Hens in laying flocks throughout the United...

Hens in laying flocks throughout the United States produced 69.5 billion eggs during the year ending last Nov. 30, the same output as the preceding year but with fewer hens, the government said. Layer numbers last year averaged 277 million, down 1% from the 1987 figure of 280.5 million, according to the Agriculture Department’s 1988 layers and egg production summary. Production per hen during 1987 averaged 248, compared to 251 in 1988. The Dec. 1 inventory of all chickens, excluding broilers, counted 355 million, down 6% from one year earlier.