Broiler-Type Eggs Set Up Slightly
Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 196 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 22, 2012. This was up slightly from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three weeks earlier.
Broiler-Type Chicks Placed Up 3 Percent
Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 167 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 22, 2012. Placements were up 3 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through December 22, 2012 were 8.25 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Source: USDA