Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 2 Percent
Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 190 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 8, 2012. This was down 2 percent 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 Slightly
Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 163 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 8, 2012. Placements were up slightly from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 1, 2012 through December 8, 2012 were 7.92 billion, down 2 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Source: USDA