Commercial hatcheries set 192 million eggs in incubators during the week ending Aug. 18, down 1 percent from the eggs set during the comparable week in 2011, according to the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85 percent.
Broiler growers placed 162 million chicks for meat production during the week ending Aug. 18. Placements gained 1 percent from the comparable week in 2011. Cumulative placements from
Jan. 1 through Aug. 18 declined 3 percent to 5.41 billion, according to NASS.
