Source:  Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 3/11/11

USDA reported commercial hatcheries in the 19-state weekly program set 208 million eggs in incubators during the week ended March 5, up 1 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier.
Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 83 percent.

Broiler growers in the 19-state weekly program placed 168 million chicks for meat production during the week ended March 5. Placements were down slightly from the comparable week a year earlier.

Cumulative placements from Jan. 2 through March 5 were 1.18 billion, up 1 percent from the same period a year earlier.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.