Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released February 4, 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 251 million eggs in incubators during the week ending January 31, 2026, up 1 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 79.1 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 195 million chicks for meat production during the week ending January 31, 2026, up 1 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through January 31, 2026 for the United States were 782 million. Cumulative placements were up 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - Selected States and United States: 2025 and 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :December 27, : January 3, : January 10, : January 17, : January 24, : January 31, : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 34,770 34,934 34,927 35,258 35,527 35,592 Arkansas .....................: 26,616 26,706 27,062 25,850 26,497 27,015 Delaware .....................: 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 35,456 35,361 35,189 35,435 35,520 35,324 Kentucky .....................: 7,989 7,996 8,037 8,063 7,977 7,975 Maryland .....................: 8,383 8,383 8,385 8,383 8,383 8,383 Mississippi ..................: 18,050 18,202 18,198 18,197 18,244 18,358 Missouri .....................: 9,139 9,170 9,145 9,091 9,122 9,122 : North Carolina ...............: 26,304 26,396 26,341 26,467 26,463 26,532 Oklahoma .....................: 5,928 5,928 5,832 5,812 5,815 5,815 Pennsylvania .................: 9,020 9,011 9,113 9,193 9,243 9,183 South Carolina ...............: 6,379 6,270 6,278 6,388 6,204 6,079 Texas ........................: 19,715 19,794 19,853 19,771 19,639 19,191 Virginia .....................: 5,796 5,808 5,804 5,822 5,114 4,969 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 15,988 15,553 15,968 15,753 15,412 15,713 : Other States .................: 17,264 17,181 16,451 17,404 17,173 16,329 : United States ................: 252,666 252,562 252,452 252,756 252,202 251,449 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2025 and 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :December 27, : January 3, : January 10, : January 17, : January 24, : January 31, : 2025 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 23,842 24,234 23,765 22,751 24,501 24,319 Arkansas .....................: 22,478 22,214 21,830 23,262 22,026 23,131 Delaware .....................: 5,833 5,965 5,953 5,638 5,759 5,610 Georgia ......................: 28,049 28,076 29,114 28,663 28,537 28,058 Kentucky .....................: 5,957 6,112 6,053 5,904 5,987 5,760 Maryland .....................: 6,685 6,510 6,570 6,668 6,899 6,918 Mississippi ..................: 14,361 14,289 14,460 14,443 14,129 14,460 Missouri .....................: 5,574 6,006 5,998 5,774 5,367 5,541 : North Carolina ...............: 20,503 20,849 20,550 20,842 20,371 20,458 Oklahoma .....................: 3,841 3,677 4,161 3,150 4,556 3,477 Pennsylvania .................: 4,950 5,414 5,148 5,231 5,264 5,268 South Carolina ...............: 5,371 5,445 4,544 4,847 4,796 4,708 Texas ........................: 14,776 15,600 15,394 15,203 15,133 15,992 Virginia .....................: 4,151 4,616 5,061 5,038 5,272 4,851 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 13,467 13,915 13,262 14,927 13,027 13,826 : Other States .................: 14,092 13,939 14,060 13,907 13,759 12,358 : United States ................: 193,930 196,861 195,923 196,248 195,383 194,735 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, 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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