Poultry Housing
Introduction
Poultry housing is a very important part of your poultry farm as it protects the birds
from predators and rough weather conditions. A comfortable poultry house is also
important for efficient production and convenience of the poultry farmer. In the last
unit you learnt about the advantages, disadvantages and economic value of poultry
keeping. In this unit you will learn the requirements of a good poultry house, how to
identify a suitable location for a poultry house, and the different types of poultry
house systems that you can adopt. As usual, we shall start by reviewing our
objectives for this unit.
Unit Objectives
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
Describe the requirements of a good poultry house;
Identify a suitable size for a poultry house and a good site for construction
Determine the most suitable poultry production system for your project.
Section 2.1: Requirements of a Good Poultry
House
The following are the requirements for a good poultry house:
a) Protection: ensure that the poultry is protected from extreme weather
conditions, such as, high winds and droughts. Also protection from
predators, e.g. hawks, owls, mongoose, wild cats etc.
b) Good Ventilation: the house should have good ventilation, that is, able to
supply oxygen and remove carbon dioxide and dampness. A damp
atmosphere favours the development of pathogen and retards the activity of
the birds. High temperatures may cause deaths or drop in egg production,
low shell quality, and reduced weight gain. A combination of high
temperatures and high humidity may kill young chicks. To protect birds from
the cold, you can use old feed bags as curtains to cover the chicken wire at
night.
c) Ease of cleaning: it should be easy to clean and facilitate parasite and
disease control. All the interior fittings should be removable or easy to clean.
d) Sunlight: this is in order to maintain the heat of the flock (VHD). The sun also
has disinfecting value and is important to the birds.
e) Economical construction: it should use cheap, durable and locally available
materials.
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f) Accessibility: the house should be convenient in relation to other buildings in the surrounding area. It should be tall enough for a grown-up person to work in there.
g) Spacious: always ensure that your poultry have enough space to run around. This will help you to avoid frequent loss of your birds due to suffocation and contamination.
h) Safe: ensure that your poultry house does not have sharp edges that can injure the birds;
i) Floor: the floor should be cemented or made of concrete for ease of cleaning;
j) Disinfection: a disinfectant dip should be placed at the door of each house to prevent entry of diseases agents into the flock house;
k) Storage: a separate room should be constructed to keep feeds and other equipment in a safe place protected from weather and contamination by humans and rodents.
Perches
Perches are timber frames on which birds perch for rest. They are important for chickens to rest on during the night. It is the natural behaviour of chicken, such as layers and indigenous table birds to sleep above the ground in trees. A one meter perch can roost five adult birds. The perches should be removable to facilitate cleaning. Perches are best made of bamboo or round sticks to accommodate for the size and structure of the birds’ feet. If the sticks are too big or too small, the birds may fall. Perches can also be square and flat: 5-10 cm broad. Figure 1.1 below shows a picture of a perch.
Figure 1.1: Chicken perch
Nesting Boxes
Chicken need areas where they can lay their eggs. You should allow one nesting box for 4-5 hens. The nests should be large enough to make the birds comfortable. They should be placed in a dark and private place in order to discourage egg eating and cannibalism. The floor of the nest should be covered with soft dry grass or wood shavings to prevent egg breakage. The advantages of laying nests are:
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b) The Laying Records
The laying period extends from 20 weeks to the time when the flock is sold. The economic life of laying bird varies between 18 to 26 months depending on the breed, standard of management, health etc. Figure 7.1 illustrates the trend of egg production within the 18 months of laying. As you can see from this chart, egg production and quality fall with the advancing age.
It is useful to record and analyze the following parameters on the performance of the flock:
Record egg production every week. A good layer may lay :
170 to 180 eggs in 1st year
130 in 2nd year
100 in 3rd year.
Calculate the margin of eggs over feed (monthly) gross margin at the end of flock’s production life.
Congratulations! You have come to the end of this unit on harvest management and record keeping. Let us review what you have learnt.
Unit Summary
In this unit you have learnt we have discussed harvest management, and particularly how to prepare your eggs and meat for the market. Next we looked at the information that you should keep about your flock. We saw that the information you collect depends on whether you are rearing birds for meat or for eggs. All in all the information you collect will help you to identify weak areas and analyse the performance of your flock.
You have now come to the end of this course on poultry production. We hope you have found it interesting and informative. We wish you good luck in poultry business!
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Answers to Activities
Activity 1.2
Economic Value of Poultry
Write three reasons why chicken keeping is an important economic activity
Provides income from the sale of chicks, meat and fertilized and unfertilized eggs;
The feathers are used to make stuffing for pillows mattresses and quilts
It supplement other incomes from livestock and crops
Poultry droppings are used as livestock (ruminant) feed, as it is a rich source of non-protein nitrogen and provides protein
Poultry manure increase soil fertility and can be sold as fertilizer
Poultry droppings make excellent slurry for biogas production plants
The by-products of a hatchery are used to make livestock protein supplements.
It can generate foreign exchange earnings through the export of poultry products
Activity 2.1:
Qualities of a good poultry house
Which of the following are NOT good qualities of a chicken house? Identify them with a circle.
Well ventilated house
o Dark and dump
Easy to clean
o Difficult to access
Economical to construct
o Leaking roof with big open cracks in the walls
Activity 2.2.
Sizing a Poultry House
1. The floor space of a poultry house should allow 3-4sq feet per bird. If you want to keep 1000 birds, how much floor space would you allow in your design?
The answer is 3,000 to 4,000 sq feet.
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Activity 2.3:
Poultry Housing Management System
Draw an arrow to connect a poultry housing management system with its unique feature.
Housing management system
Features
Extensive or free range system
Birds confined in arks or folds which are moved daily to fresh ground
Battery cage system
House surrounded by a wire mesh enclosure that allows birds to run freely during the day.
Fold system
Birds confined in a building and stay in doors for the whole of their life
House and run system
Birds are kept inside a cage throughout their laying period
Deep litter system
Birds roam freely in fenced ground with a simple house to provide shelter at night
Activity 3.1
Poultry Breeds
1. The following birds are all poultry breeds except?
Quail
Parrot
Turkey
Chicken
Ducks
2. Which of the following characteristics are true of light poultry breeds? Tick the correct ones.
Nervous and get upset by sudden movements
They eat more,
Mature early and get into production earlier
They go ‘broody’ or try to incubate their own eggs
Are smaller in body hence cheaper to maintain
They have an inferior carcass
They are quieter
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Activity 3.2
Incubation Practices
1. Which of the following sign tells you that an egg is fertilized during candling? Tick the correct answer.
A ring of blood around the embryo
Visible blood veins with a dark spot in the centre
A dark cloud around the centre of the egg
2. Which of the following eggs are NOT suitable for incubation? Tick the correct answers
Eggs more than 5 days old
Fertilized eggs
Eggs with abnormalities such as blood spots or double yolks
Eggs with smooth shells
Fertilized eggs
Cracked eggs
3. What is the difference between natural incubation and artificial incubation? Write your answer in the space provided below.
Natural incubation is carried out by broody hens while artificial incubation is carried out by machines.
Activity 4.2
Broader management
1. List 4 things you should check in the brooder before the chicks arrive.
I. There is enough light
II. The temperature is at least 32o to 35o C
III. There are sufficient feeders and drinkers for the number of chicks
IV. The litter is warm and it has absorbent qualities
2. List 4 things you should check when collecting chicks:
I. That all the chicks are uniform
II. That the chicks are alert
III. That the chicks do not have any deformities
IV. That the chicks do not have signs of infection
3. List four things that you should do to ensure that chicks are comfortable in the brooder.
I. Ensure they have clean drinking water and the correct feed to eat
II. Ensure that the temperature is well regulated and the ventilation is good
III. Ensure that the chicks are secured from pests, cats, dogs and thieves
IV. Ensure that they are vaccinated against diseases
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Activity 4.3
Management of Pullets, Layers and Table Birds
List at least 3 differences between layers and table birds
Type of Chicken
Main Differences Between Layers and Table Birds
Layers
Are reared for their eggs
Feed on layers mash
Some species make good brooders
Table Birds
Are reared for meat
Feed on chick mash
Can be categorized into broilers, capons and roasters
Activity 4.4
Poultry vaccination and other health measures
Rearrange the column with age of birds in weeks to match with the right vaccination in the first column.
Vaccination or Health Measure
Age in weeks
Vaccination against Gumboro
10&18
Vaccination against Fowl pox,
3 weeks
Vaccination against New castle
3,6&18 weeks
Vaccination against Fowl typhoid
8 weeks
Deworming
19 weeks
Activity 5.2
Poultry Feed Formulation
Indicate with a tick () whether the following statements about feed formulation and rations are True (T) or False (F)
True
False
1. Vary the feeds you give to chicken as much as possible
2. Provide fresh feeds and water only once a day
3. Always avoid fungal infested ingredients
4. For bright yellow egg yolks, give layers some greens everyday
5. Introduce new feeds suddenly as need arises
6. Give broiler finisher to chicks of 1-3 months
7. Chickens of different ages require different level of nutrients
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Activity 5.3
Poultry feeding Systems
Draw a line to match the poultry feeding system in Column A with its correct description in Column B.
Column A
Column B
1. Wet – mash system
All the feed ingredients are ground, mixed in the required dry proportion and fed as a single balanced mixture
2. Dry –all-mash system
Birds are fed with green crops such as cabbages, kale,
3. Pellet or crumbles system
The ration is mixed with a little clean water and fed to birds.
4. Dry-mash with scratch grain system/mash +grain
Birds are allowed to get dry mash from troughs and grains from the litter.
5. Green food system
Feeds are given in the form of pellets or crumbles which greatly reduce unnecessary wastages.
Activity 6.1
Poultry Diseases
Draw a line to match the diseases in the column A with their symptoms in Column B.
Column A
Column B
Coccidiosis
Bacterial infection that causes anaemia, respiratory distress and sudden death.
Fowl typhoid
Viral disease that causes bird to have thick mucus discharge from mouth and difficult breathing
Fowl pox
Protozoa disease that affects the linings of the alimentary canal and causes diarrhoea
New Castle
Viral disease that causes tiny wounds on the wattle and comb and ulcers in the mouth
