Drop in US chicken eggs set

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported that 200 million broiler chicken eggs were set in commercial incubators in the 19 largest broiler-producing states during the week ending 4 November 2006.

This was a three percent decline from the corresponding week in 2005.

The decline is not unexpected, after news came last month that many top producers, including Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride, intended to reduce broiler production.

The reductions are being made to reduce the amount of surplus chicken meat and boost chicken meat prices.

NASS added that average hatchability for broiler chicks hatched during the week was 83 percent.

Broiler growers in the 19 states placed 165 million chicks for meat production during the week ending 4 November 2006. Chick Placements were up slightly from the comparable week one year earlier.

Cumulative chick placements from 1 January 2006 to 4 November 2006 were 7.62 billion – down one percent from the same period one year earlier.