HDR1012000150090501961500ROILER HATCHERY Released May 1, 1996, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Broiler Hatchery" call Tom Kruchten at (202) 690-4870, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. For assistance with general agricultural statistics, information about NASS, its products or services, contact the NASS Information Hotline at 1-800-727-9540 or E-mail: NASS@NASS.USDA.GOV. Broiler Eggs Set In 15 Selected States Down 1 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 15-State weekly program set in incubators 163 million eggs during the week ending April 27, 1996. This was down 1 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 83 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three weeks earlier. Broiler Chicks Placed Down 2 Percent Broiler growers in the 15-State weekly program placed 134 million chicks for meat production during the week ending April 27, 1996. Placements were down 2 percent from the comparable week in 1995. Cumulative placements from December 31, 1995, through April 27, 1996, were 2.27 billion, 1 percent above the 2.25 billion placed during the same period a year earlier. * * * * * * * * The next "Broiler Hatchery" report will be released at 3 P.M. ET on May 8, 1996. Subscription Information To subscribe to NASS reports or to order single copies, call toll free, 1-800-999-6779. You may write: ERS/NASS, 341 Victory Drive, Herndon, VA 22070. Broiler Eggs Set in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Mar 23 : Mar 30 : Apr 6 : Apr 13 : Apr 20 : Apr 27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 24,117 23,135 *24,044 24,100 23,613 23,751 AR : 28,311 28,368 29,169 28,855 29,038 26,713 DE : 4,303 4,159 4,285 4,391 4,311 4,160 FL : 2,810 2,785 *2,872 2,710 2,626 2,689 GA : 28,539 28,262 *28,843 28,830 *28,566 28,847 MD : 8,396 8,832 8,772 8,594 8,439 8,518 MS : 15,632 16,122 15,917 15,922 15,792 15,995 NC : 17,882 17,526 17,554 17,704 17,972 17,363 PA : *3,055 3,238 3,318 3,315 3,179 3,289 SC : 4,222 4,182 4,275 4,323 4,271 4,212 TX : 11,311 11,358 *11,507 *11,787 *11,225 11,627 VA : 6,368 6,335 6,342 6,285 6,327 6,305 CA, TN, & WV : 9,453 9,341 9,445 9,982 9,975 9,388 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total :*164,399 163,643 *166,343 *166,798 *165,334 162,857 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 Total : 163,616 165,004 166,109 166,244 165,507 164,315 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 100 99 100 100 100 99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Broiler Chicks Placed in 15 Selected States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :--------------------------------------------------------------- : Mar 23 : Mar 30 : Apr 6 : Apr 13 : Apr 20 : Apr 27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : AL : 17,231 16,853 16,570 16,852 16,378 16,955 AR : 23,159 22,871 22,737 22,696 21,144 22,188 DE : 5,386 5,157 4,802 4,508 5,430 4,521 FL : 2,368 2,575 *2,719 *2,683 *2,510 2,688 GA : 24,066 23,756 22,668 23,249 *22,863 23,429 MD : 6,132 6,380 6,507 6,354 5,419 6,819 MS : 13,600 13,447 12,976 13,249 14,021 14,095 NC : 13,824 13,879 13,927 14,001 13,760 14,013 PA : *2,572 2,526 2,543 2,417 2,496 2,514 SC : 3,226 3,990 3,531 3,365 3,851 3,385 TX : 8,483 8,592 *8,346 *8,264 *8,181 8,621 VA : 5,321 5,132 5,264 5,440 5,505 5,284 CA, TN, & WV : 9,350 9,648 9,427 9,306 8,800 9,270 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996 Total :*134,718 134,806 *132,017 *132,384 *130,358 133,782 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 Total : 134,117 135,083 134,786 133,373 133,791 135,866 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Prev Yr : 100 100 98 99 97 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised