Pou 2-2 (10-08) Broiler Hatchery National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released October 8, 2008, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Broiler Hatchery" call Sharyn Lavender at (202) 720-3244, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Broiler-Type Eggs Set In 19 Selected States Down 11 Percent Commercial hatcheries in the 19-State weekly program set 189 million eggs in incubators during the week ending October 4, 2008. This was down 11 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three weeks earlier. Broiler Chicks Placed Down 3 Percent Broiler growers in the 19-State weekly program placed 163 million chicks for meat production during the week ending October 4, 2008. Placements were down 3 percent from the comparable week a year earlier. Cumulative placements from December 30, 2007 through October 4, 2008 were 7.03 billion, down slightly from the same period a year earlier. ******** Subscription Information To subscribe to NASS reports or to order single copies, call toll free, 1- 800-999-6779. You may write: ERS/NASS, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161. Broiler-Type Eggs Set, 19 Selected States -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :----------------------------------------------------------- : Aug 30 : Sep 6 : Sep 13 : Sep 20 : Sep 27 : Oct 4 : 2008 : 2008 : 2008 : 2008 : 2008 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Thousand : AL : 29,920 29,707 28,812 28,833 29,424 27,732 AR : 24,697 24,259 *23,956 23,055 *24,055 21,817 DE : 3,494 3,479 3,310 3,257 3,255 3,417 FL : 1,306 *1,306 *1,191 1,091 1,229 1,229 GA : 32,860 32,439 30,895 30,930 *31,829 29,759 KY : 7,628 *7,417 *7,611 7,496 7,792 7,497 LA : 3,501 3,501 3,501 3,501 3,183 3,501 MD : 8,696 7,578 7,894 7,825 8,760 7,556 MS : 17,853 17,333 17,770 17,912 16,780 16,698 NC : 19,130 18,487 *17,360 18,225 18,311 16,891 OK : 6,969 7,021 *7,242 6,893 6,783 6,512 PA : 4,396 4,082 4,058 3,569 *3,959 3,890 SC : 5,844 5,208 5,709 5,755 5,249 4,693 TX : *14,931 *15,997 *14,644 *13,028 *13,997 14,406 VA : 6,249 6,294 6,021 5,779 6,140 5,691 CA, MO, TN, & WV : 17,434 18,220 17,833 17,271 *18,502 17,696 : 19 State Total :*204,908 *202,328 *197,807 *194,420 *199,248 188,985 : Previous Year Total : 215,502 208,821 205,863 212,015 207,513 213,532 : Pct. of Prev. Year : 95 97 96 92 96 89 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised Broiler Chicks Placed, 19 Selected States -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending State :----------------------------------------------------------- : Aug 30 : Sep 6 : Sep 13 : Sep 20 : Sep 27 : Oct 4 : 2008 : 2008 : 2008 : 2008 : 2008 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Thousand : AL : 20,496 21,188 21,212 20,194 20,466 19,482 AR : 21,575 22,352 21,646 24,134 22,051 20,901 DE : 5,131 4,977 4,870 4,722 4,295 3,865 FL : 1,278 1,051 1,004 1,010 980 1,033 GA : 27,317 26,821 27,100 26,583 *26,557 26,083 KY : 6,708 *6,797 *6,293 *5,513 *6,020 5,832 LA : 3,521 3,243 3,425 3,431 3,260 3,215 MD : 5,950 5,519 6,117 5,239 5,025 5,683 MS : 16,751 16,258 16,576 16,007 15,503 15,753 NC : 15,883 15,655 15,817 15,628 14,652 14,321 OK : 5,076 5,050 5,478 3,400 5,080 5,433 PA : 3,128 3,083 3,094 3,291 *3,260 3,470 SC : 4,624 5,130 4,541 5,023 *5,131 4,518 TX : 12,560 *12,940 *13,021 *12,505 *12,796 12,333 VA : 4,525 4,720 4,657 5,643 5,374 5,009 CA, MO, TN, & WV : 15,640 15,059 15,737 15,737 *15,273 15,570 : 19 State Total : 170,163 *169,843 *170,588 *168,060 *165,723 162,501 : Previous Year Total : 176,942 175,893 175,527 175,642 171,244 168,385 : Pct. of Prev. Year : 96 97 97 96 97 97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised