Broiler-type chicks hatched during March 2018 totaled 828 million, up 1 percent from March 2017. Eggs in incubators totaled 683 million on April 1, 2018, up 2 percent from a year ago. Leading breeders placed 8.11 million broiler-type pullet chicks for future domestic hatchery supply flocks during March 2018, down 2 percent from March 2017.
United States egg production totaled 9.10 billion during March 2018, up 1 percent from last year. Production included 7.93 billion table eggs, and 1.17 billion hatching eggs, of which 1.08 billion were broiler-type and 83.0 million were egg-type. The average number of layers during March 2018 totaled 386 million, up 3 percent from last year. March egg production per 100 layers was 2,355 eggs, down 2 percent from March 2017, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Chicken and Eggs report.
All layers in the United States on April 1, 2018 totaled 387 million, up 3 percent from last year. The 387 million layers consisted of 324 million layers producing table or market type eggs, 59.0 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs, and 3.52 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs. Rate of lay per day on April 1, 2018, averaged 75.9 eggs per 100 layers, down 2 percent from April 1, 2017.
Egg-type chicks hatched during March 2018 totaled 58.1 million, up 4 percent from March 2017. Eggs in incubators totaled 56.2 million on April 1, 2018, up 8 percent from a year ago.
Domestic placements of egg-type pullet chicks for future hatchery supply flocks by leading breeders totaled 181 thousand during March 2018, down 4 percent from March 2017.
Total frozen poultry supplies on March 31, 2018 were up 1 percent from the previous month and up 12 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were down 3 percent from the previous month but up 14 percent from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 8 percent from last month and up 8 percent from March 31, 2017, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Cold Storage report.
