Broiler Hatchery - Release

Broiler Hatchery
ISSN: 1949-1840

Released November 28, 2018, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Broiler-Type Eggs Set in the United States Up 1 Percent
Hatcheries in the United States weekly program set 228 million eggs in incubators during the week ending
November 24, 2018, up 1 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United
States was 82.2 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three
weeks earlier.

Broiler-Type Chicks Placed in the United States Down 1 Percent
Broiler growers in the United States weekly program placed 173 million chicks for meat production during the week
ending November 24, 2018, down 1 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 6,
2018 through November 24, 2018 for the United States were 8.55 billion. Cumulative placements were up 1 percent from
the same period a year earlier.

Broiler-Type Eggs Set – Selected States and United States: 2018
Week ending
State

October 20,
2018

October 27,
2018

November 3,
2018

November 10,
2018

November 17,
2018

November 24,
2018

(1,000 eggs)

(1,000 eggs)

(1,000 eggs)

(1,000 eggs)

(1,000 eggs)

(1,000 eggs)

Alabama .............................................
Arkansas .............................................
Delaware ............................................
Florida .................................................
Georgia ...............................................
Kentucky .............................................
Louisiana ............................................
Maryland .............................................
Mississippi ..........................................
Missouri ..............................................

29,939
21,289
4,738
1,105
32,539
6,910
3,741
7,353
17,963
8,183

29,342
23,340
4,667
1,100
33,204
6,290
3,833
8,013
18,497
8,222

28,798
22,882
4,667
1,147
33,205
7,086
3,879
7,926
17,159
7,333

30,051
24,091
4,696
1,194
33,686
7,829
3,562
7,863
17,659
7,711

30,532
24,415
4,722
1,194
34,890
7,740
3,668
7,939
18,367
8,567

30,593
24,815
4,696
1,194
34,648
7,873
3,653
7,986
18,569
8,375

North Carolina .....................................
Oklahoma ...........................................
Pennsylvania ......................................
South Carolina ....................................
Texas ..................................................
Virginia ................................................
California, Tennessee,
and West Virginia ..............................

20,608
7,618
5,571
5,890
15,872
5,817

22,079
6,053
5,198
5,483
15,955
6,142

21,899
7,574
5,055
4,976
14,659
5,794

22,083
7,837
5,080
5,616
15,994
5,632

22,459
5,888
5,402
5,939
16,007
6,380

22,367
7,500
5,377
5,562
16,343
6,406

10,500

11,217

11,597

11,875

12,341

12,303

Other States ........................................

9,215

8,697

9,234

9,398

9,642

9,677

United States ......................................
Percent of previous year .....................

214,851
99

217,332
99

214,870
100

221,857
100

226,092
99

227,937
101

Broiler-Type Chicks Placed – Selected States and United States: 2018
Week ending
State

October 20,
2018

October 27,
2018

November 3,
2018

November 10,
2018

November 17,
2018

November 24,
2018

(1,000 chicks)

(1,000 chicks)

(1,000 chicks)

(1,000 chicks)

(1,000 chicks)

(1,000 chicks)

Alabama .............................................
Arkansas .............................................
Delaware ............................................
Florida .................................................
Georgia ...............................................
Kentucky .............................................
Louisiana ............................................
Maryland .............................................
Mississippi ..........................................
Missouri ..............................................

22,135
21,596
4,695
694
24,790
6,010
2,875
6,072
13,800
5,580

22,526
22,292
4,850
741
26,984
5,952
2,856
5,233
14,378
5,932

22,886
22,100
4,311
828
26,330
5,917
3,143
6,840
13,844
5,303

21,519
19,908
5,043
739
25,632
4,772
3,353
4,707
15,232
5,425

22,735
20,111
3,892
1,301
25,614
4,489
3,480
7,193
15,423
5,637

21,312
21,495
4,469
1,328
25,508
5,389
3,006
6,929
14,228
4,731

North Carolina .....................................
Oklahoma ...........................................
Pennsylvania ......................................
South Carolina ....................................
Texas ..................................................
Virginia ................................................
California, Tennessee,
and West Virginia ..............................

15,472
4,349
4,045
4,862
12,206
5,833

15,364
3,374
3,955
4,151
12,235
5,624

15,614
3,241
4,216
4,889
12,685
4,964

17,273
4,564
3,941
4,484
12,936
5,309

17,679
4,390
3,841
4,134
12,943
5,267

16,973
4,349
3,890
4,804
11,884
4,892

10,103

10,269

9,457

10,180

10,008

10,608

Other States ........................................

7,043

7,190

7,213

7,215

6,951

7,112

United States ......................................
Percent of previous year .....................

172,160
100

173,906
100

173,781
99

172,232
98

175,088
98

172,907
99

2

Broiler Hatchery (November 2018)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

Statistical Methodology
Survey Procedures: Data for broiler hatchery estimates are collected weekly from all broiler-type hatcheries that hatch at
least one million chicks a year. Individual NASS regional field offices maintain a list of all known hatcheries and update
their lists on a continual basis. All hatcheries that meet the minimum size criteria are given adequate time to respond to
the weekly survey. Those that do not respond are contacted by telephone. The weekly United States total for chicks placed
includes states receiving greater than 500,000 chicks annually for grow-out.
Estimating Procedures: All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own
past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. Data for missing operations are estimated based on similar
operations or historical data. NASS regional field offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey
indications and historic trends. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for
reasonableness.
Revision Policy: Revisions are generally the result of late or corrected data. Revisions made to the previous five-week’s
data during the current week are published in this report. Final estimates are published in the annual Hatchery Production
Summary released in April.
Reliability: Estimates are subject to errors such as omission, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and
processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality controls in
the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness.

Information Contacts
Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to
contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov
Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch ......................................................................................................... (202) 720-3570
Tony Dorn, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ..................................................................... (202) 690-3223
Holly Brenize – Poultry Slaughter............................................................................................................. (202) 720-0585
Alissa Cowell-Mytar – Cold Storage, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses .......................................... (202) 720-4751
Liana Cuffman – Catfish and Trout, Egg Products, Mink, Census of Aquaculture ................................. (202) 720-8784
Fatema Haque – Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery ............................................................................. (202) 720-3244
Kim Linonis – Layers, Eggs ..................................................................................................................... (202) 690-3676
Adam Peters – Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised .................................................................................... (202) 690-3237
Erica Sadler – Cost of Pollination, Honey, Honey Bee Colonies ............................................................. (202) 720-6147

Broiler Hatchery (November 2018)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

3

Access to NASS Reports
For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways:
 All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov
 Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e-mail subscription. To set-up this free
subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on “National” or “State” in upper right corner above “search”
box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive.
For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540,
7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: nass@nass.usda.gov.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for
employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where
applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's
income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program
or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or
employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination
Complaint Form (PDF), found online at www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer, or
at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the
information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax
(202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.