WASHINGTON – Commercial hatcheries placed 200 million eggs in incubators for the week ending Nov. 23, up 2 percent from eggs set in the comparable year-ago period, the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported. Average hatchability for chicks hatched during the week was 84 percent.

Chicks placed for meat production during the week ending Nov. 23 increased 2 percent to 155 million, NASS said. Cumulative placements from Dec. 30, 2012, through Nov. 23 climbed 1 percent to 7.69 billion.