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USDA Broiler Hatchery Report

Broiler-Type Eggs Set Down 1 Percent
Commercial hatcheries in the 19 State weekly program set 208 million eggs in incubators during the week ending May 7, 2011. This was down 1 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three weeks earlier.

Broiler-Type Chicks Placed Up 1 Percent
Broiler growers in the 19 State weekly program placed 173 million chicks for meat production during the week ending May 7, 2011. Placements were up 1 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from January 2, 2011 through May 7, 2011 were 3.07 billion, up 1 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Statistical Methodology
Survey Procedures: Data for broiler hatchery estimates are collected from all known chicken hatcheries within the 19 States. The 19 States account for approximately 97 percent of the broilers produced on an annual basis. Individual NASS field offices maintain a list of all known hatcheries and update their lists on a continual basis. All known hatcheries within the 19 States respond via fax. Those that do not respond are contacted by telephone.

Estimating Procedures: All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. All hatcheries are accounted for in the estimates. Data for missing operations are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. NASS field offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and historic trends. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for reasonableness. Individual hatchery data are summed to State and 19 State totals.

Revision Policy: Revisions are generally the result of late or corrected data. Revisions made to the previous five-week’s data during the current week are published in this report. Final estimates are published in the annual Hatchery Production Summary released in April.

Reliability: Hatchery estimates are based on a census of all known operating hatcheries and therefore, have no sampling error. However, estimates are subject to errors such as omission, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality controls in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness.


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