Animal Prices

So, we were told the price reduction in animals would be til the new year, but I notice the prices bounced back to their original prices after a week or two, and now are higher than before.  The food market reflected this change immediately.   Is this a new permanent price?

I'm still curious what exactly this price matching is.  Even if we assuming the poultry at the end is only worth 2 silver, that still means 20 eggs to cover the costs of 155(max) stamina plus some bronze coins for the knife.  That does not come close to the 8 silver of the current market in value.  Can someone explain how these prices are apparently calculated if they're reflecting price of chickens?