Poultry farmers face a new threat after bird flu

Eggs from laying hens confined for more than 16 weeks are no longer allowed for sale as free-range. In Ireland and the UK, they are now labelled as “barn eggs”.

Poultry farmers, loss-making due to feed price increases, continue to fight avian influenza by keeping their birds indoors.

When they joined an IFA protest in mid-February, they warned they could not survive at current prices, and asked retailers to pay 15c extra per chicken and 2c extra per egg.