Poultry KPIs — HDP, FCR, Mortality Rate, and What They Mean for Your Profit

Three numbers control your poultry farm's profitability. Hen Day Production tells you how much your flock produces. Feed Conversion Ratio tells you how efficiently it produces. Mortality rate tells you how many birds you are losing along the way.

Together, these three KPIs explain nearly everything about your farm's financial performance. Here is how they connect.

How the three KPIs interact

Think of your farm as a machine. Feed goes in one end. Eggs (or meat) come out the other. Birds are the machine.

HDP measures output — how many eggs the machine produces
FCR measures efficiency — how much fuel (feed) the machine burns per unit of output
Mortality measures machine breakdown — how many production units you lose

A farm with 90% HDP, 2.0 FCR, and 2% mortality is a well-tuned machine. Change any one number and the economics shift dramatically.

Example for 500 layers over one month:

Scenario	HDP	FCR	Mortality	Eggs/Month	Feed Cost/Month	Feed Cost/Egg
Excellent	92%	2.0	0.2%	13,800	KES 91,080	KES 6.60
Good	85%	2.2	0.5%	12,675	KES 92,268	KES 7.28
Average	78%	2.5	1.0%	11,505	KES 95,166	KES 8.27
Poor	70%	2.8	2.0%	10,185	KES 94,371	KES 9.27

The difference between excellent and poor is KES 2.67 per egg in feed cost alone. On 10,000+ eggs per month, that is KES 26,700 — every month.

HDP deep dive

Measurement: Count eggs and divide by live birds, every single day. The 7-day average is your operational number. The 30-day average is your management number.

What drives HDP up:

Correct lighting (16 hours)
Adequate water (250-300 ml per hen per day)
Balanced feed (16%+ protein, adequate calcium and energy)
Low stress (proper stocking density, good ventilation, minimal disturbance)
Health (fully vaccinated, parasite-free)

What drives HDP down:

Any restriction of water, feed, or light
Disease (subclinical or clinical)
Heat stress (above 30°C)
Age (natural decline after peak)
Poor feed quality (low protein, mycotoxins)

The rule of thumb: If HDP drops more than 5% in one week and does not recover the next week, something systemic has changed. Do not wait — investigate now.

FCR deep dive

Measurement: Weigh feed going into the house daily. Weigh eggs (or count and multiply by average egg weight). Divide feed by eggs weekly.

What improves FCR (lower number = better):

Reduce feed waste (proper feeder design, correct fill level)
Improve feed quality (higher protein and energy density)
Cull non-laying hens (they eat but do not produce)
Control temperature (less energy wasted on thermoregulation)
Ensure water access (dehydration impairs digestion)

What worsens FCR:

Feed spillage (open troughs, overfilling)
Non-producing birds in the flock
Poor feed quality
Disease
Temperature extremes

Important: FCR naturally rises as the flock ages. A flock at week 30 will have a better FCR than the same flock at week 60. Compare to the breed standard curve for the flock's age, not to an absolute number.

Mortality deep dive

Measurement: Count dead birds daily. Record the number. Calculate cumulative mortality weekly: (total deaths since placement ÷ initial bird count) × 100.

Normal mortality by phase (layers):

Rearing (0-16 weeks): 2-3% cumulative (mostly first two weeks)
Early lay (17-30 weeks): 0.5-1% additional
Peak through end (30-72 weeks): 3-5% additional
Total cycle: 5-8% cumulative

Warning levels:

Daily mortality above 0.1% (1 per 1,000 birds): Investigate
Daily mortality above 0.5% (5 per 1,000 birds): Emergency — call vet immediately
Weekly mortality above 0.5%: Chronic problem, even if daily numbers look small

What to record beyond the count: Note the condition of dead birds. Are they emaciated (chronic disease), well-fleshed (sudden death — possibly toxin or heart failure), or showing specific lesions (disease diagnosis)?

Using all three together

The power is in the combination:

HDP dropping + FCR rising + mortality stable: Feed or water problem. Check supply, quality, and access.

HDP dropping + FCR stable + mortality rising: Disease. The birds that die are no longer in the denominator, masking the efficiency drop. Call a vet.

HDP stable + FCR rising + mortality stable: Feed waste. Production is maintained but at higher feed cost. Check feeders, rats, wild birds.

All three worsening: Multiple problems compounding. Often starts with one issue (disease) that triggers the others (reduced eating, deaths, production drop). Address the root cause first.

The weekly poultry KPI check

Every week, answer three questions:

What is my 7-day HDP? Is it on track for the flock's age?
What was my FCR this week? Is it improving, stable, or worsening?
How many birds did I lose? Is the rate accelerating?

Three questions. Three numbers. That is your entire poultry management review.

Calculate all three automatically at shira.farm.