How to build pen for automatic battery cage
Time : 2021-07-14

Basic information

The economical growing of chickens starts from the correct and adequate design of the building, appropriate breed and the environment of the location. The designs of the poultry house for hens or broilers in some countries are not always based on engineering and scientific foundation, but on some incorrect information, and practices or lack of accurate information. For these reasons and others there is a high mortality rate

In absence of scientific and engineering aspects and rules in poultry housing design that led to different sizes and many non-standard types of sheds. In many situations, it is not adequate for large production, or using standard mechanization (feeding, drinking systems) for poultry production. Selecting the correct dimensions for the poultry house helps in use of standard mechanization and adequate design of the ventilation system. Not using scientific rules in poultry building design could create production problems, high production cost, lower returns, and wastage of different types of energy

How to build pen for automatic battery cage


Precaution

1. Space 

2. Ventilation

3. Light

4. Protection (from weather and predators)

Semi intensive poultry housing

The semi intensive poultry housing system is a system that is common among small scale poultry farmers. This system of poultry rearing is partly free range and partly intensive type. In this system, there is a poultry house followed by a run

Advantages of the semi-intensive poultry housing system

1. It is a more economical use of land in comparison to the free range system

2. To an extent, you can apply scientific management operations in this system

Cage or battery system housing

It is the latest system of poultry rearing. Floor space requirement for birds is the least in this system. Floor space requirements; generally, the breadth and height of the cage are 1 foot and 1% foot respectively; and the length depends on the number of birds to be kept in the cage. However, it is better not to keep more than 10-12 birds per cage

Structure of cages

The birds are confined in a cage just large enough to permit limited movement and allow them to stand and sit comfortably. The cage is made up of strong galvanized wire and a tray is fixed underneath the floor for the collection of droppings. The feeder and waterer remain outside the cage

Positive Points of the cage method of poultry housing

1. It is difficult for the birds to pick up pathogens that will cause them infections

2. In this method, there is no wastage of space and food

3. It is also difficult for disease to spread in the cage system of poultry farming

4. You can easily identify chicks that are victims of cannibalism and remove them Cannibalism is a situation in poultry farming in which a bird pecks at another bird

5. In the same way, you can also identify birds suffering from infectious diseases and isolate them for treatment

6. The system requires less labour

7. There is less cracking of eggs in this system as the birds cannot perk on the eggs

8. It is easy to collect eggs in this method

9. Also, the mortality rate is less in this system

Classifications of poultry house design

There are three types of poultry house design

1. Open side poultry house

2. Front and back side

3. Controlled environment house

Applications functions

Open sided poultry house; Most of the poultry houses in the world are conventional or open sided that is, they rely on the free flow of air through the house for ventilation. Certain requirements must be met if such a ventilated house is to provide an adequate environment. Care in following these rules during the course of construction will avoid pitfalls later. Width of house. The width of the open-sided poultry house should be about 30 ft (9.8 m) and no more than 40 ft (12.2 m) wide. Houses that are wider will not provide ample ventilation during hot weather. Wide houses also require additional interior supports that may interfere with equipment or manure removal. This width recommendation is basic for growing birds, broilers, and laying hens. An open-sided high-rise cage house with side curtains. Height of house. Most open-sided houses have a stud that is 8 ft (2.4 m) long

The stud represents the distance from the foundation to the roofline. In areas where the temperature is exceptionally high throughout the year, the stud length should be increased to 10 ft (3 m). High rise houses, with manure storage areas below the cages or slats, should be as high as 14 ft (4.3 m) or more at the eaves. Length of house. Poultry houses may be almost any convenient length. The terrain on which they are to be built often determines the length; rolling land means more grading before construction can start. Because automatic feeding equipment will limit the length of the poultry house, the equipment manufacturer should be consulted about the optimum length of the feeding system. Many times the feed hopper is placed in the center of long houses to provide better use of automatic feeders

Characteristics

Shape of roof: Practically all poultry houses built today have a gable roof, the pitch varying from one-quarter to one-third. A good overhang should be provided to protect the inside from driving rains and to afford interior shade

Roof exhausts. Houses should be equipped with a covered exhaust area at the peak of the roof to allow excess heat to escape. Various systems are available to close the exhaust during the colder months in order to conserve heat

Insulation. Even with the conventional poultry house, it is well to provide some type of insulation. The roof may be insulated, using special products for this purpose, or an attic, or partial attic, may be installed. Attics should be ventilated with suction cupolas, or by vents

Raw materials

Building materials and construction. Open sided and environmentally controlled houses use a variety of building materials. The choice is dependent on the structural strength required, insulates characteristics of the material, material availability, and material cost. Galvanized steel or aluminum are most commonly used for roofing and siding. Framing is usually done with wood or steel and some houses constructed recently have used the tilt up concrete wall method of construction. Cages and other equipment can be supported either from the roof trusses or from the ground. However, most of the newer multiple-deck cage units are supported from the ground because of their weight. Foundation. A solid and adequate foundation should support the building

Accessories

Concrete, concrete blocks, bricks, or other permanent and termite proof material should be used. Evenness of the foundation is important, for it will determine the evenness of the completed structure. Floor, with certain disease control programs, a concrete or similar floor is mandatory. It is also necessary when the soil is very dense and can absorb and transfer moisture from lower subsoil, but in certain areas, where the soil is sandy, and where commercial broilers or commercial layers or breeders are kept, a concrete slab is not used when birds are placed on the floor. Cage houses usually have concrete walks to facilitate the movement of hand egg collection carts and mobile feed carts. The area beneath the cages may or may not be paved depending on the manure removal program and method

Doors. Doors at the end of the house should be large enough for a truck, tractor, or manure-handling equipment to pass through. Such equipment will be used when the house is cleaned. Orientation. Houses must be oriented in a direction to take advantage of prevailing airflow patterns. Orientation must also be considered relative to solar heat transfer into the building from exposed roofs or sidewalls. Pullet-rearing areas should always be located upwind from adult birds


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8. Chicken manure cleaning and drying equipment to control the water content in chicken manure between 10% and 40%

9. Other poultry farm equipment are coming soon...

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Application Function

1. Open front and back sides

With this type of house most of the side areas are open. The height of the opening will be determined by climatic conditions, and by the type of bird being housed, as follows

1. Broilers and young chicks. From one half to two thirds of each side is left open, the exact amount being determined by summer and winter temperatures. When both heat and cold are to be dealt with, the size of the opening should be medium. Where heat is continuous, the opening should be larger; sometimes almost all of the side is left open

2. Growing birds and layers. The opening size is greater for older birds. They should be provided with more air because bird density is greater and more ventilation is necessary Cage houses. Houses equipped with cages necessitate the greatest amount of air movement. The bird density is the greatest of any type of flock. Sides’ should be almost completely open. Curtains during cold weather. Young chicks and older birds should be given some protection during periods of cold weather and extreme winds. Curtains made of some durable and plastic like material usually provide this protection. They are installed down the length of the building and hung so that the entire curtain may be rolled up or down by cables and a winch located at one end of the building or by thermostatically controlled automatic winches. This construction makes it easy to regulate the size of the opening according to weather conditions an almost indispensable provision

2. Controlled environment house

A controlled environment house is one in which inside conditions are maintained as near as possible to the bird's optimum requirements. Doing so usually necessitates a completely enclosed insulated house with no windows. Air is removed from the house by exhaust fans and fresh air is brought in through intake openings. Artificial, rather than natural daylight, is used to illuminate the interior. Where high outside temperatures are involved, some method of controlling the temperature inside of the house is provided. The houses are not heated except for brooders. The heat from the birds is used to keep inside temperature within the range required for maximum feed efficiencies. Much of the structural makeup of the environmentally controlled poultry house is similar to that of the house with open sides. It should have a good foundation and a gable roof. Insulation is a must; both the sides and the top should be given protection. The overhang of the roof need not be as great because the sides are completely covered. But ventilating a completely enclosed house is difficult. Details must be worked out so that air movement is adequate and evenly distributed during both hot and cold weather, a complicated procedure


Features

1. Heat loss

Heat loss refers to the movement of heat from a warm area or surface to a cold area or surface. Heat can be lost or gained from poultry structures by passing through building materials and by infiltration. Insulation itself does not completely stop the passage of heat; it merely reduces the rate of heat movement. Heat is transmitted in one of the following ways or by a combination of them: conduction, convection, and radiation. Heat loss from a building can be reduced through proper use of insulation. To better understand the value of insulation, it is important to understand how heat is transferred between a poultry structure and the outside environment. Conduction heat movement occurs whenever there is direct contact between hot and cold areas. For example, if one surface of a material inside a poultry facility is heated, the heat will pass through the material to the colder surface; this is called conduction. Convection occurs when air at some temperature moves across a surface having a different temperature, thus transferring heat to or from that surface. Convection depends on some medium, usually air or water, for the conveyance of heat. Ventilation air and infiltration are normal modes of convection heat transfer. Radiation heat loss occurs when there are two separate bodies or surfaces at different temperatures. The warmer body or surface will radiate heat to the colder body or surface without heating the air between them. The heat from the sun warming the earth is an example of radiated heat. Poultry can lose heat by radiation to a colder surface such as a wall or ceiling, or similarly gain radiant heat from a hot uninsulated roof

2. Insulation

What is Insulation; the term insulation refers to materials which have a high degree of resistance to the flow of heat and are used principally for this purpose. Most insulations are fibrous or granular materials that contain many tiny air pockets or cells. Generally, the more air pockets in a material, the better it insulates. Some building materials, such as wood, have some insulating properties, while others, like concrete, are poor insulators. Wood has approximately ten times the insulating value of the same thickness of concrete. Another kind of insulation, reflective, consists of paper coated with metal (usually aluminum) or metallic foil. Reflective materials insulate on an entirely different principle than the fibrous or granular materials. Their effectiveness is based on the fact that smooth metallic surfaces have the ability to reflect radiated heat much like a mirror reflects light

3. Reflective insulating materials 

These are effective only if there is an air space on one or both sides of the metallic surface Hence, reflective insulation will not function if placed between sheathing and siding or imbedded in concrete

Advantages

Insulation is placed in poultry houses to help maintain a desirable environmental temperature and to reduce the cost of winter heating or to minimize heat gains during summer. Providing a proper environmental temperature will help assure good animal welfare and therefore, optimum production performance. In general, insulation should be placed in the ceiling and walls of a poultry house. In colder climates, perimeter insulation should be used

A large amount of the total heat loss is through the ceiling (or roof) of a poultry house

If only part of a building is to be insulated, start with the ceiling or roof first. This is true for both hot and cold climates

Insulation in sidewalls is important and feasible in the poultry house since a controlled environment is desirable. Sometimes window insulation in the form of double glass panes or plastic is practical


Our services

1. Visitation to customer's farm land

2. Adequate guidelines to customers for suitable poultry house

3. Supply of necessary equipment to poultry house


Frequently ask questions

Q: What size land do I need automatic settings of battery cage?

A: The size of land is determined by the capacity of birds you want to start with

Q: What is the best poultry housing for poultry?

A: Battery cages remain the best poultry house for birds

Q: Who can help me to build a poultry house?

A: We have civil engineers that build for our customers

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