Commercial hatcheries set 198 million eggs in incubators during the week ending April 27, 2013, a slight decline from the eggs set the corresponding week in 2012, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84 percent.
Broiler growers placed 165 million chicks for meat production during the week ending April 27, 2013, down 1 percent from the comparable week a year ago, according to NASS. Cumulative placements from Dec. 30, 2012 through April 27 were 2.78 billion, a slight increase from the same period a year earlier.
