Intended U.S. placements of broiler pullet chicks for the hatchery supply flock for February 2013 were 7,156,000,  a 2-percent  increase from the 7,025,000 pullet chicks placed in February 2012, according to the “Chickens and Eggs” report issued today by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The February 2013 pullet chicks combined with the previous eight months gives a 7-to-15-month cumulative total of 60,046,000 hens in September 2013. The 60,046,000-cumulative-potential-pullet placements represent a 1-percent decrease when compared with the number for September 2012.

U.S. Broiler-Type Hatchery Supply Flock Pullet Chicks Hatched and Cumulative Potential Placements
Pullet Chicks Hatched Potential Placements, Cumulative 7-15 months earlier
2011 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013
–000– -%-* –000– -%- –000– -%- –000– -%-* –000– -%-* -000- -%-
January 6,557 99 6,673 102 6,303 94 62,996 100 64,111 102 60,864 95
February 7,284 104 7,025 96 7,156 102 63,283 102 63,679 101 60,646 95
March 7,058 106 6,753 96 63,250 102 63,323 100 60,094  95
April 7,044 103 6,524 93 63,751 102 63,209 99 61,334 97
May 7,721 92 7,472 97 63,990 103 62,941 98 60,926 97
June 7,211 101 6,800 94 64,558 104 62,547 97 60,668 97
July 6,444 97 6,071 94 64,656 104 61,927 96 60,583 98
August 7,233 99 7,338 101 64,388 104 61,556 96  60,362 98
September 6,657 93  6,678 100 63,321 103 60,860 96 60,046 99
October 6,289 91 6,265 99 63,251 103 60,402 95
November 6,890 91 6,767 98 63,620 103 60,482 95
December 6,438 95 6,668 103 64,028 102 60,721 95
Annual Total 82,826 98 81,034 98 **63,757 103 **62,143 97
Source: Chickens and Eggs NASS/USDA * Comparison with one year earlier. ** Annual Average

Note: All generations of layers that would lay eggs to supply a hatchery are included: parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, pedigree, foundation, and similar. Any pullet chicks used for research purposes, vaccine production, and specific-pathogen-free layers that are in broiler-type hatchery supply flocks are also included in the data.

Also, in the current issue of “Chickens and Eggs,” NASS reported that the actual number of layers in the broiler-type hatching egg flock on March 1, 2013 was 51,701,000 hens, a 2-percent increase from 50,593,000 hens on March 1, 2012.