WASHINGTON – Commercial hatcheries set 198 million eggs in incubators during the week ending Feb. 2, 2013, a 3 percent increase from eggs set in the comparable year-ago period, according to the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Average hatchability was 84 percent, NASS reported.

Broiler-type chicks placed for meat production during the week ending Feb. 2 gained 1 percent to 162 million chicks. Cumulative placements from Dec. 30, 2012 through Feb. 2 were 814 million, up 1 percent from the same period in 2011.