Poultry include chickens, turkey, ducks, and geese, etc. These animals are raised for their meat and eggs. Chickens are the most common bird raised for both meat and eggs. Chickens that are raised for their chicken eggs are called layers, and chickens that are raised for their chicken meat are called broilers. At present, there are usually two methods to raise poultry, free range and cage. Free range poultry farming is the traditional method of raising chickens. Farmers allow the chickens to roam freely on the farm in search of food and water. But as people’s demand for chicken meat and eggs continues to increase, more and more farmers are starting to use chicken battery cages for poultry farming now. So, is using chicken battery cages the best method of poultry farming?
Free range poultry farming, the traditional method
First of all, let’s talk about the way of free range breeding. Free range breeding in the traditional sense is to choose a relatively open gentle hillside or hilly land to build a simple chicken house. The chickens are free to forage during the day, artificially fed in the morning and evening, and rest in the house at night. The advantage of this kind of breeding is that the chickens are relatively free. And they can freely forage and move freely during the day. However, because the time and place where chickens forage for food are not fixed, and the range of activities is relatively wide, the growth of free range chickens is generally slower. And sometimes it is affected by the weather.This is more suitable for raising chickens in small quantities.
In order to raise more chickens, some people now build standardized chicken house and carry out free range breeding in the chicken house. This allows more chickens to be raised for commercial purposes. Water lines and feed lines are generally set up in this kind of chicken house to provide water and feed for the chickens, and the chickens can move freely in the chicken house. Compared with outdoor free range rearing, free range rearing in chicken house can reduce the impact of external weather. But the chickens are still running around on the ground, and the chickens are not growing fast.The feed conversion rate is generally not high, and it is not particularly convenient to manage.
Using chicken battery cages, the modern poultry farming method
Using chicken battery cages is a more modern method of poultry farming. Chicken battery cages are also called chicken poultry cages. It can be designed in multiple layers, and each layer of chicken cages can raise chickens. The chickens are raised in cages, and the cages are equipped with an automatic water supply system that can provide a steady source of water for the chickens. In addition, the food trough is fixed on the chicken cage. And the chickens look for food from the food trough, which reduces the waste of feed. The battery cage can also be equipped with automatic poultry equipment include automatic egg collection system and automatic manure cleaning system, which greatly improves the efficiency of egg collection and chicken manure cleaning.
The biggest feature of this feeding method is that it can effectively use the space in the house and significantly increase the stocking density. Compared with free range farming, the same chicken house can raise at least 3 times as many chickens. It can limit the activity of chickens, speed up the speed of weight gain, improve the utilization rate of feed. Cage chickens have a high degree of automation and are more convenient for manpower management and mechanized operation, which can effectively improve labor efficiency and reduce labor costs. Of course, this also requires some expenses, but because the battery cages for sale now is of relatively high quality and can be used for a long time, it is still very cost effective for long term use. The use of chicken battery cages is more suitable for medium and large intensive chicken farms.
Some tips for using chicken battery cages
Now, I believe that if you are a chicken farmer who wants to get more income from poultry farming, then you must be more inclined to use battery cages to raise chickens. Using chicken battery cages can not only ensure high density production, but also is very convenient to manage, and can effectively improve the production efficiency of your farm. However, there are some tips need to keep when using battery cages to make battery cage chicken the best poultry farming method.
First, pay attention to the breeding density. Although the chicken battery cages can be used for high density breeding, too high density will cause the chickens to be unable to move and have poor ventilation, which will affect the growth of the chickens. It is best to ensure 450cm2 of activity space for each laying hen, and 500cm2 for broilers.
Second, pay attention to whether there is grit in the chicken feed. There is no way for chickens to choose the grit they need from the ground in the cage. And the grit is very helpful for the digestion of chickens. So for caged chickens, pay attention to whether there is appropriate grit added to the feed.
Third, pay attention to regulating the chicken house environment. Insufficient sunlight in the house can be replaced by providing light. In addition, pay attention to adding ventilation facilities such as fan windows and wet curtains to ventilate the chicken house in time.
In short
If you are planning to develop a large scale poultry farming business, then using chicken battery cages will be the best method. Battery cages can be matched with other automatic poultry equipment to help you greatly improve production efficiency. By using a battery cage, I believe you can reap the benefits quickly. Of course, there are many battery cage automatic poultry equipment on the market, and you need to make a good selection when purchasing.