# Bird Flu Hits 1.3 Million California Laying Hens, Testing Low Egg Prices in the Cage-Free State

> Highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed on October 28 in a commercial flock of 1.3 million laying hens in Stanislaus County, California, the state's first commercial poultry detection this fall. It follows an outbreak of 934,600 hens in Clinton County, Illinois, under three weeks earlier.

- Date: 2026-11-03 · published 2026-11-03T15:16:02.878Z
- Category: disease · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/77963-bird-flu-hits-1-3-million-california-laying-hens-testing-low-egg-prices-in-the
- Commodities: [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Chicken](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CHICKEN.md)

## Why it matters

Lost layers reduce egg supply, and California's Proposition 12 cage-free rules prevent quick imports from conventional farms, so the state's wholesale egg premium could widen. Feed demand from layer flocks falls only slightly in this case.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: neutral
- CORN: neutral
- CHICKEN: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2022-03-30 | [CoBank: Bird Flu Cases Will Affect Easter Egg Supplies, Prices](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42262-cobank-bird-flu-cases-will-affect-easter-egg-supplies-prices.md) | -0.7% | +5.1% |
| SOY | 2021-03-29 | [Observers Watching ASF in China, Herd Size a Variable Impacting Demand for Feed and Pork \| Farm Policy News \| Illinois](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48102-observers-watching-asf-in-china-herd-size-a-variable-impacting-demand-for-feed.md) | +0.9% | +12.0% |
| SOY | 2025-06-10 | [AEB Addresses Egg Supply \| Prepared Foods](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24213-aeb-addresses-egg-supply-prepared-foods.md) | +1.3% | -4.1% |
| SOY | 2020-02-25 | [Soybeans bounce, corn stabilizes after Monday's coronavirus crash \| Financial Post](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10640-soybeans-bounce-corn-stabilizes-after-monday-s-coronavirus-crash-financial-post.md) | +1.9% | +1.1% |
| SOY | 2021-11-30 | [How will Omicron affect ag markets?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/11599-how-will-omicron-affect-ag-markets.md) | +1.6% | +9.5% |
| CORN | 2026-10-27 | [Bird Flu Forces Depopulation of 934,600 Egg-Laying Hens in Clinton County, Illinois, the Nation's Largest Active Outbreak](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17126-bird-flu-forces-depopulation-of-934-600-egg-laying-hens-in-clinton-county.md) | +0.0% | — |
| CORN | 2024-07-24 | [Bird flu: Over 100 million chickens are dead. Is the virus here to stay? \| Vox](https://feedsoft.ai/events/29267-bird-flu-over-100-million-chickens-are-dead-is-the-virus-here-to-stay-vox.md) | -1.8% | -4.4% |
| CORN | 2024-09-26 | [Bird flu to blame for rising egg prices: A dozen cost more than $3](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28304-bird-flu-to-blame-for-rising-egg-prices-a-dozen-cost-more-than-3.md) | +2.5% | +0.4% |

## Sources

- brightgram.com: https://brightgram.com/modesto-ca/10802855/bird-flu-hits-1-3-million-california-laying-hens-testing-low-egg-prices-in-the-cage-free-state/
- foodworldnews.com: https://www.foodworldnews.com/articles/81816/20261103/california-bird-flu-laying-hens-egg-prices.htm

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