Drop in eggs set and chicks placed
The US Department of Agriculture has recorded decreases of 1-2 percentage points in the number of broiler eggs set in hatcheries and in the number of chicks placed on farms.
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported that commercial hatcheries in the 19 largest broiler-producing states set 204 million broiler eggs in incubators during the week ending 30 September 2006. This figure was down slightly from the number of eggs set during the corresponding week last year.
NASS also reported that broiler growers in the 19-state broiler reporting programme placed 167 million chicks for meat production during the week ending 30 September 2006. Chick placements were down two percent from the comparable week one year earlier.
Cumulative broiler chick placements from 1 January 2006 through to 30 September 2006 were 6.79 billion, also down one percent from the same period in 2005.
Average broiler egg hatchability during the week ending 29 September 2006 was 83 percent (calculated by dividing the number of chicks hatched during the week by the number of eggs set three weeks earlier).
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