US egg production up 2% in January - USDA
Layers and broiler hatchings post annual gains
24 February 2026
1 minute read
By: US egg production totalled 9.20 billion in January 2026, up 2% from last year, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Production included 7.88 billion table eggs and 1.31 billion hatching eggs, of which 1.19 billion were broiler-type and 121 million were egg-type. The total number of layers during January averaged 375 million, up 1% from last year. January egg production per 100 layers was 2,455 eggs, up 1% from January 2025.
All layers in the US on Feb. 1 totalled 373 million, up 2% from last year. The 373 million layers consisted of 308 million layers producing table or market type eggs, 60.5 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs and 4.95 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on Feb. 1 averaged 78.9 eggs per 100 layers, up slightly from a year earlier.
Egg-type chicks hatched during January totalled 53.5 million, down 6% from January 2025. Eggs in incubators totalled 57.5 million on Feb. 1, up 2% from a year ago. Domestic placements of egg-type pullet chicks for future hatchery supply flocks by leading breeders totalled 205,000 during January, up 3% from January 2025.
Broiler-type chicks hatched during January totalled 888.6 million, up 2% from January 2025. Eggs in incubators totalled 760.1 million on Feb. 1, up 2% from a year ago. Leading breeders placed 8.10 million broiler-type pullet chicks for future domestic hatchery supply flocks during January, up 4% from January 2025.
