Chick‑fil‑A egg shortfall

Chick-fil-A says it may miss its 2026 promise to use only cage-free eggs in the U.S. because bird flu has disrupted supply. (chick-fil-a.com) The company says it made the pledge in 2016 and now calls its ability to meet that deadline “uncertain.” It says it will still use cage-free eggs where state laws require them. (chick-fil-a.com) The disclosure surfaced on Chick-fil-A’s customer-support page and was highlighted this month by food sites including The Takeout and Tasting Table. Both reports said the chain is among the major restaurant brands that have not completed a full cage-free switch on the timetable they set a decade ago. (thetakeout.com, tastingtable.com) Bird flu has battered the egg business for years. The American Egg Board says the current highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak is in its fourth year and has led to the loss of more than 140 million egg-laying hens. (incredibleegg.org) The U.S. Department of Agriculture put $1 billion behind a 2025 avian-flu response plan after egg prices spiked and producers lost flocks. By June 26, 2025, the department said wholesale egg prices had fallen 64% from their peak and retail prices were down 27%, but Chick-fil-A’s statement shows supply planning is still uneven for some buyers. (usda.gov, usda.gov) Cage-free eggs come from hens that are not kept in battery cages, and converting a national chain means lining up enough farms, barns, contracts, and processing capacity to supply every restaurant. CoBank wrote in 2024 that demand for specialty eggs, including cage-free, had outpaced supply and made the market more volatile. (cobank.com) Some rivals have finished similar transitions. McDonald’s said in February 2024 that it had reached 100% cage-free eggs in U.S. restaurants two years ahead of its 2025 target. (nrn.com) State rules also complicate the map. The Takeout reported that 10 states had banned the sale of eggs from caged hens as of January 2026, and Chick-fil-A says it serves cage-free eggs where those laws apply. (thetakeout.com, chick-fil-a.com) The egg story is also spilling into consumer behavior around the brand. Fox News Digital circulated a Chick-fil-A copycat recipe this month built around pickle-juice marinade, a familiar at-home workaround when menu habits and ingredient costs are in flux. (msn.com) For now, Chick-fil-A has not withdrawn the goal from its website. It has changed the message from a firm 2026 target to an acknowledgment that the deadline may pass before the supply chain catches up. (chick-fil-a.com)