Which price goes higher – the chicken, or the egg?

Egg prices are heading for the stratosphere thanks to the bird flu outbreak, with some grocery stores restricting the amount you can buy, and a few restaurants charging extra.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted last month that egg prices were likely to go up 20% this year.

At the same time, the USDA’s monthly chicken report a few weeks ago showed negligible changes in price for most categories, with the largest increase being in drumsticks. That’s understandable, given the demand for wings around Super Bowl Sunday.

But there were also decreases in prices among some varieties.

So why isn’t the price of chicken rising as well?

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.

Of course, Alabamians know some of this, as the state produces the most chicken nationally with a total production of more than 6 million pounds, according to the USDA.

In addition, chicken can be frozen, which can allow for storage and back-up supply.

About 158 million birds have been slaughtered since the outbreak of the Avian flu. When the virus is discovered on a farm, an entire flock must be killed to blunt the spread. The overwhelming majority of birds slaughtered have been egg-producing.

And it takes a while for farms to get back to production, as it requires time to dispose of the carcasses, sanitize the barns and raise new birds until they are old enough to start producing eggs.