Fact check: False claim that RNA feed reduced chicken egg laying
The claim: RNA sequencing in chicken feed is making chickens lay fewer eggs
A Jan. 19 Facebook video features a screen recording of a TikTok in which multiple people say chicken feed is making their chickens lay fewer eggs.
“I found plenty of information about using RNA sequencing in the feed and dealing with chickens that this could potentially be it,” says the narrator as screenshots of several scientific studies flash across the screen.
The Facebook video garnered more than 30,000 shares in a week. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram.
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Our rating: False
RNA is not an ingredient in chicken feed, it’s part of the chicken’s natural biology, according to experts. Many factors, including the avian flu, can cause a chicken’s egg-laying behaviors to change. The studies cited in the video discuss feed efficacy and poultry breeding, not RNA sequencing in chicken feed.
Experts say RNA isn’t linked to chickens laying fewer eggs
Shoppers across the nation are facing an egg shortage and record-high egg prices. Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid structurally similar to DNA, isn’t the cause, however.
Victoria Broehm, a spokesperson for the American Feed Industry Association, told USA TODAY in an email that commercial feed manufacturers aren’t adding RNA to chicken feed.
“RNA is in the chicken’s natural biology,” Broehm said.
Veronika Pfaeffle, a Food and Drug Administration spokesperson, and Gwen Venable, a U.S. Poultry & Egg Association spokesperson, told USA TODAY something similar over email.
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“RNA is not on its own a feed additive,” Pfaeffle said. “RNA is one of the building blocks of life and is present in all living cells, including the cells of people, animals and plants.”
Broehm, Venable and Pfaeffle said there are many reasons why a chicken’s egg-laying behavior could change.
One main contributor currently is the avian flu, which killed more than 43 million egg-laying hens between February and December last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Other factors include improper nutrition, natural aging and management mistakes, the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences reports.
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Pfaeffle also said the studies briefly referenced in the video aren’t relevant to the argument being made.
The three studies analyze feed efficacy and poultry breeding. Though two of the studies used RNA sequencing, a technique used to examine RNA, as part of their analyses, they don’t mention anything about RNA being added to the chicken feed.
“None of these articles mentions adding RNA to commercial chicken feed or modifying chicken feed,” Pfaeffle said. “The focus is on breeding.”
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.
This claim has been debunked by PolitiFact as well.
Our fact-check sources:
- USA TODAY, Jan. 18, ‘Egg-scuse me, this carton is how much?’ Here’s why egg prices are soaring across the US
- Victoria Broehm, Jan. 26, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Veronika Pfaeffle, Jan. 26, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Gwen Venable, Jan. 30, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, May 31, 2018, FACTORS AFFECTING EGG PRODUCTION IN BACKYARD CHICKEN FLOCKS
- National Human Genome Research Institute, Jan. 26, RIBONUCLEIC ACID (RNA)
- Technology Networks, April 6, 2018, RNA-Seq: Basics, Applications and Protocol
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jan. 11, Avian influenza outbreaks reduced egg production, driving prices to record highs in 2022
- BioMed Central Genomics, March 17, 2015, Messenger RNA sequencing and pathway analysis provide novel insights into the biological basis of chickens’ feed efficiency
- National Library of Medicine, Aug. 1997, Commercial approaches to genetic selection for growth and feed conversion in domestic poultry
- PLOS ONE, Sept. 29, 2015, In-Depth Duodenal Transcriptome Survey in Chickens with Divergent Feed Efficiency Using RNA-Seq
- PolitiFact, Jan. 25, Is RNA making chickens lay fewer eggs? No, improper nutrition, disease are likelier to blame
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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
