WASHINGTON – Commercial hatcheries set 199 million eggs in incubators during the week ending April 20, 2013, a slight decline from the eggs set the comparable week a year ago, the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service reported. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84 percent.

Broiler growers placed 164 million chicks for meat production during the week ending April 20, down 1 percent from the comparable week a year ago. Cumulative placements from Dec. 30, 2012 through April 20, 2013 were 2.62 billion, up slightly from the same period a year ago.