In an effort to increase their profits, poultry farms are increasingly inclined to the cellular housing of meat-breeding chickens. The benefits of such content are so obvious that people who have a household are also attached to this method of cultivation. For these purposes, predominantly factory-made cells are used, however, many can do such a cell with their own hands.
Broiler cage requirements
In order to provide optimal conditions for keeping birds, cages must meet certain requirements:
- Dimensions should be appropriate for future planting density. The norm of such a density is up to 10 birds per 1 square. m
- The floor must be fine-meshed, but strong enough to withstand the weight of broilers.
- The availability of mounting watering troughs and feeders in the external space for the supply of water and feed to birds.
- The presence of a pallet at the bottom of the cage to ensure timely cleaning of litter.
- The presence of constructions for the age division of cells (young and adult chickens) on arrival for their greater "survival" among themselves.
Did you know? Broiler is a hybrid breed bred by interbreeding of meat breeds of chickens.
It is important to take into account the basic requirements for premises for the maintenance of cells:
- The room should be dry and warm, without drafts.
- Lighting in the room should be carried out for 16 hours. For chickens under the age of 21 days, such coverage should be around the clock.
- In winter, the room with the cells must be further heated to maintain the optimum temperature.
Learn how to make a cage for quails, chinchillas, rabbits and laying hens.
Pros and cons of broiler cages
The purpose of breeding birds in cages is to save by reducing the cost of livestock. But this method has not only advantages, but also obvious disadvantages. Among the advantages of cell cultivation is to highlight:
- maximum weight gain due to the limited movement of the bird, which reduces the fattening period by 3-5 days;
- restriction in the movement of birds and equipment mounted feeders reduces the likelihood of scatter feed, which saves its consumption;
- limited space used saves heating, lighting and ventilation costs for the house;
- compact content provides easy maintenance and saves costs for housekeeping personnel;
- ease of care contributes to the rapid purification of the house from feces, which reduces the likelihood of any diseases in birds;
- low level of bird contact ensures a minimal likelihood of the spread of infectious diseases in the house;
- high level of security when attacking predators or rodents.
Hubbard Breed - check out the features.There are few disadvantages of such a content of birds, but their significance is much higher:
- the need to invest in the purchase of cages for the house;
- financial costs aimed at creating conditions (heating and lighting);
- the need for daily cleaning of pallets of cells from feces;
- the complexity of the purification and disinfection of cells after their release;
- high probability of injury to the legs on the net floor in individuals with high weight.
Did you know? A characteristic feature of growing broiler chickens is that their growing period does not exceed 2.5 months. Exceeding this threshold leads to a decrease in the taste of chicken meat.The significance of the advantages and disadvantages of cellular rearing of chickens depends on the preferences of farmers and their labor or financial abilities.
Manufacturing process
The manufacturing process is simple, but requires the ability to work with household tools and knowledge of safety when working with them. For the manufacture will need the following materials:
- wooden beam to create a supporting structure;
- galvanized mesh to enclose the side and rear parts of the structure;
- welding electrodes to create fencing front part;
- plywood sheet to cover consciousness;
- galvanized sheet for the manufacture of pallets;
- galvanized steel feeder;
- rods for concealed mounting;
- furniture corners to stiffen the mountings;
- screws (confirmatories).
Check out the best broiler breeds, and find out why broiler chickens are dying, how to feed and maintain them.The availability of such tools will facilitate production:
- electric or electric grinding jigsaw;
- plane, sandpaper medium fraction;
- screwdriver, riveter;
- hammer, side cutters, pliers;
- ruler, level.
Important! In advance of a planned drawing with prepared markup significantly simplify the construction of the structure.
Selection of material and tools
The choice of consumables depends on the preferences and financial possibilities of the farmer, but for the stability of the structure and the durability of future cells it is better to use quality materials. The best option to create a supporting structure is wood, wooden bars in particular. Being a natural material, the bars are environmentally safe and durable to use.
Read also about the egg, fighting and ornamental breeds of chickens.As for the fencing of the side walls, when choosing galvanized stacks, it is necessary to focus on high corrosion resistance due to constant contact with bird droppings, the strength of the connection of the cells and their correct geometry - all this prevents injury to the paws of broilers. To assemble the structure, an important component are metal rods, which provide hidden fastening, therefore, to create a cage, less used iron fasteners will be required, which significantly reduces the risk of injury to birds. Metal stocks.
Building
The whole construction process can be divided into several stages:
- the creation of the supporting structure and fences;
- equipping with feeders and drinkers;
- lighting equipment.
Did you know? The ideal weight for a broiler is 1.4-1.6 kg. This feature determines the future "digestibility" of chicken meat.
Stepwise creation of the supporting structure:
- The transverse bars, with dimensions of 65 cm in length and 5 cm in width, are combined on rods with the main bars with a height of 1.2 m. The height of the lower alignment is 50 cm from the floor, the height of the top is 95 cm from the floor. The height of the opening formed should be 40 cm. When all the bars are combined in this way, the main frame is obtained. On the outer side, all connections must be strengthened with fastening plates, and the lower part of the bars - fastening corners. Such actions will give additional stiffness to the base, so broilers will not be able to break it with an ever-increasing weight.
- The back side of the main structure from the outside and the lower part (bottom) with the internal one are "sheathed" with a galvanized grid. For an economical consumption of material, it is recommended to make preliminary measurements of the resulting distance between the bars and use a grid cut by the required parameters. As for the bottom of the inside, you can make the correct dimensions by placing an edge with an edge and making the necessary cuts according to the “pattern”. The sides and rear side of the structure are protected by overlaying and slight tensioning of the mesh using wide-head screws for reliable and durable fastening of the connections. At the same time, fixing the lower part of the grid requires a higher frequency of screwing in the screws than the upper one. The formed sharp parts of the bottom must be wrapped to the outside in order to protect the bird from injury.
- The front side is sheathed with welding electrodes. To do this, the upper part of the beam is drilled along the drill at intervals of 4 cm, and the bottom - only 1.5-2 cm deep. Electrodes are inserted into the holes, which serve as a barrier, but at the same time allow the bird to reach the feeder. When there is a need to reach the birds, the electrodes are drawn out and then returned to the site.
Important! So that in adult broilers there are no dents on the cage fences on the chests, 2 weeks before the slaughter of birds it is necessary to convert to the outdoor content.The small height of the cage can contribute to the "escape" of birds, so if desired, the upper part of the structure can be covered with a sheet of plywood, sawn in size. If desired, galvanized sheet can be made pallets for quick cleaning of feces. For this facet of a sheet that is measured according to the required dimensions, it is necessary to bend upward 20 cm, thus forming the rim of the container. Any other household containers, such as plastic pallets, can also perform this function.
Video: do-it-yourself broiler cages
Drinkers equipment
An economical option for equipping the cage is a bird nipple watering system. Such a system allows to reduce water consumption by 6 times. To create a drinker will need:
- PVC plastic square tube with dimensions of 22 × 22 × 3 mm;
- coupling;
- nipple drinkers;
- drip pan.
Important! In order to prevent the watering system from letting water through the screwing points, a small amount of building silicone sealant must be applied to the nipples during installation.After the installation process of the nipple system follows the process of bringing water into the cells. To do this, a connecting sleeve is put on the PVC pipe, the other end of which is combined with a plastic pipe connected to the water supply system. The finished watering system rises to the required height and is fixed on the beams of the rear wall of the cage with the help of plastic fixing clips. To supply water to the nipple system, a hanging tank is used (or any other tank) suspended above the level of the installed drinkers. For equipment cage trough suitable ordinary sewer PVC pipe, 55% of the circumference of which is cut off. The obtained container with screws must be fixed on the upper part of the lower beam so that the bird can easily reach the middle of its depth, and open the side parts - close with plugs. It is important to smooth out all the sharp points of the cut on the pipe with emery paper.
Lighting equipment
Proper lighting also plays an important role in the development of broilers. The role of lighting can perform spotlights, installed directly in each cell, but, unfortunately, they can create shadows. To avoid this, LED lamps will help. Their distinctive feature is that they evenly and quite brightly illuminate the cells, while they are easy to attach to the entire length of the cell (whatever it is), using any location, and just as easy to connect.
Important! To connect the LED and any other lighting requires basic knowledge of electrical.Chicken meat breeds grown for rapid feeding and slaughter (broilers), easily tolerate cellular content. This method of cultivation allows the bird to increase the maximum mass in the shortest possible time. If you want to save money, bird cages can be made by yourself. The construction process itself is not complicated, but it requires adherence to the correct sequence.