US broiler eggs, chicks up in April

Commercial hatcheries in the 19-State weekly program set 208 million eggs in incubators during the week ending April 30, 2011, slightly up from the same time in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Georgia set the most eggs, at 33.3 million, down slightly from the previous week's 33.8 million, while Alabama came in second with 29.6 million eggs set. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84%.
Broiler growers in the program placed 173 million chicks for meat production during the same week, also up slightly from 2010. Georgia placed the most chicks for the week, at 28.6 million, while Arkansas came in second at 22 million. Cumulative placements from Jan. 2, 2011 through April 30, 2011, were 2.89 billion, up 1% from the same period in 2010.