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

Chicken producers and backyard farmers on Prince Edward Island are facing a shortage this spring due to a break in the supply chain from the United States. 

An outbreak of avian influenza south of the border has cut the supply of broiler chicks to hatcheries in Atlantic Canada. 

Also known as meat chicks, the birds eventually grow into the plump chickens that Islanders buy at grocery stores, or raise on their own property for food use. 

Sally Bernard, who owns Barnyard Organics in Freetown, raises about 300 broiler chicks each year. She said the avian flu outbreak has wiped out the supply from the U.S. 

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

"I am madly scrambling. I may have found some out of Quebec, but I'm not counting on it because I know the priority will be to go to those big barns. So… frankly, I don't know."

P.E.I. facing temporary shortage of chicks destined for food use as avian flu cuts into supply chain

1 day ago

Duration 2:27

Islanders who like to raise their own chickens may be out of luck this summer. P.E.I. chicken producers and home farmers are facing a shortage of broiler or meat chicks. The hatcheries where they usually source birds are facing shortages because of avian influenza in the U.S., and suppliers are scrambling to find replacements. CBC’s Nancy Russell has more on the story.

The shortage is actually a double whammy for Bernard. She also runs a feed business and a facility where people bring the chickens they have raised for killing and processing. 

"Those two aspects of this problem are actually much bigger than not being able to get the chickens," she said. 

"If I couldn't get chickens, it's not a big deal — but if everyone can't get chickens, then that means there's no processing going on and much less feed being made." 

'We've never had a year quite this bad'

Some suppliers, like the Kensington Country Store, are also concerned their customers will be out of luck this year. 

Charlene Profitt said the store has orders from small or hobby farms for almost 1,300 chicks in May, so she's hoping to be able to source some by then.  

"We depend on our sales for our chickens in the spring," she said. "It's usually pretty high numbers, but this year is not so high because of the influenza." 

While most customers have been understanding about the shortage, Profitt said many of them do depend on having a certain number of chickens throughout the winter. 

It's obviously not just home farmers that are feeling the shortage. P.E.I. has eight registered chicken producers. 

Dean Good and his son produce over 400,000 chickens a year at their operation in Winsloe, but this month their chick supply was cut by 11 per cent. 

"We've never had a year quite this bad," he said. 

One way around the supply chain issues could be to set up a hatchery here on P.E.I. 

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

"You have to be pretty large-scale to do something like that. It's a very expensive deal to get into," he said. "Most of them are grown over in New Brunswick and in Nova Scotia and they have been for years." 

While it could be a pricey proposition, Profitt is among those who think a dedicated chick producer on the Island is a great idea. 

"If we had a producer here [where] we could buy our local meat chickens… that would be an awesome idea."