Is there a chicken and egg shortage and if so, why ?

[happilybemused]

Can't seem to buy either and would have thought they would be easier to get hold of than other food

No shortage, just panic buyers buying the easiest/most versatile food.

They seem to have plenty of both in my local butcher.

I know someone who owns a chicken farm.
Chickens are still laying at the same rate but there is a packer shortage due to self isolating/illness

Which came first though.

I think there may be more eggs available but they are not in the right supply lines. Lots of farms that produce eggs for catering and restaurants etc. have surplus but they are not getting to supermarkets. Around here there are several bulk suppliers who are selling at farm gates, or delivering to hubs that supply the vulnerable. We can get eggs in our local corner shop but they come in a big box and you have to take your own egg box and use gloves to handle them.

Shelves in our local Aldi were rammed with chicken yesterday afternoon.
There is loads of chicken in the supply chain, growers were anticipating normal levels of ordering by KFC, Nando's etc. Now they are shut they still have the birds growing, but there is a bottle neck in processing.

Just bought a chicken at Waitrose.
No tuna
No corned beef
Only 1 pack of toilet roll allowed
Only 1 pack of kitchen towels allowed
No beans

Got everything else we needed though.

People being rationed to only one helping now.
However if you are buying for neighbours/vulnerable don't know how they are policing that!

Thank you everyone. Will go to the local farm shop until supplies get in.

No more bulk buying last night at supermarket and the shelves are relatively full.

It was good to see

It's not just panic buying people are shopping differently. Usually I make sandwiches at home for the next days packed lunch so get eg. bread, eggs and mayo to make egg mayo sandwiches. But most people get a pre made sandwich on their lunch break. So now there are pre made egg mayonnaise sandwiches in all the shops, but no eggs, bread or mayonnaise. Usually we get fruit and I cut it up and put it in pots for everyone's packed lunches (again this makes sense as I'm doing lots of lunches the night before). So I get some grapes, a melon, a bag of apples. Most people grab the pre cut fruit that comes with their meal deal (with that egg Mayo sandwich)

We can all still have egg mayo sandwiches and cut up fruit, but I couldn't do it in the more economic way I normally do. I mean my kids were happier with the ready made ones anyway tbh, but I don't spend all that time making food because I can afford to buy meal deals. I do it because I can't. I wan I can for a couple of weeks if I need to, but not long term. I think a lot of people have realised it's more economical that way and now have a bit more time to make lunches. But before those people were either buying meal deals, buying at Greggs or somewhere, eating at the work canteen, or getting school lunches, so that's a massive shift in eating patterns. And people who aren't used to catering those meals can over cater as well, because they don't do it regularly and because they are worried about getting to shops and stocks getting low, so then you get extra waste too.

There are definitely selfish panic buyers out there but mostly this is a dramatic shift in eating patterns and behaviour So shops will take a little while to adjust accordingly