Pou 2-1 (12-06) Poultry Slaughter National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released December 29, 2006, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Poultry Slaughter" call Fleming Gibson at 202-690-3237, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Ready-to-Cook Weight Down 1 Percent from Last Year Poultry certified wholesome during November 2006 (ready-to-cook weight) totaled 3.44 billion pounds, down 1 percent from the amount certified in November 2005. October 2006 revised certified total at 3.77 billion pounds, was up 5 percent from October 2005. The October revision represented an increase of 1.38 million pounds from last month's preliminary pounds certified. The preliminary total live weight of poultry inspected during November 2006 was 4.65 billion pounds, up slightly from 4.64 billion pounds a year ago. Young chickens inspected totaled 3.93 billion pounds, down 1 percent from November 2005. Mature chickens, at 64.5 million pounds, were down 1 percent from the previous year. Turkey inspections totaled 635 million pounds, up 5 percent from a year ago. Ducks totaled 15.8 million pounds, down 7 percent from last year. Young chickens slaughtered during November 2006 averaged 5.52 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from November 2005. The average live weight of mature chickens was 6.34 pounds per bird, up 10 percent from a year ago. Turkeys slaughtered during November 2006 averaged 27.1 pounds per bird, up 1 percent from November 2005. Ante-mortem condemnations during November 2006 totaled 15.3 million pounds. Condemnations were 0.33 percent of the live weight inspected, as compared with 0.33 percent a year earlier. Post-mortem condemnations, at 43.2 million pounds, were 1.24 percent of quantities inspected, compared with 1.26 percent a year earlier. November 2006 contained 22 weekdays (including two holidays) and 4 Saturdays, while November 2005 had 22 weekdays (including two holidays) and 4 Saturdays. Contents Page Poultry Slaughter. . . . . . . . 1 Young Chickens Slaughtered . . . 5 Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause6 Young Turkeys Slaughtered. . . . 8 Turkeys Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause8 Reliability of Poultry Slaughter Estimates9 Terms and Definitions. . . . . .10 Information Contacts . . . . . .10 Poultry Slaughter: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight by Type, United States, November, 2005-2006 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Pct of : January : : : : :---------: to Date :Pct Commodity : Nov : Oct : Nov :Nov :Oct :---------------------: of : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 :2005:2006: 2005 : 2006 :2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :--------- 1,000 Head -------- Pct ----- 1,000 Head ---- Pct : Number : Slaughtered : : Chickens : Young : 720,430 774,720 712,255 99 92 8,136,172 8,154,954 100 Mature : 11,307 11,246 10,161 90 90 134,837 121,178 90 Light : 5,467 4,440 3,663 67 83 67,505 49,820 74 Heavy : 5,840 6,806 6,498 111 95 67,332 71,358 106 Total : 731,737 785,966 722,416 99 92 8,271,009 8,276,132 100 : Turkeys : Young : 22,429 24,730 23,167 103 94 226,447 233,532 103 Old : 227 222 244 107 110 2,285 2,394 105 Total : 22,656 24,952 23,411 103 94 228,732 235,926 103 : Ducks : 2,509 2,286 2,362 94 103 25,335 25,688 101 : : :-------- 1,000 Pounds ------- Pct ---- 1,000 Pounds --- Pct : Live Weight : : Chickens : Young :3,953,986 4,325,589 3,929,550 99 91 43,647,513 44,585,760 102 Mature : 65,080 69,720 64,470 99 92 767,996 743,076 97 Light : 18,139 14,594 12,467 69 85 223,574 166,368 74 Heavy : 46,941 55,126 52,003 111 94 544,422 576,708 106 Total :4,019,066 4,395,309 3,994,020 99 91 44,415,509 45,328,836 102 : Turkeys : Young : 601,524 677,821 628,982 105 93 6,334,739 6,577,681 104 Old : 6,019 6,000 6,410 106 107 59,860 62,908 105 Total : 607,543 683,821 635,392 105 93 6,394,599 6,640,589 104 : Ducks : 17,002 15,319 15,849 93 103 170,456 172,610 101 Other : Poultry 2/: 690 1,539 407 59 26 7,656 5,939 78 : Total : Poultry :4,644,301 5,095,988 4,645,668 100 91 50,988,220 52,147,974 102 : : : --------- Pounds -------- Pct ---- Pounds ---- Pct : Avg Live : Weight : : Chickens : Young : 5.49 5.58 5.52 101 99 5.36 5.47 102 Mature : 5.76 6.20 6.34 110 102 5.70 6.13 108 Light : 3.32 3.29 3.40 102 103 3.31 3.34 101 Heavy : 8.04 8.10 8.00 100 99 8.09 8.08 100 Total : 5.49 5.59 5.53 101 99 5.37 5.48 102 : Turkeys : Young : 26.82 27.41 27.15 101 99 27.97 28.17 101 Old : 26.52 27.03 26.27 99 97 26.20 26.28 100 Total : 26.82 27.41 27.14 101 99 27.96 28.15 101 : Ducks : 6.78 6.70 6.71 99 100 6.73 6.72 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Includes geese, guineas, ostriches, emus, rheas, squab, and any other voluntary poultry. Poultry Slaughter: Chilled and Frozen, Pounds Certified by Type, United States, November, 2005-2006 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Pct of : January : : : : :---------: to Date : Pct Commodity : Nov : Oct : Nov :Nov :Oct :---------------------: of : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 :2005:2006: 2005 : 2006 :2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :-------- 1,000 Pounds ------- Pct ---- 1,000 Pounds --- Pct : Chilled : : Chickens : Young :2,652,060 2,857,271 2,597,700 98 91 29,351,361 29,847,134 102 Mature : 39,836 43,397 40,280 101 93 470,534 462,870 98 Light : 9,077 7,305 6,414 71 88 114,118 84,768 74 Heavy : 30,759 36,092 33,866 110 94 356,416 378,102 106 Total :2,691,896 2,900,668 2,637,980 98 91 29,821,895 30,310,004 102 : Turkeys : Young : 291,432 317,038 298,360 102 94 2,860,127 2,934,632 103 Old : 3,443 3,637 3,241 94 89 36,494 38,695 106 Total : 294,875 320,675 301,601 102 94 2,896,621 2,973,327 103 : Ducks : 5,950 5,218 5,302 89 102 61,815 61,450 99 Other : Poultry 2/: 173 176 155 90 88 2,291 1,914 84 : Total : Poultry :2,992,894 3,226,737 2,945,038 98 91 32,782,622 33,346,695 102 : Frozen : : Chickens : Young : 290,175 319,160 283,033 98 89 3,096,672 3,159,466 102 Mature : 380 608 312 82 51 4,306 4,263 99 Light : 51 8 16 8 181 2,263 Heavy : 380 557 304 80 55 4,298 4,082 95 Total : 290,555 319,768 283,345 98 89 3,100,978 3,163,729 102 : Turkeys : Young : 186,811 218,719 198,934 106 91 2,161,116 2,272,848 105 Old : 1,160 1,003 1,667 144 166 8,874 9,299 105 Total : 187,971 219,722 200,601 107 91 2,169,990 2,282,147 105 : Ducks : 6,251 5,693 5,996 96 105 60,501 62,092 103 Other : Poultry 2/: 247 703 79 32 11 2,364 1,555 66 : Total : Poultry : 485,024 545,886 490,021 101 90 5,333,833 5,509,523 103 : Total : Chilled and: Frozen : : Chickens : Young :2,942,235 3,176,431 2,880,733 98 91 32,448,033 33,006,600 102 Mature : 40,216 44,005 40,592 101 92 474,840 467,133 98 Light : 9,077 7,356 6,422 71 87 114,126 84,949 74 Heavy : 31,139 36,649 34,170 110 93 360,714 382,184 106 Total :2,982,451 3,220,436 2,921,325 98 91 32,922,873 33,473,733 102 : Turkeys : Young : 478,243 535,757 497,294 104 93 5,021,243 5,207,480 104 Old : 4,603 4,640 4,908 107 106 45,368 47,994 106 Total : 482,846 540,397 502,202 104 93 5,066,611 5,255,474 104 : Ducks : 12,201 10,911 11,298 93 104 122,316 123,542 101 Other : Poultry 2/: 420 879 234 56 27 4,655 3,469 75 : Total : Poultry :3,477,918 3,772,623 3,435,059 99 91 38,116,455 38,856,218 102 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Includes geese, guineas, squab, and any other voluntary poultry. Poultry Slaughter: Ante-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, November, 2005-2006 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Percent of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date :Percent Commodity : Nov : Oct : Nov : Nov : Oct :---------------: of : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 :2005 :2006 : 2005 : 2006 : 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- 1,000 Pounds ---- Percent 1,000 Pounds Percent : Live Weight : : Chickens : Young :12,781 12,748 12,875 101 101 154,231 154,856 100 Mature : 736 917 809 110 88 11,718 11,121 95 Light : 271 270 178 66 66 4,335 3,308 76 Heavy : 465 647 631 136 98 7,383 7,813 106 Total :13,517 13,665 13,684 101 100 165,949 165,977 100 : Turkeys : Young : 1,508 1,703 1,552 103 91 17,601 19,146 109 Old : 52 50 54 104 108 522 706 135 Total : 1,560 1,753 1,606 103 92 18,123 19,852 110 : Ducks : 27 42 38 141 90 357 421 118 Other Poultry : 1 4 1 100 25 19 10 53 : Total Poultry :15,105 15,464 15,329 101 99 184,448 186,260 101 : : : Percent : Percent of Live : Weight Condemned 2/: : Chickens : Young : 0.32 0.29 0.33 103 114 0.35 0.35 100 Mature : 1.13 1.32 1.25 111 95 1.53 1.50 98 Light : 1.49 1.85 1.43 96 77 1.94 1.99 103 Heavy : 0.99 1.17 1.21 122 103 1.36 1.35 99 Total : 0.34 0.31 0.34 100 110 0.37 0.37 100 : Turkeys : Young : 0.25 0.25 0.25 100 100 0.28 0.29 104 Old : 0.86 0.83 0.84 98 101 0.87 1.12 129 Total : 0.26 0.26 0.25 96 96 0.28 0.30 107 : Ducks : 0.15 0.27 0.24 160 89 0.21 0.24 114 Other Poultry : 0.14 0.26 0.25 179 96 0.25 0.17 68 : Total Poultry : 0.33 0.30 0.33 100 110 0.36 0.36 100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of live weight pounds inspected. Poultry Slaughter: Post-Mortem Condemnations by Type, United States, November, 2005-2006 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : :Percent of : January : : : : :-----------: to Date :Percent Commodity : Nov : Oct : Nov : Nov : Oct :---------------: of : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 :2005 :2006 : 2005 : 2006 : 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :---- 1,000 Pounds ---- Percent 1,000 Pounds Percent : Carcass and Parts : : Chickens : Young :32,365 31,975 31,271 97 98 378,799 375,482 99 Mature : 3,136 3,170 2,974 95 94 34,261 32,412 95 Light : 1,573 1,240 1,093 69 88 17,214 13,448 78 Heavy : 1,563 1,930 1,881 120 97 17,047 18,964 111 Total :35,501 35,145 34,245 96 97 413,060 407,894 99 : Turkeys : Young : 7,999 9,274 8,322 104 90 93,847 95,052 101 Old : 308 183 259 84 142 3,322 2,610 79 Total : 8,307 9,457 8,581 103 91 97,169 97,662 101 : Ducks : 405 373 355 88 95 4,078 4,175 102 Other Poultry : 6 18 5 83 28 78 72 92 : Total Poultry :44,219 44,993 43,186 98 96 514,385 509,803 99 : : : Percent : Percent of : Weight Condemned 2/: : Chickens : Young : 1.09 1.00 1.07 99 108 1.15 1.12 97 Mature : 7.23 6.72 6.83 94 102 6.73 6.49 96 Light : 14.77 14.43 14.54 98 101 13.11 13.67 104 Heavy : 4.78 5.00 5.22 109 104 4.51 4.73 105 Total : 1.18 1.08 1.16 98 107 1.24 1.20 97 : Turkeys : Young : 1.65 1.70 1.65 100 97 1.83 1.79 98 Old : 6.27 3.79 5.01 80 132 6.82 5.16 76 Total : 1.69 1.72 1.68 99 98 1.88 1.82 97 : Ducks : 3.21 3.31 3.05 95 92 3.23 3.27 101 Other Poultry : 1.41 2.01 2.09 149 104 1.65 2.03 123 : Total Poultry : 1.26 1.18 1.24 99 105 1.33 1.30 97 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Federally inspected only. 2/ Pounds condemned as a percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Young Chickens Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, by State and United States, October-November 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : : Average : Slaughtered : Live Weight : Live Weight State :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : October : November : October : November : October :November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 Head --- ---- 1,000 Pounds ---- --- Pounds --- : AL : 94,304 87,120 525,535 475,362 5.57 5.46 AR : 102,733 90,127 550,985 480,611 5.36 5.33 DE : 25,770 24,500 176,118 166,637 6.83 6.80 GA : 115,828 106,796 612,448 563,028 5.29 5.27 KY : 24,535 23,606 137,986 127,955 5.62 5.42 LA : 16,909 15,821 98,652 92,601 5.83 5.85 MD : 12,308 11,915 58,934 57,298 4.79 4.81 MS : 66,478 62,249 391,488 362,090 5.89 5.82 MO : 35,849 32,986 167,136 151,716 4.66 4.60 NC : 61,529 54,704 426,754 373,379 6.94 6.83 OH : 3,844 3,481 20,578 19,473 5.35 5.59 PA : 10,074 9,049 56,673 49,526 5.63 5.47 SC : 24,653 23,474 155,969 149,530 6.33 6.37 TN : 24,160 21,616 124,832 110,600 5.17 5.12 TX : 58,222 53,337 311,813 281,640 5.36 5.28 VA : 26,979 25,278 144,552 132,488 5.36 5.24 : Oth Sts : 70,545 66,196 365,136 335,616 5.18 5.07 : US : 774,720 712,255 4,325,589 3,929,550 5.58 5.52 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Chickens Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations by State and United States, October-November 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations :Total Chilled and Frozen :------------------------------------------- State : Pounds Certified 1/ : Carcass and Parts : Percent 2/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : October : November : October : November : October : November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------------- 1,000 Pounds --------------- --- Percent --- : AL : 387,476 350,938 3,632 3,603 0.93 1.02 AR : 399,708 346,538 4,795 4,660 1.19 1.33 DE : 127,326 120,145 1,626 1,532 1.26 1.26 GA : 451,781 416,122 3,339 3,464 0.73 0.83 KY : 99,622 92,260 1,069 1,030 1.06 1.10 LA : 71,680 68,022 408 366 0.57 0.54 MD : 42,772 41,858 500 553 1.16 1.30 MS : 281,462 260,259 2,981 3,029 1.05 1.15 MO : 123,154 111,672 1,084 1,008 0.87 0.89 NC : 326,317 283,785 3,719 3,526 1.13 1.23 OH : 15,170 14,464 273 243 1.77 1.65 PA : 38,671 32,938 796 699 2.02 2.08 SC : 116,106 109,949 789 818 0.67 0.74 TN : 90,299 79,817 809 787 0.89 0.98 TX : 237,482 214,528 2,246 2,194 0.94 1.01 VA : 101,155 92,937 795 682 0.78 0.73 : Oth Sts : 266,250 244,501 3,114 3,077 1.16 1.24 : US : 3,176,431 2,880,733 31,975 31,271 1.00 1.07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by Type, by State and United States, October-November 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : Septicaemia :------------------------------------------------------------------ : October : November : October : November : October : November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 130 75 87,495 88,976 AR : 590 * 143,778 148,873 DE : 1,322 1,284 86,291 75,850 GA : 350 315 78,562 76,425 KY : * * 38,682 36,976 LA : * * 13,821 12,368 MD : * 278 23,118 25,060 MS : * * 51,419 48,468 MO : 575 514 67,716 69,444 NC : * * 96,040 87,420 OH : 5,821 5,930 PA : 91 80 17,393 16,661 SC : 102 75 * 9,810 TN : 173 139 49,081 48,991 TX : * * 53,859 54,175 VA : * * 31,117 26,505 : Oth Sts : 3,038 2,017 190,989 186,437 : US : 6,371 4,777 1,035,182 1,018,369 : Mature : Light : 1,183 1,180 151,365 141,726 Heavy : 481 387 53,087 51,498 : US : 1,664 1,567 204,452 193,224 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Airsacculitis : Synovitis : Tumors :------------------------------------------------------------------ : October : November : October : November : October : November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 30,005 53,002 639 693 3,236 3,568 AR : 26,769 41,733 2,349 1,472 3,083 3,057 DE : 17,880 19,979 * * * * GA : 38,479 59,935 285 180 7,419 6,848 KY : * * * 38 * * LA : 4,164 4,317 77 * 426 444 MD : * * * 18 * * MS : 18,490 26,159 158 125 771 814 MO : 5,608 8,309 193 232 1,620 1,586 NC : 29,552 33,604 * * 7,354 8,805 OH : * 2,234 8 * 82 80 PA : 9,686 13,047 * * 433 314 SC : * * * * 663 * TN : 12,205 19,083 102 99 632 463 TX : 16,858 19,902 136 73 1,224 1,247 VA : 7,927 10,044 25 * * * : Oth Sts : 57,961 85,697 1,725 1,631 21,854 21,103 : US : 275,584 397,045 5,697 4,561 48,797 48,329 : Mature : Light : 43,086 32,551 147 133 52,248 56,913 Heavy : 1,985 2,185 83 82 7,075 7,393 : US : 45,071 34,736 230 215 59,323 64,306 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Included in "Other States" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. Chickens Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by Type, by State and United States, October-November 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Bruises : Cadaver : Contamination :------------------------------------------------------------------ : October : November : October : November : October : November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 2,096 2,167 8,853 9,339 12,256 12,913 AR : 4,076 4,228 22,269 18,837 26,566 23,622 DE : 1,372 1,236 4,384 3,856 6,513 5,156 GA : 1,602 1,468 24,507 23,657 16,587 13,617 KY : 173 222 4,086 3,702 5,978 5,531 LA : 227 230 2,810 3,119 1,510 1,299 MD : * * * * * * MS : 2,090 1,733 3,762 3,972 5,001 4,398 MO : 992 948 3,124 2,445 7,502 8,202 NC : 1,958 1,790 19,575 17,688 18,163 12,930 OH : * * 739 * * * PA : 548 517 2,255 1,590 4,810 3,788 SC : 413 388 2,580 3,002 1,200 1,437 TN : 718 766 4,328 4,215 4,358 3,320 TX : 774 673 4,320 3,521 6,280 5,597 VA : 1,002 873 3,090 2,118 4,216 3,360 : Oth Sts : 3,582 3,659 16,082 13,639 36,662 33,827 : US : 21,623 20,898 126,764 114,700 157,602 138,997 : Mature : Light : 10,220 9,526 3,201 1,904 90,763 83,426 Heavy : 799 1,004 6,685 8,388 11,832 12,614 : US : 11,019 10,530 9,886 10,292 102,595 96,040 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Overscald : Other : Total 1/ :------------------------------------------------------------------ : October : November : October : November : October : November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Young : AL : 17,175 5,169 111,773 125,433 273,658 301,335 AR : 5,892 * 94,207 104,433 329,579 352,388 DE : * 1,862 * 22,321 157,434 137,610 GA : 9,471 5,090 76,102 82,139 253,364 269,674 KY : * * * * * * LA : * 56 1,547 2,262 24,683 24,205 MD : 1,084 562 * * * * MS : * * 73,597 64,729 155,743 151,444 MO : 844 611 59,291 46,878 147,465 139,169 NC : 5,489 9,398 70,546 67,436 249,506 239,628 OH : * * * * * * PA : * * 7,807 9,283 43,399 46,094 SC : 2,900 * 28,870 * 52,837 51,249 TN : 593 309 5,471 5,166 77,661 82,551 TX : * * 49,071 51,021 135,193 139,181 VA : * * * 17,034 67,913 62,484 : Oth Sts : 15,587 20,494 238,571 217,960 585,073 610,310 : US : 59,035 43,551 816,853 816,095 2,553,508 2,607,322 : Mature : Light : 2,050 1,479 81,438 44,426 435,701 373,264 Heavy : 780 1,381 67,550 75,009 150,357 159,941 : US : 2,830 2,860 148,988 119,435 586,058 533,205 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Included in "Other States" to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ The sum of the individual diseases does not add to total for "Other States." Young Turkeys Slaughtered: Number, Live Weight, and Average Live Weight, by State and United States, October-November 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : : Average : Slaughtered : Live Weight : Live Weight State :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : October : November : October : November : October :November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 Head --- --- 1,000 Pounds --- ---- Pounds --- : AR : 3,154 2,828 60,871 55,504 19.30 19.63 MN : 3,396 3,222 88,822 83,149 26.15 25.81 MO : 1,663 1,288 50,428 41,316 30.33 32.08 : Oth Sts : 16,517 15,829 477,700 449,013 28.92 28.37 : US : 24,730 23,167 677,821 628,982 27.41 27.15 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Turkeys Slaughtered: Pounds Certified and Post-Mortem Condemnations, by State and United States, October-November 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Post-Mortem Condemnations :Total Chilled and Frozen :------------------------------------------- State : Pounds Certified 1/ : Carcass and Parts : Percent 2/ :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : October : November : October : November : October : November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 Pounds -------------- --- Percent --- : AR : 48,884 45,016 947 871 1.90 1.90 MN : 71,218 66,626 1,353 1,349 1.86 1.98 MO : 39,674 32,372 931 726 2.29 2.19 : Oth Sts : 375,981 353,280 6,043 5,376 1.58 1.50 : US : 535,757 497,294 9,274 8,322 1.70 1.65 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Ready-to-cook weights. 2/ Pounds condemned as percent of pounds certified plus post-mortem condemnations. Turkeys Slaughtered: Number Condemned Post-Mortem by Cause, by Type, by State and United States, October-November 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Young : Old :----------------------------------------------------------- Cause : October : November : October : November -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Head : Tuberculosis : Leukosis : 58 48 2 Septicaemia : 79,484 69,975 1,817 2,333 Airsacculitis : 11,371 6,848 179 386 Synovitis : 4,763 3,640 1 3 Tumors : 149 116 150 117 Bruises : 473 568 4 11 Cadaver : 4,580 4,751 21 15 Contamination : 3,850 3,525 33 74 Overscald : 1,590 2,076 5 85 Other : 22,895 21,051 214 347 : Total : 129,213 112,598 2,424 3,373 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reliability of Poultry Slaughter Estimates Data Sources: Data for poultry slaughter estimates are collected by inspectors of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA for all Federally Inspected (FI) plants. Over 99 percent of the total U.S. slaughter for any species is under FI. The number of head slaughtered daily, by species and class, as well as condemnations and total live and dressed weights are obtained by shift for each plant. Approximately 320 plants slaughtered poultry in the U.S. under Federal Inspection in 2005. Young chickens were killed in 35 states, young turkeys in 24 states. Revision Policy: Revisions are generally the result of late reports received by FSIS from plants and are usually less than one-half of 1 percent of the preliminary totals. Revisions for the previous month and year-to-date totals are published in each monthly release. Final data are published in the annual summary released in February and reflect any late reports or corrections which occurred after the monthly revisions were published. Procedures and Reliability: Plant inspectors submit data electronically for each shift a plant operates. An edit provides checks for the detection of errors such as invalid plant information, duplication, and erroneous data. Data are accumulated to monthly totals for this release. Data for major slaughter plants with missing reports are adjusted prior to publication to assure that all plants slaughtering a significant portion of a specific class are accounted for. Estimates for missing shifts are made only after verifying that the plant was in operation. Adjustments are based on a shift determined to be similar to the one missing. Late reports replace imputed data as they become available. While there is a varying degree of incompleteness from month to month, it has only a minimal impact on the published totals. Poultry slaughter estimates are based on a census of operating plants and, therefore, have no sampling error. However, they may be subject to errors such as omissions, duplications, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. These errors are minimized through strict quality controls in the edit and summarization process, and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. State data are published for selected states for young chickens and young turkeys. Data for all states not published are included in the "Other States" category. Also included in this category are data for published states that are confidential (denoted by an *). Data for all states are included in the U.S. totals. Terms and Definitions Used for Poultry Slaughter Estimates: Ante-Mortem Condemnations - Birds condemned prior to their entry into the slaughter plant. Certified Ready-to-Cook - The weight of poultry certified wholesome by inspection after post-mortem condemnation pounds are removed. Ready-to-cook represents poultry meat ready for the marketing channel. Ducks - Includes all ducks regardless of age and weight. Fryer-Roaster Turkeys - Young immature birds, usually under 16 weeks of age. Included with young turkeys. Mature Chickens - Fowl from breeder and market egg flocks and stags and cocks. Old Turkeys - Fully matured birds held for egg production, usually over 15 months of age. Other Poultry Chilled or Frozen - Includes all other ready-to-cook products which bear the USDA Inspected for Wholesomeness legend. Post-Mortem Condemnations - Carcasses or parts condemned by the inspector because of disease or mishandling and removed from the slaughter line and destroyed. Young Chickens - Commercially grown broilers-fryers and other young immature birds such as roasters and capons. Young Turkeys - Young birds grown to a matured market age, about 5 months. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch (202) 720-3570 Darin Jantzi, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section (202) 720-3570 David Colwell - Cold Storage (202) 720-8784 Fleming Gibson - Egg Products, Poultry Slaughter, Catfish Processing, Mink, Turkey Hatchery (202) 690-3237 Darin Jantzi - Turkeys Raised, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture (202) 720-3570 Sharyn Lavender - Layers, Eggs, Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey (202) 720-3244 ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION All NASS reports are available by subscription free of charge direct to your e-mail address. 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