This isn't exactly a bug, more like a series of features that when they apply together create a problem that is contrary to game design. Which is also kind of the definition of a bug.

Chicken jockeys spawn anywhere in the overworld or in the Nether. Chickens lay eggs. Zombies that spawn nearby that can pick up items pick up eggs. Baby zombie riding chicken despawns. Chicken does not. Chicken continues laying eggs. Zombies continue picking up eggs. Zombies cannot despawn. The longer you spend within so many blocks of this area, the more zombies spawn. This is a zombie death trap. It's killed my server mates and almost got me too.

I saw a Reddit thread with this same problem from 8 years ago. Can we be done with zombie death traps in 1.18? Please? My caves and the Nether are both full of chickens and it's not right.