Intended U.S. placements of broiler pullet chicks for the hatchery supply flock for March 2014 were 6,790,000, a 3-percent increase when compared with the 6,589,000 pullet chicks placed in March 2013, according to the “Chickens and Eggs” report issued last week by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
The March 2014 pullet chicks combined with the previous eight months gives a 7-to-15-month cumulative total of 61,225,000 hens in October 2014. The 61,225,000 cumulative potential pullet placements represent a 2-percent increase when compared with the 59,843,000 hens in October 2013.
| U.S. Broiler-Type Hatchery Supply Flock Pullet Chicks Hatched/Cumulative Potential Placements | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pullet Chicks Hatched | Potential Placements, Cumulative 7-15 months earlier | |||||||||||
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |||||||
| –000– | -%- | –000– | -%- | –000– | -%- | –000– | -%- | -000- | -%- | -000- | -%- | |
| January | 6,673 | 102 | 6,303 | 94 | 6,470 | 103 | 64,111 | 102 | 60,874 | 95 | 60,546 | 99 |
| February | 7,025 | 96 | 7,156 | 102 | 7,239 | 101 | 63,679 | 101 | 60,656 | 95 | 60,850 | 100 |
| March | 6,753 | 96 | 6,589 | 98 | 6,790 | 103 | 63,323 | 100 | 61,094 | 96 | 61,214 | 100 |
| April | 6,524 | 93 | 6,222 | 95 | 63,209 | 99 | 61,342 | 97 | 61,457 | 100 | ||
| May | 7,472 | 97 | 6,565 | 101 | 62,941 | 98 | 60,934 | 97 | 61,385 | 101 | ||
| June | 6,800 | 94 | 7,011 | 103 | 62,557 | 97 | 60,676 | 97 | 61,444 | 101 | ||
| July | 6,071 | 94 | 6,569 | 108 | 61,937 | 96 | 60,591 | 98 | 61,524 | 102 | ||
| August | 7,338 | 101 | 7,131 | 97 | 61,566 | 96 | 60,370 | 98 | 61,772 | 102 | ||
| September | 6,686 | 100 | 6,911 | 103 | 60,870 | 96 | 60,054 | 99 | 61,496 | 102 | ||
| October | 6,265 | 99 | 6,231 | 99 | 60,412 | 95 | 59,843 | 99 | 61,225 | 102 | ||
| November | 6,767 | 98 | 7,215 | 107 | 60,492 | 95 | 59,994 | 99 | ||||
| December | 6,668 | 103 | 6,669 | 100 | 60,731 | 95 | 60,221 | 99 | ||||
| Annual Total | 81,042 | 98 | 81,572 | 101 | 62,144 | 97 | 60,554 | 97 | ||||
| Source: Chickens and Eggs NASS/USDA | ||||||||||||
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 April 1, 2014 was 53,210,000 hens, essentially unchanged from the 53,136,000 hens on April 1, 2013.
Note: Percentages for “pullet chicks hatched” and “potential placements, cumulative 7-15 months earlier” refer to comparisons with year earlier. Annual numbers for “potential placements, cumulative 7-15 months earlier” are annual averages, not totals for the year.
All generations of layers that would lay eggs to supply a hatchery are included: parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, pedigree, foundation, and similar are included in the data. 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.
