Karoline Leavitt stated on January 28,...The U.S. has an egg shortage because the “Biden administration and the Department of Agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens.”[...] We rate it Half True. [See Comment]

The Poynter Institute ^ | January 30, 2025 | Jeff Cercone

[daniel1212]

When engaging in debate then one should understand and anticipate the counter argument. The young press secretary here should be trained to do so. But Republicans tend to refrain from making a strong case for their side, and countering the salvos of the Left.

For their part, so-called "Politifact" craftily tends to use outlandish claims, or one specific of a claim order to refute all of it.

Consider a Politifact refuation of a claim that, "Chicken farm fire that killed 12 million birds intentionally set."

The actual claim was from a Feb. 17 Instagram post

"Chicken farm in Texas with 12 million chickens destroyed by fire."... "Over the past two years, someone has destroyed hundreds of chicken, beef, egg, and dairy production facilities. I don’t know who is doing it but it is far from random. Is one reason that food is getting much more expensive in the US."

Of course, it is rather sad the one would even consider something on Instagram to be worthy of a Politifact check, but it enables them to basically assure us that there is really "nothing to see here."

For on February 26, 2024 Politifact states that,

A 2022 fire that destroyed one chicken house at a Lebanon, Pennsylvania, farm killed about 250,000 chickens. A 2023 fire in a Bozrah, Connecticut, chicken coop killed about 100,000 chickens.

Fires at chicken farms and food processing plants are common. A 2022 National Fire Protection Association report found that from 2014 to 2018, there were about 930 structure fires annually at livestock or poultry storage facilities, which includes barns, stockyards and animal pens. Heating equipment or electrical equipment malfunctions were those fires’ leading causes, the report said.

Birgitte Messerschmidt, the association’s research director, told PolitiFact in 2022 that fires at food production sites are "nothing out of the ordinary."

Animal Welfare Institute data shows that in 2023, more than 480,000 animals were killed in barn fires. That total includes about 300,000 chickens killed in fires at farms in Connecticut and Delaware. In 2020, 1.6 million animals died in barn fires, the institute said. - https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/feb/26/instagram-posts/texas-chicken-farm-fire-revives-baseless-conspirac/

However, notice that while barn fires. are common, that those not equate to the number of chickens being lost as being common.

Besides the aforementioned Lebanon, Pennsylvania, fire (https://www.wgal.com/article/lebanon-county-pennsylvania-kreider-farms-poultry-fire/42241178) that killed about 250,000 chickens in 2022, and the 100,000 chickens that were killed on January 30 2023 when a fire tore through the egg farm in Bozrah CT.. (https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/approximately-100000-hens-killed-in-fire-at-hillandale-farms-in-bozrah-doag/2964707/), there also were,

120,000 chickens killed in fire at Oakdell Egg Farms in Cache County ,April 24th 2024 - https://kutv.com/news/local/120k-chickens-burned-in-oakdell-egg-farms-fire-in-cache-county-smoke-flames-four-alarm-firefighters-lewiston-marshal-extinguish-water-investigation

A Feb. 7, 2025 fire at a facility in western Ohio that was licensed to house about 280,000 young hens raised to lay eggs. - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/us/ohio-chicken-farm-fire.html

Ignoring some other fires, that is 250,000 100,000 120,000 280,000 = 750,000 since 2022.

And while barn fires are common, that does not mean 750,000+ deaths of chickens over the course of about 3 years is. And politifact does not mention that in over 100 Fires in Animal Farms Every Year, 99% of Victims are chickens (https://arcj.org/en/issues-en/animal-welfare-en/more-than-100-poultry-farms-and-other-livestock-farms-catch-fire-each-year/)

In addition to which, from 2022, "US egg factory roasts alive 5.3m chickens in avian flu cull – then fires almost every worker." - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/28/egg-factory-avian-flu-chickens-culled-workers-fired-iowa

May. 28, 2024, Farmers must kill 4.2 million chickens after bird flu hits Iowa egg farm. - https://www.wbtv.com/2024/05/28/farmers-must-kill-42-million-chickens-after-bird-flu-hits-iowa-egg-farm/

At least 36 million egg-laying chickens have been killed in recent months in order to prevent the spread of the bird flu, - https://www.tiktok.com/@abcworldnews/video/7464387695603666206

Add over 36 million to over 750,000+ deaths of chickens over the course of about 3 years and you understand why egg prices are so high.

[mykroar]

USDA data shows 108 million egg-laying chickens died since 2022, including 13 million in 2025. It’s not clear how many were euthanized or died of the virus.

1/2 truth, LOL

[thegagline]

The Poynter Institute is Politifact…which is mostly fiction.

[mikey_hates_everything]

Starting to appear as if we are worse for the chickens than the virus.

[yesthatjallen]

Is there an infection map? Why are these cases randomly showing up around the country?

[READINABLUESTATE]

Just like COVID the more they vaccinate, the more mutations they create, some worse than the previous.

The chickes should sue.

[NorthMountain]

The Poynter Institute appears to be a cesspool of Big Media leftists; part of the Big Media branch of the swamp.

So I really don't give a rat's ass what their "ruling" is.

[House Atreides]

Anyone know why they don’t allow hens that survive the bird flu infection with minimum affect to become breeder hens. That would help establish bird flu resistance in the breeds.

[PeterPrinciple]

the Biden administration and the U.S. Agriculture Department “directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens, which has led to a lack of chicken supply in this country, therefore a lack of egg supply, which is leading to the shortage.”[...]

---

If nothing had been done, we might have the same problem. but would have had natural evolution for healthier chickens.

And if nothing had been done, we would blame the govt for doing nothing.

Now we can blame them for doing something.

[jimpick]

A dozen jumbo eggs were $0.69 here at Walmart before Biden. They went up to almost $4.00 a dozen under Biden. They came back down to about $2.50 a dozen then the cage free rule went into effect. Now I can’t find jumbos and am paying $5.50 for a dozen large eggs.

I want to thank the Democrats in Michigan for jacking up the cost of eggs. Just so they can say free range on the carton. I mean it’s good that the 15 chickens standing in the door get to leave if they want. Feel sorry for the other 15,000 stuck in the coop behind them.

The price is not a huge difference but still I eat 6 eggs a day. So my cost in the last four years is up $2.40 a day for smaller eggs. To others who can not afford it that is horrendous. I only spend about $75 a week to feed myself.

I get beef from a local farmer at about $4.00 a pound. I eat a lot of beef eggs and cheese.

[ClearCase_guy]

I think she is saying: The U.S. has an egg shortage because the “Biden administration and the Department of Agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens.”

And the fact checker says this is only half-true because the Biden Admin had a really good reason for doing what they did.

Doesn't make it half true. Makes it all true.

[PGalt]

Depopulation of human beings, all of whom would die anyway, is not a new strategy.

[Resolute Conservative]

Solution is easy: enforce chicken distancing (3 feet), chicken masks, and a “vaccine” booster every 3 months for rest of chicken’s life. If a chicken refuses to vaccinate or wear a mask they must be ostracized and even fired from job. See the pattern?

Is the /s necessary.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

The rules of debate were tossed on the dumpster fire of Biden’s tenure.
By Trump.

[airborne]

The fires did as much, if not more, damage.

[Skywise]

Time to put Biden “I did that” stickers on egg crates.

[ridesthemiles]

THERE WAS ONE FACILITY FIRE THAT KILLED 1 MILLION BIRDS-—ONE PLACE-ONE FIRE-ALL BUILDINGS.

IIRC-—IOWA

[itsahoot]

Depopulation of human beings, all of whom would die anyway, is not a new strategy.

But it is very hard for people to grasp the idea that a government could actively reduce the population for their own nefarious purposes. They have learned nothing from history. Bill Gates hardly makes any attempt to conceal his contempt for the lowlife humans that infect his realm.

[ridesthemiles]

Other reports claim OVER 159 MILLION birds.

A NEWLY hatched chick doesn’t lay eggs right away.

[bigbob]

They forgot to account for the egg-pooping magic Unicode. Fewer chickens, fewer eggs…no half about it.