The USDA’s January 2025 Poultry Slaughter report revealed that poultry certified as wholesome in December 2024 totaled 4.31 billion pounds, reflecting a six percent increase from December 2023.
In December 2024, the preliminary total live weight of all federally inspected poultry reached 5.68 billion pounds, representing a six percent increase from 5.36 billion pounds in December 2023. The live weight of young chickens inspected was 5.13 billion pounds, which is a seven percent rise from the prior year. In contrast, mature chickens totaled 59.9 million pounds, showing a slight decrease from the prior year.
In December 2024, young chickens slaughtered averaged 6.61 pounds per bird, a slight increase from December 2023. The average live weight of mature chickens was 7.08 pounds per bird, a four percent increase from the previous year.
Ante-mortem condemnations in December 2024 amounted to 12.1 million pounds, accounting for 0.21 percent of the live weight inspected, a slight improvement compared to 0.22 percent a year earlier. Additionally, post-mortem condemnations totaled 25.6 million pounds, comprising 0.59 percent of the quantities inspected, which remained unchanged from the previous year.
USDA’s full report can be found here.
