Intended U.S. placements of broiler pullet chicks for the hatchery supply flock for August 2013 were 7,490,000, 2 percent above the 7,338,000 pullet chicks placed in August 2012, according to the “Chickens and Eggs” report issued this week by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The August 2013 pullet chicks combined with the previous eight months gives a 7-to-15-month cumulative total of 61,573,000 hens in March 2014. The 66,573,000 cumulative potential pullet placements represent a 1 percent increase when compared with the 61,094,000  hens in March 2013.

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 2012 2013 2014
–000– -%-* –000– -%- –000– -%- –000– -%-* -000- -%- -000- -%-
January 6,557 99 6,673 102 6,303 94 64,111 102 60,874 95 60,546 99
February 7,284 104 7,025 96 7,156 102 63,679 101 60,656 95 60,850 100
March 7,058 106 6,753 96 6,589 98 63,323 100 61,094  96 61,573 101
April 7,044 103 6,524 93  6,222  95 63,209 99 61,342 97
May 7,721 92 7,472 97 7,565 101 62,941 98 60,934 97
June 7,211 101 6,800 94  7,011  103 62,557 97 60,676 97
July 6,444 97 6,071 94 6,569 108 61,937 96 60,591 98
August 7,233 99 7,338 101 7,490 102 61,566 96  60,370 98
September 6,657 93  6,686 100 60,870 96 60,054 99
October 6,289 91 6,265 99 60,412 95  59,843 99
November 6,890 91 6,767 98 60,492 95  59,994  99
December 6,438 95 6,668 103 60,731 95 60,221 99
Annual Total 82,826 98 81,042 98 **62,144 97  **60,554 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 September 1, 2013 was 51,766,000 hens, a 5-percent increase from 49,502,000 hens on September 1, 2012.