HPAI egg-layer tracker

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is the supply shock behind the biggest egg-price moves. When a commercial layer flock is confirmed infected, the whole flock is depopulated, so a single detection can remove millions of laying hens from supply within days. Recovery is slow: repopulating a barn and bringing new hens into lay takes months. The other side of that arithmetic is the flock itself: US egg production carries the national hen count and monthly output these detections subtract from, which is where a confirmation here becomes a supply number. This tracker reports USDA APHIS confirmed detections in commercial egg-layer flocks by the confirmation date, with the affected-bird counts APHIS publishes. It is a factual record of what has been confirmed, not a forecast.