Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released January 7, 2026, 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 1 Percent Hatcheries in the United States weekly program set 253 million eggs in incubators during the week ending January 3, 2026, up 1 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 79.6 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 2 Percent Broiler growers in the United States weekly program placed 197 million chicks for meat production during the week ending January 3, 2026, up 2 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 4, 2025 through January 3, 2026 for the United States were 10.2 billion. Cumulative placements were up 1 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - Selected States and United States: 2025 and 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 29, : December 6, :December 13, :December 20, :December 27, : January 3, : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 35,340 35,559 35,489 34,885 34,678 34,822 Arkansas .....................: 26,722 26,377 26,682 26,125 26,121 26,102 Delaware .....................: 5,869 5,869 5,769 5,869 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 35,390 34,672 35,237 35,261 35,217 35,361 Kentucky .....................: 7,786 7,756 8,033 7,858 7,942 8,027 Maryland .....................: 8,385 8,383 8,383 8,386 8,383 8,383 Mississippi ..................: 18,438 18,257 18,423 17,986 18,272 18,393 Missouri .....................: 9,198 9,141 9,155 9,226 9,170 9,170 : North Carolina ...............: 26,487 25,919 26,416 26,331 26,239 26,422 Oklahoma .....................: 5,832 5,928 5,818 5,935 5,928 5,928 Pennsylvania .................: 8,990 8,587 9,086 9,290 9,127 9,127 South Carolina ...............: 6,289 6,347 6,273 6,198 6,379 6,270 Texas ........................: 20,205 18,712 19,658 19,225 19,670 19,794 Virginia .....................: 6,150 5,348 5,785 5,765 5,766 5,808 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 16,490 14,764 15,956 15,834 16,094 15,853 : Other States .................: 17,109 17,428 16,887 17,095 17,264 17,179 : United States ................: 254,680 249,047 253,050 251,269 252,119 252,508 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2025 and 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :November 29, : December 6, :December 13, :December 20, :December 27, : January 3, : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2025 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 22,639 24,283 23,495 24,329 23,825 24,236 Arkansas .....................: 21,733 22,897 22,404 22,189 22,598 22,218 Delaware .....................: 5,418 5,428 5,927 6,224 5,833 5,791 Georgia ......................: 27,521 28,220 28,362 27,878 27,571 28,176 Kentucky .....................: 5,820 6,044 5,927 5,660 5,957 6,112 Maryland .....................: 6,640 6,770 5,998 6,026 6,685 6,708 Mississippi ..................: 13,637 14,463 14,338 14,558 14,413 14,315 Missouri .....................: 5,485 5,305 5,824 6,176 5,574 6,006 : North Carolina ...............: 20,042 20,597 20,690 21,084 20,503 20,849 Oklahoma .....................: 4,513 3,636 3,987 3,579 3,841 3,677 Pennsylvania .................: 4,988 5,399 5,235 5,436 4,954 5,381 South Carolina ...............: 5,479 4,498 4,959 5,379 5,883 5,448 Texas ........................: 13,701 14,987 15,597 16,088 14,776 15,500 Virginia .....................: 5,012 5,154 5,262 5,616 4,151 4,616 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 13,603 13,751 14,519 14,448 13,467 13,915 : Other States .................: 14,150 14,059 14,129 14,013 14,092 13,899 : United States ................: 190,381 195,491 196,653 198,683 194,123 196,847 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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