Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released June 3, 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 257 million eggs in incubators during the week ending May 30, 2026, up 1 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 79.0 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 198 million chicks for meat production during the week ending May 30, 2026, up 3 percent from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through May 30, 2026 for the United States were 4.12 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 25, : May 2, : May 9, : May 16, : May 23, : May 30, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 35,865 35,887 35,588 35,868 35,997 35,736 Arkansas .....................: 26,756 27,061 27,248 26,837 26,658 26,768 Delaware .....................: 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 5,869 Georgia ......................: 36,119 36,617 36,330 35,454 35,555 36,130 Kentucky .....................: 7,990 8,047 7,833 8,083 8,073 8,095 Maryland .....................: 8,308 8,333 8,308 8,308 8,338 8,414 Mississippi ..................: 19,475 19,414 19,326 19,447 19,477 19,546 Missouri .....................: 9,185 8,901 9,185 9,185 9,185 9,215 North Carolina ...............: 26,391 26,406 26,350 26,423 26,311 26,249 Oklahoma .....................: 6,048 6,065 6,048 6,048 6,067 6,062 : Pennsylvania .................: 9,170 9,221 8,820 8,841 9,384 9,245 South Carolina ...............: 6,321 6,282 6,291 6,354 6,355 6,404 Texas ........................: 19,521 19,397 19,464 19,499 19,563 19,712 Virginia .....................: 5,722 5,868 5,858 5,780 5,816 5,785 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 16,208 16,346 15,988 16,096 16,323 16,288 : Other States .................: 17,597 17,279 17,219 17,576 17,040 17,252 : United States ................: 256,545 256,993 255,725 255,668 256,011 256,770 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 25, : May 2, : May 9, : May 16, : May 23, : May 30, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 24,660 24,947 24,957 24,875 24,283 24,404 Arkansas .....................: 22,641 21,987 22,583 22,085 22,750 23,127 Delaware .....................: 4,889 5,019 5,391 5,503 5,931 5,952 Georgia ......................: 28,244 29,315 27,998 28,656 29,317 28,208 Kentucky .....................: 5,880 6,086 5,605 5,975 5,765 5,948 Maryland .....................: 6,488 6,884 6,789 6,777 6,257 6,228 Mississippi ..................: 14,775 15,252 15,692 15,644 15,451 15,504 Missouri .....................: 5,886 5,768 6,285 5,432 5,248 5,705 North Carolina ...............: 19,829 20,961 20,916 21,152 21,151 20,949 Oklahoma .....................: 3,369 4,357 3,371 4,202 3,861 3,493 : Pennsylvania .................: 5,414 5,351 5,451 5,329 5,304 5,026 South Carolina ...............: 4,354 4,825 5,276 4,435 4,568 4,843 Texas ........................: 15,141 15,037 14,719 14,955 14,679 14,792 Virginia .....................: 5,602 5,598 5,077 5,011 5,045 4,864 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 14,228 13,311 13,915 13,956 14,671 14,109 : Other States .................: 14,353 14,021 14,066 14,374 14,135 15,070 : United States ................: 195,753 198,719 198,091 198,361 198,416 198,222 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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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