Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released May 13, 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 257 million eggs in incubators during the week ending May 9, 2026, up 2 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 79.2 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 9, 2026, up 3 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through May 9, 2026 for the United States were 3.53 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 :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 4, : April 11, : April 18, : April 25, : May 2, : May 9, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 35,372 35,760 35,855 35,787 35,825 35,603 Arkansas .....................: 27,004 26,909 26,683 27,157 27,100 27,086 Delaware .....................: 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 35,964 36,226 36,223 36,119 36,536 36,479 Kentucky .....................: 7,984 7,942 8,121 8,008 8,016 8,197 Maryland .....................: 7,953 8,170 8,223 8,308 8,333 8,308 Mississippi ..................: 18,648 19,548 19,538 19,475 19,414 19,457 Missouri .....................: 9,199 9,185 9,185 9,185 8,901 9,185 North Carolina ...............: 24,130 26,040 26,178 26,391 26,406 26,350 Oklahoma .....................: 5,927 5,967 6,056 5,931 5,948 6,048 : Pennsylvania .................: 9,314 9,392 9,375 9,140 9,133 8,689 South Carolina ...............: 6,578 6,556 6,389 6,321 6,282 6,291 Texas ........................: 19,817 20,035 19,722 19,586 19,457 19,524 Virginia .....................: 5,838 5,845 5,718 5,722 5,868 5,867 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 16,283 16,259 16,515 16,287 16,124 16,475 : Other States .................: 17,729 17,124 17,224 17,597 17,301 17,251 : United States ................: 253,609 256,827 256,874 256,883 256,513 256,679 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 4, : April 11, : April 18, : April 25, : May 2, : May 9, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 23,624 24,737 25,289 24,660 24,939 25,029 Arkansas .....................: 22,304 21,726 23,054 22,641 22,006 22,578 Delaware .....................: 5,811 5,757 5,852 4,889 5,019 5,386 Georgia ......................: 29,679 27,997 28,141 28,244 29,282 28,321 Kentucky .....................: 5,919 6,022 5,948 5,880 6,086 6,019 Maryland .....................: 6,922 6,983 6,868 6,488 6,884 6,569 Mississippi ..................: 14,461 14,532 14,578 14,775 15,269 15,661 Missouri .....................: 5,745 5,952 5,309 5,886 5,768 6,285 North Carolina ...............: 20,939 20,358 20,928 19,829 20,961 20,887 Oklahoma .....................: 3,810 4,183 3,892 3,369 4,357 3,371 : Pennsylvania .................: 5,549 5,508 4,937 5,414 5,351 5,454 South Carolina ...............: 4,309 5,323 5,056 4,354 4,825 5,276 Texas ........................: 14,881 15,128 15,031 15,141 15,037 14,709 Virginia .....................: 4,956 4,989 4,970 5,602 5,598 5,269 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 14,190 13,810 14,563 14,228 13,311 13,687 : Other States .................: 13,564 14,280 14,064 14,353 14,113 14,015 : United States ................: 196,663 197,285 198,480 195,753 198,806 198,516 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 Shulonda Blackmon - Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses, Cold Storage............... (202) 720-3240 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 Autumn Stone - Layers, Eggs......................................................... (202) 690-3676 Takiyah Walker - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery................................. 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