SHOPPERS will be delighted to see the return of free range eggs to supermarkets from next week.

The food staple has been missing from shelves after hens were put on a national lockdown.

The government ordered all birds to be kept inside from November 7 amid a serious outbreak of bird flu.

Eggs from these hens were still able to be labelled as free range for 16 weeks but after that producers had to tell consumers the birds had been kept inside.

However, restrictions are to be lifted on April 18, as the risk has been lowered to medium by officials.    

Experts said free range eggs would be back in supermarkets within days.

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Farmers of hens brought inside have been trying to keep the bird entertained as best they could.

But now they will once again be able to access outside space.

The cost of eggs has dramatically risen in recent months. However, rising energy and feed costs of keeping hens are largely behind the increases, rather than bird flu.

Richard Gooch, chief executive of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association, told The Sun: “Inside farmers have been adding additional enrichments to keep the hens entertained – footballs for them to peck, tree branches for them to jump on, and pecking blocks for them to explore have all been used by farmers. 

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“When the housing order is lifted on Tuesday, free range eggs will return to the shelves as they were before, but we are urging anyone who keeps hens – regardless of how many – to keep biosecurity really tight as the virus can still spread through wild birds.”

Bird flu outbreak

The scale of bird flu outbreaks across the UK and Europe has been unprecedented with over 330 cases confirmed across the country since the outbreak in late October 2021.

The disease is deadly to hens and they can’t be vaccinated against it.

However, the risk to the public from this strain of bird flu is very low with poultry and eggs that are properly cooked being safe to eat.

Members of the public who feed birds in their garden have been urged to keep feeders and water baths clean to help stop the disease spreading between different birds.

And you should not touch or move any dead or sick wild birds.

Dr Christine Middlemiss, the UK’s chief veterinary officer, said: “Whilst the lifting of the mandatory housing measures will be welcome news to bird keepers, scrupulous biosecurity remains the most critical form of defence to help keep your birds safe.

“It is thanks to the hard work of all bird keepers and vets who have played their part in keeping flocks safe this winter that we are in a position to take this action.

“However, the unprecedented nature of this outbreak has proven it’s more important than ever for bird keepers to remain vigilant for signs of disease and maintain stringent standards of biosecurity.”

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Elsewhere, a woman has become the first person to die of a rare strain of bird flu.

It comes after two dolphins died after catching bird flu off the UK coast.

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