Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released April 15, 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 2 Percent Hatcheries in the United States weekly program set 256 million eggs in incubators during the week ending April 11, 2026, up 2 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 79.4 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 3 Percent Broiler growers in the United States weekly program placed 197 million chicks for meat production during the week ending April 11, 2026, up 3 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through April 11, 2026 for the United States were 2.74 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 :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : March 7, : March 14, : March 21, : March 28, : April 4, : April 11, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 35,524 35,625 35,695 35,639 35,498 35,685 Arkansas .....................: 26,855 26,790 26,653 27,587 27,062 27,132 Delaware .....................: 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 36,149 35,872 36,040 35,937 35,475 36,020 Kentucky .....................: 8,155 8,270 8,230 8,153 7,858 7,989 Maryland .....................: 8,484 8,689 8,592 8,820 7,953 8,170 Mississippi ..................: 17,821 17,848 18,167 18,348 18,618 18,844 Missouri .....................: 9,123 9,199 9,214 8,767 9,184 9,185 North Carolina ...............: 26,175 26,499 25,948 26,230 24,630 26,040 Oklahoma .....................: 5,885 5,833 5,931 5,882 5,931 5,948 : Pennsylvania .................: 8,968 9,148 9,331 8,620 9,228 9,301 South Carolina ...............: 6,063 6,280 6,372 6,407 6,401 6,501 Texas ........................: 19,594 19,638 19,585 19,476 19,596 19,687 Virginia .....................: 5,983 5,984 5,984 5,764 5,838 5,845 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 16,571 16,378 15,960 16,623 16,313 16,142 : Other States .................: 16,425 16,845 17,401 17,593 17,116 17,223 : United States ................: 253,644 254,767 254,972 255,715 252,570 255,581 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : March 7, : March 14, : March 21, : March 28, : April 4, : April 11, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 23,930 24,398 24,319 23,663 23,624 24,737 Arkansas .....................: 22,450 22,734 22,826 22,914 22,304 21,648 Delaware .....................: 6,929 5,476 6,087 5,094 5,811 5,737 Georgia ......................: 28,607 28,712 28,856 29,438 29,874 27,973 Kentucky .....................: 6,029 5,982 5,915 6,180 5,919 6,022 Maryland .....................: 4,992 6,587 5,682 7,821 6,922 6,983 Mississippi ..................: 14,369 14,331 14,113 14,260 14,363 14,674 Missouri .....................: 5,663 5,765 5,322 5,085 5,745 5,952 North Carolina ...............: 21,053 20,385 20,486 20,418 21,083 20,387 Oklahoma .....................: 3,639 3,415 3,814 3,799 3,810 4,183 : Pennsylvania .................: 5,168 5,015 5,145 5,173 5,549 5,528 South Carolina ...............: 4,783 4,944 4,605 4,805 4,459 5,490 Texas ........................: 14,820 14,800 14,905 14,765 14,844 14,993 Virginia .....................: 5,557 6,169 5,365 5,039 4,956 4,989 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 13,762 13,332 14,615 13,915 14,083 13,861 : Other States .................: 13,535 14,097 13,782 13,184 13,593 14,274 : United States ................: 195,286 196,142 195,837 195,553 196,939 197,431 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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