The avian flu, compounded with seasonal demand, has significantly affected the number and price of eggs available to retailers across the industry. Above, a few dozen remaining cartons of local eggs are seen Wednesday at Barber Bros. Meat & Provisions in South Portland. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Every morning, the staff at Pine Ridge Acres stocks the farm store with 20 dozen eggs. They’re gone within two hours.

The eggs — fresh from the Cumberland farm’s 300 hens and priced at $6 per dozen — used to last the entire day. But as local grocery stores struggle to fully stock their egg coolers and prices continue to climb, more people seem to be turning to local farms, said Sierra Smith, who manages the farm store.

“With local farms, they know where their food is coming from. They can see the exact chickens their eggs came from that morning,” she said. “It gives them more peace of mind.”

The highly contagious avian influenza has wreaked havoc on flocks of chickens around the country, and Mainers are now seeing the impacts in local stores with empty or sparsely stocked egg coolers. The shortage comes as the average cost for a dozen eggs has reached well over $4.

The continuing impact of the avian flu — a virus commonly known as bird flu or H5N1 — has significantly affected the number of eggs available to retailers across the industry. The eggs in stores are safe to eat, but getting them there has become a challenge.

“Customers will continue to find eggs in our stores, however, there may be occasions when a specific brand, size or type is unavailable due to reduced inventory from suppliers,” said Hannaford spokesperson Caitlin Cortelyou.

The impact of avian flu is compounded by the seasonal demand for eggs. Typically, the demand for eggs — and the price shoppers pay for them — goes up around the holidays. But so far this year, prices are not dropping back to preholiday levels.

The bird flu outbreak started in the U.S. in 2022, but the impacts are now more noticeable in the Northeast, where egg supplies are “very light to moderate,” according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released last week.

In the last quarter of 2024, around 20 million egg-laying hens died because of the virus, out of a total of 369 million hens, the USDA said. This has led to fewer eggs headed to grocery stores — and higher prices for the cartons that do wind up on shelves.

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 66 human cases of avian flu across the country, none of them has been in Maine or come closer to the state than Michigan. The virus has swept through populations of poultry and dairy cows and was detected in backyard poultry in York, Kennebec and Knox counties in January and March 2024.

Eggs that are properly handled and cooked are safe to eat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The current cost of eggs is 36.8% higher than in December 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average price of a dozen eggs reached $4.33 last month, according to the American Egg Board.

In Buxton, the egg section at Plummer’s Shop ‘n Save isn’t completely empty, but customers may not see as many options as usual.

“We order extra heavy and hope you get half of what you order,” said owner Garrett Plummer. “We don’t get nearly as much as we’d like or everything we want, but we still get some. It’s not a complete outage.”

Plummer said it’s relatively common during winter to have some trouble getting extra large or jumbo eggs because of seasonal production, but right now, organic and cage-free eggs are also hard to get. The store has not had any trouble keeping eggs from a local farm in stock.

Cartons of eggs are stacked Wednesday in a cooler at Goggin’s IGA in Randolph. The current cost of eggs is 36.8% higher than in December 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Customers have noticed the egg options are limited at some stores — and they definitely notice the price increases, Plummer said.

“They mention they’re hard to find, and they mention the price,” he said.

Courtelyou, the Hannaford spokesperson, said the Scarborough-based grocery store chain has been looking for new sources and supply channels. She said the company encourages customers to only purchase what they need, rather than buy more just to have them on hand, because of the shortage.

Max Barber, co-owner of Barber Bros. Meat & Provisions in South Portland, said his store has been “pretty blessed” to work with mostly local farms that have been better able to adapt to the shifting market than some of the national egg producers. The shop sells around 80 dozen eggs per week, with about 70% coming from local flocks, Barber estimated.

Barber’s relationships with local farmers also make it easier for the store to adapt to weekly availability, and stocking decisions are an ongoing conversation, he said.

Max Barber, co-owner of Barber Brothers Meat & Provisions, holds a carton of eggs from Sparrow Farm in Pittston on Wednesday at his store in South Portland. The average price of a dozen eggs reached $4.33 last month, according to the American Egg Board. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Barber Bros.’ customers are also willing to pay more for local, high-quality eggs, he said. Some call ahead in hopes of making sure their preferred eggs are on the shelf.

“We have a customer base that wants to support the local store, and understands that in supporting us, they’re supporting the Maine farms that we’re partnered with,” Barber said.

Staff Writer Daniel Kool contributed reporting.

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