(NPR) – Greg Herbruck knew 6.5 million of his birds needed to die, and fast.

But the CEO of Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch wasn’t sure how the third-generation family egg producer (one of the largest in the US) was going to get through this round of avian flu, financially or emotionally. One staffer broke down in Herbruck’s office in tears.

“The mental toll on our team of dealing with that many dead chickens is just, I mean, you can’t imagine it,” Herbruck said. “I didn’t sleep. Our team didn’t sleep.” (Read More)