How to analyse several poultry flock cycles: mortality, uniformity, weight, feed, water, FCR, energy and costs

Which records do you need?

Most established farms already hold what is needed; the work is putting it in one table. Use one row per flock and house.

Data	Typical source	If it is missing
Birds placed, dead, culled, removed	Daily house sheet, processor or packer slip	Use processor counts; mark mortality as "estimated"
Sample weights and uniformity (CV% or % within ±10%)	Weekly weighing	Use final average weight only; do not invent uniformity
Feed delivered and bin balance	Mill invoices, bin records	Use deliveries; note that leftover feed is unknown
Water use	House water meter	Leave blank and install a meter before the next flock
Electricity, gas, other fuel	Utility bills, tank fills	Allocate site bills by house floor area and label it
Costs: chicks, feed, labour, repairs, vet-directed health costs	Accounts	Use totals per flock; split later
Events: breakdowns, power cuts, heat waves, feed changes	Logbook, maintenance tickets	Interview staff and record "approximate date"

How do you calculate a comparable baseline?

• Mortality % = (dead + culled) ÷ birds placed × 100. Split it by week: first week, mid-flock, last week.
• FCR = feed used (kg) ÷ live weight produced (kg). For layers use kg feed ÷ kg egg mass.
• Water-to-feed ratio = litres of water ÷ kg of feed, daily.
• Energy per kg = kWh (or fuel in kWh-equivalent) ÷ kg live weight produced.
• Cost per kg = total flock costs ÷ kg produced; also show feed cost per kg separately.

Keep definitions fixed. If one flock counts culls as mortality and another does not, the comparison is meaningless.

Worked example (hypothetical)

The numbers below are invented to show the method, not benchmarks. Assumptions: same house, same genetic line, similar slaughter age.

Flock	Mortality %	FCR	Water L / kg feed	kWh / kg	Note
A (winter)	4.0	1.62	1.8	0.30	Normal
B (summer)	6.5	1.74	2.3	0.22	Two hot spells
C (summer)	6.1	1.71	2.2	0.23	Fan fault day 30

Reading: the summer flocks repeat the same pattern, so the next question is cooling and air speed at bird level, not a single bad flock. Confirm with temperature logs before drawing conclusions.

How do you tell a process, equipment or management problem apart?

• Equipment / capacity: the problem repeats in the same house or season and lines up with measured limits (air speed, water flow, feeder space, heating output).
• Process: it starts after a change in routine, feed batch, chick source or downtime length.
• Management / staffing: results vary by shift or by house manager with the same equipment.
• Health: sudden mortality, abnormal signs or rising mortality should go to your flock veterinarian first; do not diagnose from spreadsheets.

Multi-cycle analysis checklist

1. Choose 3–6 recent flocks per house with the same definitions.
2. Fill one row per flock; mark every estimated value.
3. Calculate the KPIs above and the spread between flocks.
4. Plot mortality and weight by week of age.
5. Mark events on the same timeline.
6. List the KPI that moves first and the house/season where it repeats.
7. Write the suspected constraint and the measurement that would confirm it.
8. Agree the baseline with your adviser before talking to suppliers.

What do you do when data is missing?

Do not fill gaps with guesses. Label the field "missing", explain what decision it blocks, and start recording it now: a water meter per house, a weekly sample-weighing routine and a simple event log usually close the biggest gaps within one or two flocks.