WASHINGTON – Commercial hatcheries set 188 million eggs in incubators during the week ending Oct. 19, 2013, an increase of 6 percent over the corresponding a week a year ago, the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service reported. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84 percent.

Broiler-type chicks placed for meat production gained 5 percent to total 162 million chicks during the week ending Oct. 19. Cumulative placements from Dec. 30, 2012 through Oct. 19, 2013 were 6.91 billion, up 1 percent from the comparable year-ago period.