Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released December 31, 2025, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Broiler-Type Eggs Set in the United States Up 2 Percent Hatcheries in the United States weekly program set 252 million eggs in incubators during the week ending December 27, 2025, up 2 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 79.7 percent. Average hatchability is calculated by dividing chicks hatched during the week by eggs set three-weeks earlier. Broiler-Type Chicks Placed in the United States Up 1 Percent Broiler growers in the United States weekly program placed 193 million chicks for meat production during the week ending December 27, 2025, up 1 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 4, 2025 through December 27, 2025 for the United States were 10.00 billion. Cumulative placements were up 1 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - Selected States and United States: 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 22, :November 29, : December 6, :December 13, :December 20, :December 27, : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 34,437 35,340 34,928 34,947 34,700 34,678 Arkansas .....................: 26,570 26,722 25,753 26,062 26,125 26,121 Delaware .....................: 5,646 5,402 5,769 5,769 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 35,283 35,390 34,804 35,190 35,232 35,229 Kentucky .....................: 7,939 7,786 7,740 7,970 7,858 7,942 Maryland .....................: 8,386 8,385 8,383 8,383 8,386 8,383 Mississippi ..................: 18,227 18,438 18,257 18,223 17,870 18,272 Missouri .....................: 9,113 9,198 9,203 9,218 9,226 9,170 : North Carolina ...............: 26,312 26,456 25,331 25,737 26,331 26,239 Oklahoma .....................: 6,013 5,832 5,987 5,993 5,935 5,928 Pennsylvania .................: 8,919 8,990 8,587 9,086 9,134 9,127 South Carolina ...............: 6,344 6,289 6,347 6,273 6,198 6,379 Texas ........................: 19,588 20,205 18,833 19,760 19,708 19,670 Virginia .....................: 5,742 6,150 5,363 5,755 5,765 5,766 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 16,230 16,490 15,274 15,955 16,092 16,094 : Other States .................: 17,154 17,109 17,428 16,917 17,095 17,264 : United States ................: 251,903 254,182 247,987 251,238 251,524 252,131 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 22, :November 29, : December 6, :December 13, :December 20, :December 27, : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 22,084 22,639 24,283 23,499 24,322 23,525 Arkansas .....................: 22,158 21,733 22,897 22,318 22,154 22,598 Delaware .....................: 5,190 5,418 5,428 5,927 5,636 5,833 Georgia ......................: 27,615 27,521 28,220 28,362 27,572 27,207 Kentucky .....................: 5,776 5,820 6,044 5,927 5,660 5,957 Maryland .....................: 6,769 6,640 6,770 5,998 6,221 6,685 Mississippi ..................: 12,742 13,637 14,463 14,398 14,541 14,413 Missouri .....................: 5,437 5,485 5,305 5,824 6,176 5,574 : North Carolina ...............: 20,253 20,042 20,597 20,690 21,164 20,503 Oklahoma .....................: 3,971 4,513 3,636 3,987 3,579 3,841 Pennsylvania .................: 5,089 4,988 5,399 5,235 5,370 4,954 South Carolina ...............: 5,321 5,479 4,498 4,959 5,379 5,883 Texas ........................: 15,134 13,701 14,987 15,597 16,143 14,776 Virginia .....................: 4,920 5,012 5,154 5,262 5,445 4,151 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 14,418 13,603 13,751 14,519 14,673 13,467 : Other States .................: 14,262 14,150 14,059 14,129 14,033 14,092 : United States ................: 191,139 190,381 195,491 196,631 198,068 193,459 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for broiler hatchery estimates are collected weekly from all broiler-type hatcheries that hatch at least one million chicks a year. Individual NASS regional field offices maintain a list of all known hatcheries and update their lists on a continual basis. All hatcheries that meet the minimum size criteria are given adequate time to respond to the weekly survey. Those that do not respond are contacted by telephone. The weekly United States total for chicks placed includes states receiving greater than 500,000 chicks annually for grow-out. Estimating Procedures: All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. Data for missing operations are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. NASS regional field offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and historic trends. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for reasonableness. Revision Policy: Revisions are generally the result of late or corrected data. Revisions made to the previous five-week's data during the current week are published in this report. Final estimates are published in the annual Hatchery Production Summary released in April. Reliability: Estimates are subject to errors such as omission, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality controls in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@usda.gov. Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch................................................ (202) 692-0069 Sherry Bertramsen - Livestock Slaughter............................................. (202) 690-8632 Tiffany Byrne - Dairy Products...................................................... (651) 440-7789 Ryan Cowen - Cattle, Cattle on Feed................................................. (202) 720-3040 Kim DaPra - Milk Production......................................................... (202) 720-3278 Fatema Haque - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised................... (202) 720-3244 Derron Martin - Catfish, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink, Trout........... (202) 690-3237 Ralph Mondesir - Hogs and Pigs...................................................... (202) 720-3106 Suzanne Richards - Cost of Pollination, Honey, Honey Bee Colonies, Sheep and Goats.. (202) 720-4448 Shulonda Shaw - Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses, Cold Storage................... (202) 720-3240 Autumn Stone - Layers, Eggs......................................................... (202) 690-3676 Takiyah Walker - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery................................. 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