Turkey producers to hatch historically low number of eggs, incubator inventories show

Inventories of turkey eggs in incubators—an indicator of the number of market birds that will be marketable in about five months—fell to their lowest level since 1988 on June 1, 2024, with 22.8 million eggs. Placements of newly hatched birds (called “poults”) in facilities to be raised to slaughter weight were down in June by 18 percent year-over-year, with February 2024 the only month since 2005 with lower placements. Turkey eggs incubated in June and then placed in July typically grow out in time to be slaughtered as fresh Thanksgiving birds in November. Declining June egg inventories and July placements suggest that the availability of fresh turkeys at Thanksgiving will be lower this year. While July and August poult placements were higher than June, they were down 9 to 10 percent year-over-year. However, supplies of frozen turkeys at Thanksgiving may not be an issue. Inventories of whole frozen hen turkeys (8–16 pounds) were up 16 percent year-over-year as of June 30, 2024. The turkey industry has suffered losses because of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, but the recent losses in breeding flocks occurred after falling inventories of eggs in incubators were reported, suggesting that reducing egg incubation and poult placements were not the direct result of the avian flu, but may have been production decisions. This chart first appeared in the USDA, Economic Research Service June 2024 Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook and has been updated with recent data.