Broiler Hatchery ISSN: 1949-1840 Released September 30, 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 250 million eggs in incubators during the week ending September 26, 2026, up 3 percent from a year ago. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week in the United States was 79.6 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 Slightly Broiler growers in the United States weekly program placed 193 million chicks for meat production during the week ending September 26, 2026, up slightly from a year ago. Cumulative placements from the week ending January 10, 2026 through September 26, 2026 for the United States were 7.45 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 :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : August 22, : August 29, :September 5, :September 12,:September 19,:September 26, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 eggs : Alabama ......................: 35,025 34,736 34,797 34,793 34,601 34,730 Arkansas .....................: 25,835 26,008 25,548 25,602 25,683 26,101 Delaware .....................: 5,679 5,679 5,864 5,491 5,581 5,673 Georgia ......................: 35,423 34,830 35,667 34,041 34,140 35,346 Kentucky .....................: 7,796 7,764 7,731 7,737 7,710 7,837 Maryland .....................: 8,799 8,743 8,719 8,409 8,414 8,444 Mississippi ..................: 19,386 18,448 17,846 18,172 18,242 19,136 Missouri .....................: 8,645 9,038 8,677 8,630 8,693 8,669 North Carolina ...............: 25,917 25,985 25,392 24,967 25,718 25,670 Oklahoma .....................: 5,844 5,649 5,561 5,577 5,577 5,561 : Pennsylvania .................: 9,483 9,385 9,558 9,486 9,563 9,461 South Carolina ...............: 6,223 6,282 5,966 6,209 6,214 6,189 Texas ........................: 18,888 18,805 18,603 17,535 18,149 18,835 Virginia .....................: 5,725 5,483 5,484 5,681 5,785 5,786 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 16,077 16,020 16,108 15,715 15,703 16,112 : Other States .................: 17,265 17,417 17,131 17,154 17,531 16,289 : United States ................: 252,010 250,272 248,652 245,199 247,304 249,839 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Broiler-Type Chicks Placed - Selected States and United States: 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Week ending State :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : August 22, : August 29, :September 5, :September 12,:September 19,:September 26, : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 : 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 chicks : Alabama ......................: 24,402 25,431 23,969 25,922 25,712 25,285 Arkansas .....................: 20,340 21,760 22,403 21,791 21,792 21,267 Delaware .....................: 6,534 5,825 5,320 5,340 5,947 5,487 Georgia ......................: 28,243 26,409 27,811 26,669 26,382 27,498 Kentucky .....................: 5,629 5,881 5,925 5,814 5,945 5,959 Maryland .....................: 5,748 6,636 6,865 6,840 5,979 5,899 Mississippi ..................: 15,449 15,595 14,766 15,226 14,611 13,950 Missouri .....................: 5,997 6,295 5,544 4,844 5,690 5,608 North Carolina ...............: 20,683 20,465 20,348 20,418 20,802 20,664 Oklahoma .....................: 4,628 2,996 3,273 4,143 3,807 4,128 : Pennsylvania .................: 5,415 5,418 5,227 5,457 5,407 5,526 South Carolina ...............: 5,195 5,471 5,465 5,049 4,919 4,647 Texas ........................: 14,460 14,328 13,519 14,434 14,650 14,478 Virginia .....................: 5,247 4,855 5,341 4,866 4,961 5,262 California, Tennessee, : and West Virginia ...........: 13,002 12,984 13,666 14,049 13,834 13,479 : Other States .................: 14,204 14,065 13,981 14,265 14,070 14,158 : United States ................: 195,176 194,414 193,423 195,127 194,508 193,295 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, 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. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service - Estimation Branch Contacts For more information about specific data items, please contact the Estimation Branch staff members below. You can also email inquiries to nass@usda.gov. Anthony Prillaman, Associate Deputy Administrator............................................................................... (202) 720-2127 Darin Jantzi, Section Chief..................................................................................................... (701) 412-5953 Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Eggs, Hogs and Pigs, Layers, Sheep and Goats Jeff Lemmons, Section Chief..................................................................................................... (202) 973-3272 Cattle, Cattle on Feed, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses, Cold Storage Fleming Gibson, Section Chief (Acting).......................................................................................... (202) 236-2428 Catfish, Census of Aquaculture, Dairy Products, Livestock Slaughter, Poultry Slaughter, Trout, Turkey Hatchery, Turkey Raised Julie Weber, Section Chief...................................................................................................... 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