated 20 million egg-laying chickens.
