U.S. bird flu outbreaks blamed for Nova Scotia meat chick shortage

Nova Scotian farmers are among those dealing with a shortage of spring chicks due to outbreaks of avian influenza in the United States.

About 20 per cent of meat chickens produced in Canada are hatched from eggs imported from the U.S. But because of losses there due to the bird flu, fewer eggs are available to Canadian hatcheries, according to Amy VanderHeide, a poultry farmer and chair of the non-profit group Chicken Farmers of Nova Scotia.

"The impact of avian influenza in the United States has had an impact on our hatching eggs," VanderHeide said on Tuesday. "It's caused a bit of a shortage here for us, not just in Nova Scotia, but across the country."

Each year, Nova Scotia farmers produce more than 20 million meat chickens, most of which are consumed within the province.

VanderHeide said Nova Scotia's commercial producers have been dealing with a scarcity of chicks for almost a month. Flock numbers across the commercial sector are down three per cent compared to this time last year, she said, while several small-scale farms have been told by suppliers to look elsewhere for chicks.

Tim Levangie is the owner of Thyme for Ewe Farm in Millville, N.S., which raises roughly 1,400 meat chickens, also known as broilers, per year.

Last Friday, Levangie and his wife heard from a local farm supplier who said their order of spring chicks could no longer be fulfilled. 

"We were half excited because we didn't have to raise chickens and then when we realized that it's 30 per cent of our income, it's a little less exciting," Levangie said. 

"Just the extra paperwork that's involved in getting a licence and the extra vigilance required when raising layer or meat birds this year with the avian influenza, it really made us think two or three times about raising chickens again."

VanderHeide's organization is now working with hatching groups to try to find enough eggs to get small flock producers off the ground. 

She said the shortage of birds could have a significant impact on smaller businesses. 

"It's tough, especially with some of them looking at the potential of losing their whole season," she said. "It's a lot of income for their year.… If we can find the eggs, the hatcheries will hatch them and get them out to whoever they can possibly get them to."

VanderHeide said she expects the current shortage of hatching eggs will not last long because flocks that were hit hard in the United States are now rebuilding.

"It looks very promising that there will still be a [small flock] season, it may just be delayed," she said. 

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