# Backyard chickens hit hard by a long-gone, extremely contagious disease

> The Counter reports that Virulent Newcastle Disease has led to more than a million chickens being euthanized and over 400 confirmed cases since May 2018, mainly in California. Backyard flocks are under lockdown, and poultry shows are being canceled.

- Date: 2019-04-04 · published 2019-04-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: disease · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/59621-backyard-chickens-hit-hard-by-a-long-gone-extremely-contagious-disease
- Commodities: [Chicken](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CHICKEN.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Newcastle disease outbreaks cull birds and disrupt poultry movement, which cuts layer and broiler feed demand in affected areas. A wider spread would be a larger risk to US poultry output and feed use.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bearish ▼
- CHICKEN: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2025-08-23 | [Crop tour projects record 2025 U.S. corn harvest, but disease could hit yields](https://feedsoft.ai/events/13061-crop-tour-projects-record-2025-u-s-corn-harvest-but-disease-could-hit-yields.md) | +1.9% | +7.4% |
| CORN | 2018-08-31 | [Hog prices poised to soar as deadly swine disease emerges in China - MarketWatch](https://feedsoft.ai/events/63673-hog-prices-poised-to-soar-as-deadly-swine-disease-emerges-in-china-marketwatch.md) | +2.5% | +4.3% |
| CORN | 2021-01-13 | [Bird flu scare continues to wreck havoc on chicken, egg sales](https://feedsoft.ai/events/49153-bird-flu-scare-continues-to-wreck-havoc-on-chicken-egg-sales.md) | +2.0% | +7.5% |
| CORN | 2022-02-15 | [US bird flu case puts chicken, turkey farms on high alert \| AP News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42716-us-bird-flu-case-puts-chicken-turkey-farms-on-high-alert-ap-news.md) | +1.4% | +13.6% |
| CORN | 2025-06-07 | [A Major American Egg Farm Just Lost 90% of its Chickens - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24214-a-major-american-egg-farm-just-lost-90-of-its-chickens-bloomberg.md) | -1.7% | -5.9% |

## Sources

- thecounter.org: https://thecounter.org/virulent-newcastle-disease-poultry-backyard-chicken-coops/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.