The laying record sheet: one line per day

The laying record sheet is the flock’s dashboard. It is filled in the same day, never from memory, preferably by the same person. Every day, one line:

Column	What we record	Why
Date and age	The date and the age of the hens in weeks	To compare with the strain targets for that age
Hens present	Previous day’s number minus deaths and hens removed	All calculations are based on hens present
Deaths	The number of hens that died during the day	The first sign of a disease or heat stress
Eggs	The total collected, including dirty, cracked, broken, soft shells	For laying rate and egg quality
Feed	The kilos distributed	A hen that eats less will lay less
Water	The litres drunk (meter or reserve)	Water often moves first
Temperature	The temperature at the hottest point of the day	To read water and feed
Observations	Lighting or water failure, feed delivery, vaccine, visit	To trace the cause of a change

Once a week, add the average egg weight: weigh a sample of eggs (for example a full tray) and divide by the number of eggs. Keep the sheets for the whole flock: they let you compare flocks with each other.

The simple calculations

Laying rate (%) = eggs of the day ÷ hens present × 100 (lesson 5).
Feed per hen (g) = kilos distributed × 1,000 ÷ hens present. Benchmark in full production: 111 to 119 g per hen per day. Example: 115 kg for 1,000 hens is 115 g per hen.
Water per hen (ml) = litres drunk × 1,000 ÷ hens present. Benchmarks: 205 ml at 20 °C, 230 ml at 25 °C, 320 ml at 30 °C.
Water-to-feed ratio = litres of water ÷ kilos of feed. Benchmarks: 1.8 at 20 °C, 2.1 at 25 °C, 3.1 at 30 °C.
Weekly mortality (%) = deaths in the week ÷ hens present at the start of the week × 100. Also add up the deaths since the start of the flock.
Average egg weight: compare with the table in lesson 7 (for example 62.9 g at 40 weeks, 63.9 g at 50 weeks).

Source: Novogen (Novogen Brown management guide, 2024).

For mortality, the most useful thing is to compare your flock with itself: mortality that rises clearly from one week to the next is a warning sign, even if the figure looks small.

Reading the figures together

The golden rule: water and feed often move before laying does. A hen that is unwell often drinks and eats less before she lays less. Reading water and feed every day gives you time to find the cause.

What the sheet shows	What it may signal	First check
Water going down with no drop in temperature	Water not getting through, or hens unwell	Drinkers, nipples, reserve, hot water; veterinarian if nothing is found
Water rising sharply with no heat	Leak, waste, or sick hens	Leaks and drinkers first; veterinarian if nothing is found
Feed left in the feeders	Heat, feed refused, disease	Temperature, new batch of feed, condition of the hens
Deaths going up	Disease, heat stress, feather pecking	Examine the dead birds, call the area’s veterinarian
Egg weight below the table	Hens eating or receiving too little	Amount of feed, heat, feeder space
Soft or cracked shells going up	Feed, water, heat or disease	Layer feed, cool water, heat; veterinarian

Four practical cases

Case 1: water drops, laying still holds

2,000 hens aged 40 weeks, 25 °C. Monday: 460 litres of water (230 ml per hen) and 230 kg of feed (115 g per hen). Wednesday, same temperature: 380 litres of water, i.e. 190 ml per hen instead of about 230 ml. Laying has not moved yet. It is a warning sign: the technician checks the drinkers and finds a row of blocked nipples. Repaired the same day, before laying drops.

Case 2: feed is left over, water goes up

1,000 hens aged 30 weeks, a 30 °C day. 115 kg was distributed, but the next day feed is left over: the hens ate about 105 kg, i.e. 105 g per hen, below the 111 to 119 g benchmark. They drank 320 litres: the water-to-feed ratio is about 3, the ratio of very hot weather. The hens are panting. Diagnosis: heat. Response: part of the feed in the cool hours, cool water, moving air (lesson 6), and close watch on laying and egg weight.

Case 3: a small figure rising fast

3,000 hens. Deaths per week: 3, then 4, then 15. Calculation: 15 ÷ 3,000 × 100 = 0.5%. The figure looks small, but it has more than tripled in one week. Examine the dead birds, write down what you see and call the area’s veterinarian without waiting.

Case 4: eggs too small

1,500 hens aged 50 weeks. The average egg weighs 59 g, whereas the table gives 63.9 g at that age. The sheet shows 150 kg of feed a day, i.e. 100 g per hen, below the 111 to 119 g benchmark. Before changing anything, find out why the hens are receiving or eating less: amount distributed, heat, feeder space.

For the entrepreneur

›Require a laying record sheet filled in every day, and read it every week with the technician.
›Look at water and feed per hen first: they often signal problems before laying does.
›Keep the sheets for the whole flock: they let you compare flocks and decide on depopulation.

For the technician

›Fill in the sheet the same day: hens present, deaths, sorted eggs, feed, water, temperature, observations.
›Calculate laying rate, feed and water per hen every day; mortality and average egg weight every week.
›At the first abnormal figure, check water, feed and heat; call the veterinarian if nothing explains it.

The 3 questions to ask your technician this week

How many millilitres of water and grams of feed per hen yesterday, and at what temperature?
How many deaths this week, compared with previous weeks?
What is the average egg weight this week, compared with the target for this age?

Key points

•One line per day: hens present, deaths, sorted eggs, feed, water, temperature, observations.
•Feed: 111 to 119 g per hen per day in full production.
•Water: 205 ml at 20 °C, 230 ml at 25 °C, 320 ml at 30 °C; water-to-feed ratio 1.8, 2.1 and 3.1.
•Water and feed often move before laying does: read them every day.
•Mortality: compare the flock with itself; a clear rise, even a small one, is reported to the veterinarian.

Reading your laying record sheet: spotting a problem early