WASHINGTON - Broiler-type eggs set declined slightly during July, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of US Department of Agriculture.

Commercial hatcheries set 196 million eggs in incubators during the week ending July 14. This was down slightly from the eggs set during the comparable period in 2011. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 85 percent.

NASS said broiler-type chicks placed were down 1 percent. Broiler growers placed 163 million chicks for meat production during the week ending July 14. Placements declined 1 percent from the comparable period in 2011. Cumulative placements from Jan. 1 through July 14 were 4.60 billion, down 3 percent from the same period in 2011.