Content
Previously, poultry farms and large farms were engaged in cage keeping of chickens. Now this method is becoming more popular every day among poultry breeders. Why the cage keeping of poultry at home is in demand, and how to independently build cages for chickens, we will now try to find out.
Features of the design of cells and requirements for them
Chickens are considered an unpretentious bird, are easy to keep and breed at home, but for maximum productivity they need to be equipped with comfortable housing. When making cells with your own hands, you need to take into account important nuances, and know what requirements are imposed on them:
- An important indicator is the size of the cages for chickens, which determines the egg production and growth of the bird. Head count and breed are always taken into account. If you take the same number of heads, then laying hens require less space in an enclosed space than meat birds.
- Each chicken cage is necessarily equipped with a feeder and a drinker.
- In cages, all walls, ceiling, and floor should be lattice without blind areas. Installation of a solid floor is allowed if a flooring is provided.
- It is especially important to pay attention to the floor. When making it at home, you need to take a rigid mesh so that it does not sag under the weight of adult chickens.
- In the manufacture of cells, only a fine mesh is used. This requirement is aimed at protecting birds from the encroachments of small rodents, for example, weasel. The maximum mesh size of 50x100 mm is allowed only on the front wall of the cage, so that the chicken can stick its head to the feeder.
- The place where chickens are kept in cages should be dry, draft-free and warm. In winter, a barn is used for these purposes. In summer, the cages can be taken outside, only they need to be placed under a canopy to protect them from rain.
If these requirements are taken into account when making cages at home, the poultry farmer can already hope for a positive result.
The video shows the cages for keeping chickens:
What are the cells
Factory-made cages are produced according to the established standard. Experienced poultry farmers are trying to improve homemade designs to their taste. In any case, all cells have a common feature, and they are divided into two types:
- Cage with bedding. For this type of construction, a solid plywood or board floor is provided. A bed of straw or sawdust is poured on top.
- A cage with a slatted floor, at the end of which an egg collector is made. This type of construction has a sloped floor made of mesh. The end of the floor beyond the boundaries of the front wall smoothly merges into the egg collector. A pull-out tray is installed under the net to remove droppings. The eggs laid by the hen are rolled down the sloped floor into the collector, and the droppings through the net fall onto the pallet. The inside of such a cage is always clean and dry.
You can make any of these designs yourself. For laying hens, their size is usually calculated for 7-10 heads. For a large number of chickens, a battery can be assembled from several cages stacked on top of each other.
The video provides an overview of the cells:
Positive and negative aspects of chicken cages
Keeping chickens in cages has many opponents and supporters.There are a lot of opinions on this matter. We will now try to characterize the positive and negative aspects of the closed keeping of poultry.
Let's start with the negative points:
- The confined space limits the movement of chickens. For a mobile bird, such oppression affects a decrease in egg production.
- Chickens are not exposed to sunlight. The lack of vitamin D has to be replenished with nutritional supplements.
- Food is limited to natural feeding in the form of fresh grass, worms and insects. Mineral deficiencies need to be replenished with the same supplements.
- A confined space is prone to the rapid development of infection. A sick bird is in close contact with a healthy livestock, which is why a rapid infection occurs.
However, there are also positive aspects of the cellular content of chickens:
- In the cages, chickens are protected from the attack of predators.
- Bird control is simplified. A sick chicken can be noticed faster and help it in a timely manner.
- Wild birds are carriers of infection. Such contact is excluded with the cage keeping of chickens.
- In the cages, it is easier to provide optimal conditions for extending the egg production period. Moreover, the process of collecting eggs is simplified. The poultry farmer will not have to look for them all over the yard.
- When kept in a closed environment, feed is significantly saved, since the possibility of eating it by wild birds is excluded.
- Cage keeping allows the breeder to place a large number of chickens in a small area.
Summing up, it can be noted that the closed keeping of chickens will benefit the bird only with careful care.
The video shows cages for broilers and layers:
Determine the size and draw up the drawings of the cells
Before building cages for chickens, you need to decide on its size, and then draw up a rough drawing. The photo shows a diagram of the design with an egg collector. This option is considered the most convenient and popular among poultry farmers.
To build such a structure, you need to build a frame. It can be made of metal or wood. The walls, ceiling and floor are made of mesh.
The disadvantage of this design is the inconvenience of maintenance. It is bad to plant and take out chickens from such a cage.
The following photo shows a detailed drawing of a chicken cage, where all its constituent parts are indicated.
Next, you need to accurately calculate the size of the cage for chickens, because productivity depends on this, as well as the comfort of the bird. Dimensions are calculated taking into account the breed of chickens and the number of livestock.
When making cages at home for ordinary layers, you can adhere to the following calculations:
- To keep two or three hens, about 0.1-0.3 m is taken for each head2 free area. The approximate dimensions of the structure are 65x50x100 cm. The dimensions are indicated in order: height, depth and width.
- For five hens, 0.1-0.21 m is allocated for each head2 area. The dimensions of the housing remain practically the same, only the length increases to 150 cm.
- For ten or twelve layers, 0.1-0.22 m is taken2 free area. In this case, the size of the cage is 70x100x200 cm. The data are indicated in the same order. The depth can be made different, but not less than 70 cm.
In general, it is recommended to keep a maximum of 7 birds in one cage. With a large number of chickens, it is better to build several smaller structures than one large one. Otherwise, it will be difficult to care for the chickens, since the litter tray will be very heavy. In addition, a reinforced frame will be required so that the structure does not sag under the weight of the birds.
What you need to work
To make your own cages for chickens, you will need to build a frame.A beam with a section of 40x40 mm is suitable for it, but wood is not the best material for this structure. It is optimal to use a galvanized profile. Feeders and the pallet is made of galvanized steel, but it is better to use stainless steel, since it does not oxidize. The floor, walls and ceiling are made of mesh with a mesh size of 125x25 or 25x50 mm. The front wall can be made from wire, and you can also use a mesh with a mesh size of 50x50 or 50x100 mm.
Manufacturing procedure
Now we will consider the sequence of the process that will help a novice poultry farmer decide how to make cages for keeping chickens himself.
So, the assembly of the structure begins with the frame. Blanks are cut from a profile or bar, and a rectangular box is assembled from them. The frame can be reinforced with additional jumpers installed on the floor and walls. If it is planned to manufacture a cell battery, then the frame of the structure of the lower row is equipped with legs or wheels for transportation.
When the frame is ready, they begin to arrange the floor. If you look at the drawing, you can see that it consists of two shelves. The lower part of the floor is designed to accommodate the pallet. This shelf is fixed to the frame strictly horizontally. The upper floor is made at a slope of 9about towards the egg collector. Chickens will walk on this shelf, and the slope is needed to roll the eggs. The upper floor should protrude 15 cm beyond the boundaries of the front wall. Here, the edge is equipped with a side to form an egg collector. A gap of 12 cm is left between the top and bottom shelf to accommodate the pallet.
When the floor is ready, a fine mesh is attached to the frame on the ceiling, back and side walls. In front, the frame is sewn up with a coarse mesh. This can be done in two ways:
- On a narrow cage, the front wall is made to open completely on hinges.
- If the width of the structure is more than 1 m, the front wall is thoroughly attached to the frame, and a doorway is cut in a convenient place. The door is also attached to the wall with hinges.
In single-tier structures, the ceiling mesh can also be made removable. Then it will be easier for the poultry farmer to pull the chickens through the top.
The feeders are bent out of sheet steel. They are hung on the front wall so that the chicken can freely reach the feed. Pallets are equipped with bumpers so that the droppings do not spill out when they are removed. For drinkers, it is better to use a nipple device, since the possibility of spilling excess water is excluded.
The video tells about making cells with your own hands:
Conclusion
This completes the process of making the cage. If chickens are supposed to be taken outside in the summer, each structure is equipped with a non-soaking roof made of linoleum or other similar material.
