250,000 Hens Put Down After Fire at Ohio Egg Farm

More than 250,000 hens have been put down due to power loss at a major Ohio egg farm where a warehouse fire burned recently for several hours.

Ohio Fresh Eggs spokeswoman Hinda Mitchell says nearly 500,000 eggs were also destroyed.

The fire broke out around 11 p.m. March 23 at the farm in Marseilles, about 55 miles northwest of Columbus. Firefighters continued to address hot spots the next day. Twenty-six departments were called to help out.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is unknown. Marion County Emergency Management Director Harry Burdick says the warehouse held cardboard egg cartons and wooden pallets.

Mitchell says the hens euthanized were in two of the site’s barns and that hens in another 14 barns are safe.