FILE – Eggs are displayed on store shelves at a local grocery store in Chandler, Ariz., Jan. 21, 2023. Amid soaring egg prices, social media users are claiming that common chicken feed products are preventing their own hens from laying eggs. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Amid high egg prices, social media users are claiming that common chicken feed products are preventing their own hens from laying eggs. Some have gone a step further to suggest that feed producers intentionally made their products deficient to stop backyard egg production and force consumers to buy eggs at inflated prices. But experts say high egg prices are caused by bird flu and inflation. And while feed quality can affect egg production, there are more mundane explanations for backyard flock owners’ reported low egg yields, including environmental reasons like cold weather or insufficient light, rather than a broad conspiracy.