Commercial hatcheries in the 19-state weekly program set 195 million eggs in incubators during the week ending July 30, down 6% from the eggs set the corresponding week in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report.
Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85%. Broiler growers in the program placed 163 million chicks for meat production during the week, down 4% from the same week in 2010. Cumulative placements from January 2 through July 30 were 5.10 billion, down slightly from the same period in 2010.
