Counting and recording

The dead birds are collected twice a day (morning and evening), counted, and written on the record sheet with the time and, if possible, what was seen: “under the brooder, in a heap”, “big bird on its back”, “thin, feathers ruffled”, “blood in the droppings”. You also record the culls: the weak or lame birds that you remove. Mortality and culls are added together: the total since day 1 is the figure you follow.

The percentage is calculated on the starting number: 15 dead out of 1,000 chicks = 1.5%. Every day, you also calculate the mortality for the day: that is the one that raises the alert.

The benchmarks

Period	Normal	Alert
First week	1 to 1.5% cumulative (journey, brooding, weak chicks)	More than 1% in a single day after day 1, or more than 2% cumulative at 7 days
Week 2 to sale (broilers)	0.1 to 0.2% per day	More than 0.5% per day two days in a row, or a sudden peak
Whole flock (white broiler)	3 to 5% in total	More than 7%
Layers in lay	Less than 1% per month	More than 2% per month, or a drop in laying at the same time

These benchmarks assume good management. They are not inevitable: some flocks finish at 2%. Nor are they a disgrace: what matters is to see the overshoot on the same day, not a week later.

Reading what you see

Dead birds in a heap, under the brooder or in a corner, at night: cold or a draught, or panic (noise, lights cut). Heat and calm.
Big birds found on their backs, in the afternoon, in the hot season: heat stress or sudden death of the heavy birds. Cool water, ventilation, feed during the cool hours, density.
Thin birds, feathers ruffled, no longer moving: chronic disease or poor access to water and feed; cull and call.
Blood in the droppings, birds huddled: probable coccidiosis (level 3); litter, call the veterinarian.
Nervous signs (twisted neck, paralysis), green diarrhoea, mortality climbing fast: emergency, isolation, immediate call (level 3).
Lameness, splayed legs: slippery litter, deficiency, or disease; cull.

If in doubt, a fresh dead bird (from the same day, kept cool, not frozen) is the best gift you can give the veterinarian: the post-mortem says more than any description.

Disposing of carcasses safely

A carcass left in the house, thrown at the edge of the field or into the river, feeds dogs, flies, rats and germs, and contaminates the next flock and the neighbours. Three correct solutions:

The pit, closed, away from the houses and water points, with a lid, into which carcasses are thrown and covered with lime.
Composting in a bin with litter (the carcasses decompose in a few weeks under the heat of the compost).
Incineration for large farms or in the event of serious disease.

Never carcasses at the market or in the feed of other animals. And always: wash your hands and disinfect your boots after handling.

For the entrepreneur

›The figure to ask for every day: “how many dead today, and how many in all”. Two days above 0.5% = you call the veterinarian yourself.
›Have the pit or the compost bin built before the chicks arrive: the day you have to dispose of ten carcasses, it is too late to start digging.
›A flock that finishes at 3% is not a failure; a flock whose mortality nobody knows is one.

For the technician

›Collection morning and evening, counting, note with what was seen; culls recorded too.
›Calculation of the cumulative figure and the daily figure; above the thresholds, report it the same day, not the next day.
›A fresh dead bird kept cool for the veterinarian; carcasses in the pit or compost; hands and boots disinfected.

The 3 questions to ask your technician this week

How many dead today and since the start, in number and as a percentage?
Where and in what state were the dead birds found (heap, on their backs, thin, blood)?
Where do the carcasses go, and is the pit covered?

Key points

•Collect twice a day, count, record with what you see; add dead birds and culls together.
•Normal: 1 to 1.5% in the first week, then 0.1 to 0.2% per day, 3 to 5% over a broiler flock.
•Alert: more than 1% in one day in the first week, more than 0.5% per day two days in a row, or a sudden peak.
•What you see points the way: in a heap = cold; on their backs in the afternoon = heat; blood = coccidiosis; nervous signs = emergency.
•Carcasses in a covered pit with lime, in compost or incinerated; never in the field or the river.

Mortality: count, record, understand, act