Staff report
news@wbcowqel.com
Chickens were noticeably absent from county fairs this summer as well as the Ohio State Fair which is currently ongoing. That might be because the chickens were all home on the roost and working hard.
According to the latest figures from the United States Department of Agriculture, layers in Ohio totaled 31.7 million in the month of May which is a 2-percent increase from one year ago. Egg production totaled 760 million which is a 5-percent increase.
All live poultry shows were banned this summer, including county fairs and the Ohio State Fair, by the Ohio State Department of Agriculture as a precaution against the spread of avian flu. Although the disease has devastated much of the Midwest, it has not been discovered yet in Ohio.
It should be noted that while chicken and egg numbers were up in the East North Central Region which includes Ohio, May turkey poults hatched in the U.S. were down 8 percent from last year.