The calculation

Feed conversion ratio (FCR) = kilos of feed consumed ÷ kilos of live weight produced.

Example: 1,000 chicks received, 960 sold at 2.0 kg = 1,920 kg live weight; feed distributed over the flock: 64 bags of 50 kg = 3,200 kg. FCR = 3,200 ÷ 1,920 = 1.67. It took 1.67 kg of feed to make 1 kg of chicken. The lower the ratio, the better.

Two clarifications. The feed counted is everything that left the feed store for this poultry house, including what the dead birds ate and what was wasted: this is the real FCR, the one that costs you. And the weight is the weight sold, weighed at the point of sale, not that of a sample.

The benchmarks

Production	Good	Average	To be corrected
White broiler sold at 35 to 42 days, open-sided house	1.6 to 1.8	1.8 to 2.0	Above 2.0
White broiler kept beyond 6 weeks	—	2.0 to 2.3	Every extra week makes it worse
Coloured chickens sold at 12 to 14 weeks	2.6 to 3.0	3.0 to 3.5	Above 3.5
Layer (kg of feed per kg of eggs)	2.0 to 2.3	2.3 to 2.6	Above 2.6

These benchmarks take the climate and open-sided houses into account. The breeders' tables promise better (1.5 to 1.6) under perfect conditions: do not compare yourself with them, compare yourself with your previous flock.

What makes the ratio worse

Waste: feeders too full or too low, spilt feed, rats. Often 5 to 10% of the feed, that is 0.1 to 0.2 of a point of FCR.
Heat: the bird eats less and spends energy cooling itself down.
Disease and poor brooding: a flock that lags behind eats without growing.
Water that is insufficient or warm: without water, no digestion.
Age at sale: beyond 6 weeks, every kilo costs more; hence the importance of selling on time.
The feed itself: wrong phase, variable quality, mouldy bags, abrupt transition.
Late mortality: a bird that dies at 5 weeks has eaten 2.5 kg for nothing.

Five levers

Feeders one-third full, raised every week; one feeder for 40 to 50 chickens.
Fresh, sufficient water (level 2): FCR starts at the drinker.
Sell at the right age, using the weight curve (level 2): not “one more week”.
Successful brooding and good health: the lessons of levels 2 and 3 are the best levers for FCR.
Count the bags and calculate the FCR for every flock, write down the result, and look for a tenth of a point better in the next flock. A tenth of a point on 1,000 chickens of 2 kg is 200 kg of feed saved.

For the entrepreneur

›Demand the real FCR at the end of every flock: total feed out of the store ÷ kilos sold. It is the first figure on your dashboard.
›Compare flock after flock; an FCR that gets worse points to a problem even before the margin shows it.
›A tenth of a point of FCR on a flock of 1,000 chickens is worth four bags of feed: chase waste before chasing discounts.

For the technician

›Every bag that leaves the store is written on the record sheet; the weight sold is weighed and noted.
›Feeders one-third full, raised, in sufficient number; spilt feed picked up; rats fought.
›FCR calculated at the end of the flock and compared with the previous one, together with the entrepreneur.

The 3 questions to ask your technician this week

What was the real FCR of the last flock, and how many bags were taken out in total?
Where do you see feed being wasted in the house today?
At what age and what weight do we sell, and does the FCR get worse in the last week?

Key points

•FCR = kg of feed consumed ÷ kg of live weight produced; all the feed out of the store, all the weight sold.
•Open-sided house benchmarks: white broiler 1.6 to 1.8 (good), coloured chickens 2.6 to 3.0, layer 2.0 to 2.3 kg per kg of eggs.
•What makes it worse: waste, heat, disease, water, late sale, unsuitable feed, late mortality.
•Levers: feeders one-third full and raised, water, sale at the right age, brooding and health, calculation for every flock.
•A tenth of a point on 1,000 chickens of 2 kg = 200 kg of feed.

The feed conversion ratio: the figure that tells you whether feed is turning into meat