(FILES) Empty shelves are seen beside a sign asking customers to limit their purchas of eggs from a grocery chain store on February 10, 2025 in South Pasadena, California. A farm animal business in Houston sold 100 hens in four days, a number they usually reach in a month. With the price of eggs skyrocketing, several Americans prefer to get theirs at home. The recent outbreak of avian flu, which first hit the US in 2022, is hitting large poultry farms hard. More than 21 million laying hens have been culled this year due to the disease, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture. In December, 13.2 million suffered the same fate. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)