The USDA says January 2020 poultry production was 4.525 billion pounds, up 6% from January 2019. Chicken accounted for 3.997 billion pounds, with turkey at 514.941 million and duck at 13.018 million pounds.
The chicken slaughter was 4% higher at 828.726 million head, led by a 4% jump in the young chicken category, while the turkey kill was down 1% at 19.325 million and the duck slaughter was 3% higher at 2.528 million head.
The preliminary live weight was 6% higher, with a 6% jump for chicken, 1% rise in turkey, and 3% increase for ducks. Average live weights were mostly higher, including 2% gains for both chickens and turkeys. All chickens averaged 6.41 pounds, turkeys averaged 33.42 pounds, and ducks averaged 7.05 pounds.
Ante-mortem condemnations were 13.703 million pounds, representing 0.23% of the preliminary live weight, and post-mortem condemnations were 34.144 million pounds or 0.75% of monthly production.
The official 2019 poultry slaughter totals are out February 28th.
