Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released March 11, 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 March 7, 2026, up 1 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 78.5 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 195 million chicks for meat production during the week ending March 7, 2026, up 2 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through March 7, 2026 for the United States were 1.75 billion. Cumulative placements were up 2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Broiler-Type Eggs Set - Selected States and United States: 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : January 31, : February 7, :February 14, :February 21, :February 28, : March 7, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 35,782 35,886 35,785 35,856 35,827 35,648 Arkansas .....................: 26,698 26,907 27,009 26,663 26,714 26,977 Delaware .....................: 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 36,092 36,333 36,055 35,565 35,945 36,096 Kentucky .....................: 8,066 8,144 8,175 8,018 8,154 8,210 Maryland .....................: 8,383 8,485 8,383 8,383 8,485 8,498 Mississippi ..................: 18,358 17,703 18,084 18,114 18,071 17,871 Missouri .....................: 9,123 9,122 9,123 9,123 9,123 9,123 : North Carolina ...............: 25,683 26,563 26,243 26,320 25,998 26,050 Oklahoma .....................: 5,815 5,832 5,833 5,815 5,812 5,832 Pennsylvania .................: 9,186 8,561 9,324 9,059 9,062 8,953 South Carolina ...............: 6,085 6,176 6,186 6,122 6,144 6,061 Texas ........................: 19,104 19,703 19,699 19,668 19,686 19,643 Virginia .....................: 4,969 5,751 5,795 5,793 5,780 5,983 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 15,731 16,039 16,013 15,931 16,016 16,024 : Other States .................: 16,167 17,118 17,004 17,729 17,244 16,397 : United States ................: 251,111 254,192 254,580 254,028 253,930 253,235 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : January 31, : February 7, :February 14, :February 21, :February 28, : March 7, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 24,479 23,656 24,137 24,017 24,391 23,929 Arkansas .....................: 23,131 21,840 21,725 22,218 21,881 22,367 Delaware .....................: 5,457 4,806 5,981 5,061 6,215 6,627 Georgia ......................: 28,272 29,208 29,182 27,877 28,692 29,075 Kentucky .....................: 5,689 5,989 5,922 5,957 5,918 6,035 Maryland .....................: 6,989 7,003 6,216 6,684 6,168 5,576 Mississippi ..................: 14,460 14,549 14,484 15,165 13,920 14,398 Missouri .....................: 5,541 5,733 6,067 5,521 5,751 5,663 : North Carolina ...............: 20,399 20,462 20,165 20,285 20,427 20,204 Oklahoma .....................: 3,477 3,773 4,143 3,702 3,964 3,639 Pennsylvania .................: 5,239 5,522 5,474 5,446 4,525 4,968 South Carolina ...............: 5,284 4,700 4,879 5,309 5,312 5,092 Texas ........................: 15,992 15,174 14,793 14,524 14,750 14,820 Virginia .....................: 4,891 5,435 4,705 4,804 4,704 5,180 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 13,743 13,830 13,816 13,272 13,903 13,814 : Other States .................: 12,343 13,893 13,689 12,723 13,560 13,510 : United States ................: 195,386 195,573 195,378 192,565 194,081 194,897 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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