Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 7/28/11

Commercial hatcheries in the 19-state weekly program set 196 million eggs in incubators during the week ended July 23, down 6 percent from the eggs set the corresponding week a year earlier, USDA said Wednesday.

Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85 percent.

Broiler growers, meanwhile, placed 164 million chicks for meat production during the week, down 3 percent from a year earlier.
Cumulative placements from Jan. 2 through July 23 were 4.93 billion, down slightly from the same period a year earlier.

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