In 2014, the ratio of slaughtered chickens to the U.S. population was 27:1

And I am sure that I ate more than my share.

More Cases of Bird Flu Identified in Iowa.  (The New York Times, 4/28/2015)

The potential economic cost of the outbreak is unclear. The number of birds affected by the outbreak so far represents a fraction of the United States commercial flock. Poultry processors slaughtered nearly 8.7 billion chickens in 2014 and about 237 million turkeys, according Agriculture Department data.

On the other hand, the article notes that Iowa is home, on average, to 60,000,000 egg-laying chickens, i.s., layers.  And so far this year, 9,500,000 Iowa layers have become infected with avian influenza.  That's nearly 16% by my calculation.  Whoa!!

On a lighter note......



Related posts:
Avian flu and the boilerplate that's found in every article.  (4/22/2015)
Extrapolating: More room for 5,300,000 euthanized chickens in Iowa would have meant higher egg prices.  (4/21/2015)
In the news:  What's the poop on 200,000 chicken?  (4/13/2015)