NW_PY017 Washington, DC Wed. Dec 31, 2008 USDA Market News MISC. POULTRY: Weekly Poultry Slaughtered Under Federal Inspection (Thur) (Preliminary) (Released 1:00 PM Eastern Time) Week ending 27-Dec-2008 Young Light Heavy Total Chickens Hens Hens Hens Ducks ---------------------Thousands----------------------------- Head 108,455 991 755 1,746 325 Avg Wt 5.53 3.25 7.82 5.23 6.81 Head sltr comparisons Last week 153,795 1,380 1,411 2,791 435 Same wk yr ago 123,442 767 973 1,740 360 Avg Wt 5.52 3.14 8.02 5.87 6.60 To-date/2008 8,396,968 70,204 83,231 153,435 22,704 To-date/2007 8,402,576 57,751 75,786 133,537 25,602 Ready-to-Cook Weight and Dressing Percentage Current week 446,818 1,659 3,926 5,585 1,594 Last week 627,883 2,274 7,234 9,508 2,083 Same wk yr ago 507,643 1,240 5,189 6,429 1,711 --------------------------------------------------------- Dressing % 74.5% 51.5% 66.5% 72.0% Live turkeys slaughtered week ending 27-Dec-2008 Young Young Young Old Total Hens Toms Breeders Breeders Turkeys Head 1,277 1,817 4 2 3,100 Avg Wt 15.91 39.00 23.14 28.03 29.46 Head sltr comparisons Last week 2,280 2,694 20 15 5,009 Same wk yr ago 1,416 1,890 8 0 3,314 Avg Wt 15.82 40.07 26.47 0.00 29.68 To-date/2008 105,103 142,237 1,445 483 249,268 To-date/2007 103,465 137,385 1,252 286 242,388 Ready-to-Cook Weight and Dressing Percentage Current week 16,254 56,690 70 43 73,057 Last week 30,151 88,126 437 343 119,057 Same wk yr ago 17,921 60,586 161 0 78,668 --------------------------------------------------------- Dressing % 80.0% 80.0% 76.0% 76.0% (A) The estimated number of fryers available for marketing based on the 2-week revised average chick placements 6 to 7 weeks earlier was 146.6 million head. Estimated U.S. slaughter for this period was 109.8 million head, or 36.8 million less than estimated available. (B) Dressing % adjustments reflect quarterly update. SOURCE: USDA AMS Poultry Programs, Market News & Analysis Branch Washington, DC 202.720.6911 http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/NW_PY017.txt Prepared: 31-Dec-08 11:34 AM E AH