Broiler-Type Chicks Hatched Down 1 Percent from Previous Year

Broiler-type chicks hatched during 2006 totaled 9.43 billion, down 1 percent from 2005. This is the first decrease since 1974.

Leading U.S. breeders had intended placements of 85.9 million broiler-type pullet chicks for future domestic hatchery supply flocks during 2006, up 1 percent from 2005.

19-State Broiler Placements Down 1 Percent

Placements of broiler chicks on feed for meat production in the 19-State weekly program totaled 8.98 billion during the 52 week period ending December 30, 2006 down 1 percent from the 52 week period ending December 31, 2005.

Egg-Type Chicks Hatched Down 3 Percent

Egg-type chicks hatched during 2006 totaled 426 million, down 3 percent from 2005.

Leading U.S. breeders had intended placements of 2.87 million egg-type pullet chicks for future domestic hatchery supply flocks during 2006, up 1 percent from 2005.

Turkey Poults Placed Up 6 Percent

Turkey hatcheries placed 293 million poults in the United States during 2006, up 6 percent from 2005. Net poult placements of 297 million were up 5 percent from 2005. Eggs hatched were up 6 percent from 2005 with 302 million hatched.

In order to better serve the turkey industry, a new data series called Eggs Hatched was added to this publication. Also, the Regional Poult Placement table will be discontinued and replaced with a new table summarizing Net Poult Placements.

Hatchery Capacity

The capacity of chicken hatcheries on January 1, 2007 was 910 million eggs, up 2 percent from January 1, 2006.

The capacity of turkey hatcheries was 38.7 million eggs on January 1, 2007, down 1 percent from January 1, 2006.

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