No, Costco Isn't Discontinuing Its Rotisserie Chicken

Of the hundreds of things you can buy at Costco — from bulk snacks to electronics to dog toys — one of the most popular items of all time is the Kirkland Signature rotisserie chicken. It's so beloved by shoppers that Costco revealed in an investor report that it sold more than 106 million birds last year alone. What makes it one of the best grocery store rotisserie chickens? It could be the chicken's extra salty flavor (which Reader's Digest explains is due to a special saline solution injected into the birds) or it could be the $4.99 price tag that has not increased over the years.

Given the popularity of Costco rotisserie chicken, people were recently shocked by an advertisement announcing that it would soon be discontinued. The ad, according to Snopes, featured the headline "It's Begun, Costco's Biggest Sellers Gone From Shelves, Effective Immediately," along with a photo of the roasted poultry. Fortunately for shoppers, Snopes was able to debunk the rumor, claiming that Costco has never reported that it will stop selling rotisserie chicken (and the advertisement never once mentioned chicken, either). However, the rotisserie chicken shelves at your local Costco could be bare in the coming weeks — here's why.

If you've been having trouble getting your hands on a Costco rotisserie chicken lately, you aren't alone. Many shoppers have taken to social media to report the disturbing event that is showing up to Costco only to find the retailer to be out of roasted birds. "Who would've guessed that Costco being out of rotisserie chicken would be a bigger deal than when there was no toilet paper? Ppl are NOT happy," one person tweeted.

Eat This, Not That reported on the potential Costco rotisserie chicken shortage, explaining that for once, this is a problem that may not be due to the widespread supply chain issues. Instead, Costco may be low on poultry because of the H5N1 avian flu that's struck a Tyson Food plant in Kentucky, according to The U.S. Sun. While there's no confirmation that the flu is the cause of Costco's chicken shortage, customers have said they're having trouble finding rotisserie chickens at other major grocers, too, like Publix and Walmart.