While the H5N1 bird flu outbreak has so far affected only wildlife in Australia, there are concerns about chicken supply and price hikes if the virus gets into commercial flocks.
Ingham's Group provides 40 per cent of the nation's chicken meat, supplying all the major supermarkets, fast food outlets and the wholesale market.
The company's chief executive Edward Alexander told an investor meeting last week that bird flu was a "real and significant risk for the poultry industry."
He said prices would rise, regardless of the bird flu's spread, as the industry deals with increasing costs.
How does bird flu impact poultry?
The poultry industry, which includes eggs, chickens, ducks and turkeys, has been devastated by this strain of bird flu worldwide.
Once a single bird in the flock contracts the virus, farmers are generally required to destroy or "depopulate" the whole flock because bird flu is highly contagious and lethal.
Europe and the US have been dealing with H5N1 bird flu for more than five years, and while chicken meat production has taken a hit, the impact has been worse for egg production.
About 120 million commercial birds have been culled in Europe since the outbreak began.
Mr Alexander said Ingham's sent executives to Europe to help prepare the company and its growers for the biosecurity threat, and "invested considerable effort in prevention, surveillance, scenario planning and response protocols."
He said it had diversified its feed mills, farming, hatcheries, processing facilities and distribution infrastructure across six states and he believed Ingham's was better prepared for an outbreak than its competitors.
"We have the ability to isolate affected areas, protect other parts of the network and redirect production and supply," he said.
Mr Alexander said egg farmers were more likely to be affected by a bird flu outbreak.
"(This) is simply because of the age of the birds; an older bird is slightly more susceptible to catching avian flu and generally speaking there's lower biosecurity controls in place across that industry," he said.
Will bird flu affect chicken prices?
There are many factors affecting the cost of producing chickens, but a broiler farm outbreak would result in chickens culled and, depending on how many other sheds were in the declared biosecurity zone, chicken supply could be affected.
The 2025-26 financial results for Ingham's showed its average selling cost was $6.50 a kilogram, up 2.4 per cent on the previous year.
And Mr Alexander warned the company was facing $130 million of extra costs in 2026-27 "driven by a combination of feed, Middle East (costs), as well as embedded inflation."
Have people stopped eating chicken?
Chicken sales are not slowing, according to Ingham's, which supplies more than 400,000 tonnes a year to the Australian food chain.
"We're not seeing any impact on demand at the moment," Mr Alexander said.
Figures published by the Australian Chicken Meat Federation (ACMF) show the industry contributes $8 billion in retail value to the economy,
Chicken consumption has doubled in the past 30 years, with the ABARES Agricultural Commodities figures from December showing 53.9 kilograms per person consumed each year.
The ACMF said chicken popularity is driven mostly by its lower price and its versatility, with almost 70 per cent of households eating chicken at least twice a week.
Limited industry communication
The ACMF declined to speak to the ABC about its bird flu preparations.
The ABC also contacted the country's second-largest chicken producer, Baiada, as well as Hazeldenes and Cordina and the Australian Chicken Growers Council.
All either did not respond or referred ABC News to the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
In a statement, DAFF said it was holding regular industry briefings to ensure the sector was up to date on current bird flu detections in wildlife.
"We liaise regularly with key organisations in the poultry supply chain, including the chicken broiler industry, and they provide information to industry so businesses can make informed decisions on the risk of disease incursion on their premises," a spokesperson said.
