US broiler eggs, chicks down at end of March

U.S. commercial hatcheries in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 19-state weekly program set 198 million eggs in incubators during the week ending March 31, down 5 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week in 2011, according to the USDA's latest hatchery report.
Georgia set the most eggs, at 32.8 million. Alabama and Arkansas rounded out the top three for the last week in March, setting 27.3 million eggs and 21.2 million eggs, respectively. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85 percent.
Broiler growers in the program placed 165 million chicks for meat production during the week ending March 31, down 5 percent from the comparable week in 2011. Cumulative placements from January 1 through March 31 were 2.11 billion, down 4 percent from the same period in 2011. Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama placed the most chicks, at 27.23 million, 20.36 million and 20.34 million, respectively.

For more poultry information and statistics, see www.wattagnet.com/marketdata.html.