Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released May 6, 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 3 Percent Hatcheries in the United States weekly program set 257 million eggs in incubators during the week ending May 2, 2026, up 3 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 199 million chicks for meat production during the week ending May 2, 2026, up 3 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through May 2, 2026 for the United States were 3.33 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 28, : April 4, : April 11, : April 18, : April 25, : May 2, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 35,863 35,372 35,760 35,783 35,787 35,828 Arkansas .....................: 27,620 27,004 26,909 27,032 27,247 27,100 Delaware .....................: 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 36,128 35,964 36,226 36,048 36,119 36,536 Kentucky .....................: 8,359 7,984 7,942 7,985 7,998 8,016 Maryland .....................: 8,820 7,953 8,170 8,223 8,308 8,333 Mississippi ..................: 18,358 18,648 19,548 19,538 19,475 19,414 Missouri .....................: 8,829 9,199 9,185 9,185 9,185 8,901 North Carolina ...............: 26,230 24,130 26,040 26,201 26,391 26,406 Oklahoma .....................: 6,024 5,927 5,967 5,940 5,931 5,948 : Pennsylvania .................: 8,635 9,314 9,392 9,284 9,140 9,181 South Carolina ...............: 6,596 6,578 6,556 6,389 6,321 6,282 Texas ........................: 19,608 19,817 20,035 19,727 19,581 19,457 Virginia .....................: 5,764 5,838 5,845 5,718 5,722 5,868 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 16,724 16,283 16,259 16,318 16,297 16,318 : Other States .................: 17,044 17,729 17,124 17,224 17,597 17,301 : United States ................: 256,471 253,609 256,827 256,464 256,968 256,758 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : March 28, : April 4, : April 11, : April 18, : April 25, : May 2, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 23,663 23,624 24,737 25,289 24,660 24,929 Arkansas .....................: 22,914 22,304 21,726 23,054 22,641 22,006 Delaware .....................: 5,094 5,811 5,757 5,852 4,889 5,019 Georgia ......................: 29,509 29,679 27,997 28,141 28,244 29,282 Kentucky .....................: 6,180 5,919 6,022 5,948 5,880 6,086 Maryland .....................: 7,821 6,922 6,983 6,868 6,488 6,884 Mississippi ..................: 14,260 14,420 14,532 14,578 14,775 15,269 Missouri .....................: 5,085 5,745 5,952 5,309 5,886 5,768 North Carolina ...............: 20,564 20,980 20,358 20,928 19,829 20,961 Oklahoma .....................: 3,799 3,810 4,183 3,892 3,369 4,357 : Pennsylvania .................: 5,173 5,549 5,508 4,937 5,414 5,351 South Carolina ...............: 4,600 4,309 5,323 5,056 4,354 4,830 Texas ........................: 14,765 14,881 15,128 15,031 15,141 15,037 Virginia .....................: 5,039 4,956 4,989 4,970 5,602 5,598 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 14,115 14,190 13,810 14,563 14,228 13,394 : Other States .................: 13,184 13,564 14,280 14,064 14,353 13,813 : United States ................: 195,765 196,663 197,285 198,480 195,753 198,584 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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