Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released April 22, 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 18, 2026, up 2 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 79.3 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 4 Percent Broiler growers in the United States weekly program placed 198 million chicks for meat production during the week ending April 18, 2026, up 4 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through April 18, 2026 for the United States were 2.93 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 14, : March 21, : March 28, : April 4, : April 11, : April 18, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 35,622 35,585 35,863 35,332 35,674 35,783 Arkansas .....................: 26,790 26,653 27,620 27,062 27,132 27,032 Delaware .....................: 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 35,290 36,006 36,128 35,900 36,226 36,027 Kentucky .....................: 8,270 8,230 8,359 7,989 7,879 7,985 Maryland .....................: 8,689 8,592 8,820 7,953 8,170 8,223 Mississippi ..................: 17,848 18,167 18,358 18,618 18,844 18,834 Missouri .....................: 9,199 9,214 8,829 9,184 9,185 9,185 North Carolina ...............: 26,499 25,948 26,230 24,630 26,040 26,201 Oklahoma .....................: 5,669 6,129 5,849 5,927 5,967 5,940 : Pennsylvania .................: 9,148 9,331 8,635 9,228 9,301 9,284 South Carolina ...............: 6,410 6,331 6,596 6,578 6,556 6,389 Texas ........................: 19,345 19,676 19,608 19,727 20,034 19,727 Virginia .....................: 5,984 5,984 5,764 5,838 5,845 5,718 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 16,422 15,995 16,724 16,473 16,173 16,318 : Other States .................: 16,700 17,531 17,044 17,229 17,124 17,224 : United States ................: 253,754 255,241 256,296 253,537 256,019 255,739 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : March 14, : March 21, : March 28, : April 4, : April 11, : April 18, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 24,498 24,319 23,663 23,624 24,737 25,283 Arkansas .....................: 22,734 22,826 22,914 22,304 21,726 22,967 Delaware .....................: 5,476 6,087 5,094 5,811 5,757 5,852 Georgia ......................: 28,712 28,877 29,509 29,679 28,020 28,143 Kentucky .....................: 5,982 5,915 6,180 5,919 6,022 5,948 Maryland .....................: 6,587 5,682 7,821 6,922 6,983 6,868 Mississippi ..................: 14,331 14,059 14,260 14,420 14,532 14,584 Missouri .....................: 5,765 5,322 5,085 5,745 5,952 5,309 North Carolina ...............: 20,450 20,541 20,564 20,680 20,358 20,928 Oklahoma .....................: 3,415 3,814 3,799 3,810 4,183 3,949 : Pennsylvania .................: 5,015 5,145 5,173 5,549 5,508 4,937 South Carolina ...............: 4,878 4,526 4,600 4,309 5,323 5,056 Texas ........................: 14,800 14,905 14,765 14,881 15,128 15,031 Virginia .....................: 6,169 5,365 5,039 4,956 4,989 4,970 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 13,332 14,615 14,115 14,190 13,821 14,566 : Other States .................: 14,097 13,803 13,184 13,564 14,280 14,064 : United States ................: 196,241 195,801 195,765 196,363 197,319 198,455 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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