How Trend Warnings became a game-changer
for a broiler farm in New Zealand
Running eight broiler houses is a demanding task - even for an experienced farm manager. With thousands of birds, farm workers, multiple daily routines, and production stages happening at once, even small deviations can escalate into bigger challenges if not detected early.
That reality changed when the broiler farm adopted FarmOnline+ with the Trend Warnings application, now a standard feature in the FarmOnline+ broiler package.
What followed was a series of crucial real-time warnings that reshaped daily routines, improved bird welfare, and reduced the economic impact of equipment malfunctions.
Turning real-time data into immediate action
The first breakthrough came when Trend Warnings highlighted repeated drops in feed intake after catching events. Nothing seemed visibly wrong, yet the data told a different story.
“When catching is finished, we now keep lights and feed on for 45–60 minutes - and it has helped get consumption back up in most houses.”
A small procedural change. A big impact.
Where the farm previously struggled with post‑catch dips, consumption now stabilizes quickly across houses.
Fixing a hidden water issue - and improving litter quality
Another pattern began to appear: an unusually high water intake. Trend Warnings repeatedly activated the warning about the issue, prompting the team to investigate.
The cause was not obvious at first, until they discovered that the existing water regulator simply could not reduce the flow enough. After replacing it, the effect was immediate and impactful.
“The litter stayed dry and friable, and we have not seen any pad burn this batch.”
Dry litter, better welfare, and fewer warnings. An obvious success driven entirely by early detection.
Optimizing litter rotation timing for better feed intake
Later in the flock cycle, Trend Warnings showed sudden drops in feed intake linked to litter rotary‑hoeing. The pattern had obviously never been visible before.
“If we rotary‑hoe the litter, we now do it earlier - it has far less negative effect on feed intake.”
What used to be guesswork based on intuition has become a data-driven management decision.
A small timing adjustment now preserves feed intake stability, reduces flock stress, and keeps performance on track. This is proof that even routine tasks can be optimized when the right data is available.
Catching a feeding failure that no one could have spotted in time
The most impactful moment came when Trend Warnings indicated a steep drop in feed intake during the last feeding of the day. Everything looked normal from the outside. Controllers showed no errors. The house looked fine at first glance. But the birds were not being fed.
A cross‑auger had stalled, leaving the pans nearly empty, and the issue would have continued unnoticed for days.
“Without Trend Warnings, we would not have picked this up. With eight houses, we cannot be in every house at 6 a.m. It warned us immediately - and we fixed the issue before it became serious.”
Quick action prevented major welfare issues and production losses.
Why Trend Warnings come standard in FarmOnline+ for broilers
This farm’s experience reflects what we see across operations globally:
Deviations are caught earlier
Problems are solved faster
Feed and water systems run more consistently
Litter quality improves
Welfare challenges are spotted before they escalate
Trend Warnings transforms raw data into action, giving farmers a clear, real‑time picture of what is happening inside the house, minute by minute. For this farm, it has become an essential part of daily management.
A smarter way to grow birds
From stabilizing feed behavior to uncovering hidden technical problems, Trend Warnings has reshaped how the farm operates.
It delivers something every broiler producer needs:
Clarity. Confidence. Control.
And that is why Trend Warnings is now a standard feature in every FarmOnline+ broiler setup - helping producers turn data into better decisions, animal welfare, and optimized performance.