Work out chick mortality rate instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Mortality counts birds that died; depletion adds culls, and it is depletion that determines how many birds reach the market. Expressing it per day highlights whether losses are a single early event, such as a brooding failure, or a steady drift that suggests disease or management problems.
Mortality and depletion
Mortality % = deaths x 100 / placed; depletion % = (deaths + culls) x 100 / placed
Under 4-5% total depletion over a 42-day broiler cycle, with first-week mortality below 1%. High first-week loss usually points to chick quality, brooding temperature or water access.
Culls reflect leg problems, ascites and runting rather than acute disease. A rising cull rate with flat mortality points to nutrition, stocking density or genetics.