Here's why egg prices are surging — but not chicken wings

Buffalo wings are the quarterback of many Super Bowl buffets. Despite strong demand, wing prices have remained fairly steady this year, even as egg prices have more than doubled. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

Here's an economic riddle ahead of the Super Bowl: Egg prices have been going through the roof, as a stubborn outbreak of avian flu haunts the nation's egg-laying chickens. So why have the prices of chicken wings barely budged?

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Wings have remained abundant and affordable, even as some supermarkets are rationing eggs and Waffle House added a 50 cent-per-egg surcharge this week. That's a relief for football fans, as wings will be the centerpiece of many a Super Bowl spread this weekend.

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The reason chicken and egg prices have not moved in tandem has to do with the very different toll that avian flu has taken on birds that produce eggs — and those raised for their meat.

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Nationwide, egg farmers lost more than 38 million birds to the flu last year — nearly 14 million in December alone. That's put a crack in the nation's egg supply, which shows no sign of easing. When a flock of egg-laying hens is wiped out, it takes six months to a year to recover.

"Egg farmers are in the fight of their lives to keep this disease at bay, to keep our hens safe and to keep eggs coming," says Sam Krouse, a farmer who oversees a flock of 14 million laying hens in Indiana, Illinois, Texas and Georgia. "We know it's frustrating for consumers who want to go and buy eggs at the prices they've been used to."

Chickens raised for meat — known as "broilers" — live on different farms than those that produce eggs. And while broilers are not immune from avian flu, they haven't been hit nearly as hard as their egg-laying cousins.