Commercial broiler hatcheries in the United States set 188 million eggs in incubators during the week ending October 19, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Broiler Hatchery report released on October 23. That was a 6 percent increase when compared to the corresponding week of 2012.
The Broiler Hatchery report, the first of its kind released since the partial government shutdown in early October, also showed an increase in broiler chick placements for the same week. An estimated 162 million broiler chicks were placed, for a year-over-year increase of 5 percent. Cumulative placements for the period between December 30, 2012, and October 19 were at 6.91 billion chicks, a 1 percent increase from the comparable period of the previous year.
