March US egg production up, chicks down

U.S. egg production totaled 7.86 billion during March, up slightly from 2011 numbers, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture report. Production included 6.8 billion table eggs, and 1.06 billion hatching eggs, of which 981 million were broiler-type and 78 million were egg-type.

U.S. egg production totaled 7.86 billion during March, up slightly from 2011 numbers, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture report.

Production included 6.8 billion table eggs, and 1.06 billion hatching eggs, of which 981 million were broiler-type and 78 million were egg-type. The total number of layers during March averaged 340 million, down slightly from 2011. March egg production per 100 layers was 2,313 eggs, up 1 percent from March 2011.

All layers in the U.S. on April 1 totaled 341 million, down slightly from 2011 numbers. The 341 million layers consisted of 285 million layers producing table- or market-type eggs, 52.1 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs and 3.09 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on April 1 averaged 75.2 eggs per 100 layers, up 1 percent from April 1, 2011.

Egg-type chicks hatched during March totaled 40.6 million, down 7 percent from March 2011. Eggs in incubators totaled 39.3 million on April 1, down 5 percent from 2011 numbers. Domestic placements of egg-type pullet chicks for future hatchery supply flocks by leading breeders totaled 210,000 during March, down 17 percent from March 2011, according to the USDA.

Broiler-type chicks hatched during March totaled 764 million, down 4 percent from March 2011. Eggs in incubators totaled 614 million on April 1, down 5 percent from 2011. Leading breeders placed 6.73 million broiler-type pullet chicks for future domestic hatchery supply flocks during March, down 5 percent from March 2011.

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

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