Broiler-type eggs set increased 1 percent to 200 million eggs in incubators during the week ending Feb. 1, the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service reported. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the period was 83 percent.
Chicks placed for meat production registered a slight increase during the week to 163 million chicks, according to NASS. Cumulative placements from Dec. 29 through Feb. 1 were 820 million chicks placed, up 1 percent from the comparable year ago period.
