April 6, 2012

US egg sets and chick placements in continual plunge

Commercial chicken hatcheries of the US in the 19-state weekly program set 198 million eggs in incubators during the week ended March 31, down 5% from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier.

Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85%.

Broiler growers in the program placed 165 million chicks for meat production during the week, down 5% from the comparable week a year earlier.

Cumulative placements through March 31 were 2.11 billion, down 4% from the same period a year earlier.