WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- As the bird flu continues to force farmers to slaughter millions of chickens nationwide every month, the price of eggs is skyrocketing.
At Highland Orchards in Wilmington, Ruth Linton is keeping an eye out for signs of sickness.
"We are doing our best to keep all of our flock healthy from avian flu," said Linton, the sixth-generation owner of the farm.
She keeps her 50 chickens inside of a fenced enclosure and keeps people out to prevent any germs to be transmitted from the bottom of shoes.
"Avian flu can last a long time, months, on the bottom of a shoe," she said.
That's because if one chicken gets sick, it will wipe out her entire flock.
Bird flu, or H5N1, is running rampant.
The impact is being felt nationwide in the grocery store, where egg prices have more than doubled their cost since summer 2023.
"I think until we have more chickens laying more eggs, we're going to continue to see these high prices," said John Stanton, a professor of food marketing at St. Joseph's University.
Prices are climbing higher and higher every week.
At the beginning of the month, wholesale loose eggs were $4.85 per dozen. A week later it dipped a few cents to $4.62 before going up over a dollar per dozen on the 17th to $5.88. As of January 24, the price rose again to $6.55 per dozen.
"I would advise look for sales, said Stanton.
At Highland Orchards, Linton hasn't had to raise her prices yet, much to the relief of her grateful customers.
"We're watching it all very carefully and I'm trying to stay as informed as possible, letting our customers know what's going on and that we're doing everything we can to keep them safe, ourselves safe, and our birds safe," said Linton.
The Department of Agriculture expects egg prices to rise another 20% this year.