Avian flu is spurring a shortage of broiler chicks, leaving P.E.I. producers in a bind

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Chicken producers and backyard farmers connected Prince Edward Island are facing a shortage this outpouring owed to a interruption successful the proviso concatenation from the United States. 

An outbreak of avian influenza southbound of the borderline has chopped the proviso of broiler chicks to hatcheries successful Atlantic Canada. 

Also known arsenic nutrient chicks, the birds yet turn into the plump chickens that Islanders bargain astatine market stores, oregon rise connected their ain spot for nutrient use. 

Sally Bernard, who owns Barnyard Organics successful Freetown, raises astir 300 broiler chicks each year. She said the avian flu outbreak has wiped retired the proviso from the U.S. 

"People are scrambling to find replacements, but they don't exist," she said. 

"I americium madly scrambling. I whitethorn person recovered immoderate retired of Quebec, but I'm not counting connected it due to the fact that I cognize the precedence volition beryllium to spell to those large barns. So… frankly, I don't know."

The shortage is really a treble whammy for Bernard. She besides runs a provender concern and a installation wherever radical bring the chickens they person raised for sidesplitting and processing. 

"Those 2 aspects of this occupation are really overmuch bigger than not being capable to get the chickens," she said. 

"If I couldn't get chickens, it's not a large deal — but if everyone can't get chickens, past that means there's nary processing going connected and overmuch little provender being made." 

'We've ne'er had a twelvemonth rather this bad'

Some suppliers, similar the Kensington Country Store, are besides acrophobic their customers will be retired of luck this year. 

Charlene Profitt said the store has orders from tiny oregon hobby farms for astir 1,300 chicks successful May, truthful she's hoping to beryllium capable to root immoderate by then.  

"We beryllium connected our income for our chickens successful the spring," she said. "It's usually beauteous precocious numbers, but this twelvemonth is not truthful precocious due to the fact that of the influenza." 

While astir customers person been knowing astir the shortage, Profitt said galore of them bash beryllium connected having a certain number of chickens passim the winter. 

It's evidently not conscionable location farmers that are feeling the shortage. P.E.I. has 8 registered chickenhearted producers. 

Dean Good and his lad nutrient implicit 400,000 chickens a twelvemonth astatine their cognition successful Winsloe, but this period their chick proviso was chopped by 11 per cent. 

"We've ne'er had a twelvemonth rather this bad," helium said. 

One mode astir the proviso concatenation issues could beryllium to acceptable up a hatchery present connected P.E.I. 

Good said that idea has potential, but it's easier said than done. 

"You person to beryllium beauteous large-scale to bash thing similar that. It's a precise costly woody to get into," helium said. "Most of them are grown implicit successful New Brunswick and successful Nova Scotia and they person been for years." 

While it could be a pricey proposition, Profitt is among those who deliberation a dedicated chick shaper connected the Island is simply a large idea. 

"If we had a shaper present [where] we could bargain our section nutrient chickens… that would beryllium an awesome idea."