POULTRY HOUSING SYSTEM

Broadly, the classification or types of poultry housing systems is given

1. Extensive system
2. Semi-intensive system
3. Intensive system
EXTENSIVE SYSTEM:
1. Old system
2. Also called Free range rearing system
3. Rearing of poultry birds in a field or range by letting them in a limited area is called extensive
system
4. Adopted when adequate land is available
5. Mostly adopted in rural areas
6. A range system should provide shelter and green stuffs e.g. grasses, grains etc. and provide
feed, water, temporary roofing constructed on pillars.
7. Coops are place to protect from predators
8. In this system birds makes roosts on trees
9. 250 birds per acre can be kept for commercial organic poultry farming
10. No need of antibiotic and synthetic chemicals in supplement feeds
Advantages:
1. Low feeding cost
2. Can be used to produce organic poultry products
3. Capital cost is very low
4. No stress on bird that occur due to crowdedness
5. Welfare of bird
Disadvantages:
• Biosecurity and disease prevention is the major problem so mortality is high
• Low production performance because more exercise
• Modern scientific method cannot be adapted
• Pilfering is easy
• Predator chances are more
SEMI INTENSIVE SYSTEM:
• Birds are kept in houses at night and also provided an access to open area during the day hours.
• Open area is also confined.
• In evening ours humidity problems increases
• 1000 birds per acre can be kept
• Houses are permanent but we also provide range area in day so it is not possible to adopt
scientific rearing methods
• Disadvantages and advantages are similar to that of extensive system
INTENSIVE SYSTEMS:
Birds are totally confined to houses either on ground/floor or on wire-netting floor in cages
Mostly adapted by farmers
First time this system was started in America
Birds face many problems, as lameness and leg problems are most common due to vitamin (vitamin D,
B) and minerals (Mg, Ca and P)
Feeders and waterers are attached to cages from outside except nipple waterers, for which pipeline is
installed through or above cages. Auto-operated feeding trollies and egg collection belts can also be
used in this rearing system. The droppings are either collected in trays underneath cages or on belts for
it or on the floor or deep pit under cages, depending on type of cages.
On the basis of floor classified into
1. Deep litter system
2. Slat litter system
3. All slat system
4. Cage system
5. High rise house
Advantages:
1. Can be constructed near the market
2. Less land is required
3. Management of flock is very easy
4. Less labor is required
5. Production performance is very high because exercise is low and nutrition utilization is very low
6. Scientific methods can be adapted easily and accurately
7. Sick bird can detected and treated easily
8. Biosecurity and disease prevention methods can adapted
9. No chances of predators
10. Infrastructure and investment can be efficiently utilized
Disadvantages:
1. High capital cost
2. Welfare of birds is main issue especially in environmentally controlled house as preening activity
decreases due to less land
3. Overcrowding
4. Loss due to disease outbreak increase because birds are in confined states
5. Maintenance cost is high when mechanical system is used
 DEEP LITTER SYSTEM:

Birds are kept on floor covered from embedding materials is called litter.
Commonly used litter materials are rice husk, sawdust, wheat straw, wood shaving and crush corn cobs.
Ideal properties:
1. Should be cheap
2. Easily available
3. Dust free
4. Highly absorbable
5. Free of toxic substances
6. Particle size should be moderate
7. Should resist flak or cake formation
Rice husk:
Merits:
• Use of rice husk is more than 60 %
• Easily available
• It is a cheaper source. Its price is 4-5 Rs/Kg
Demerit:
• Moisture absorption is comparatively low but better than other. So there may be risk of flake
formation.
Sawdust:
Merit: Highly absorbent
Demerit: Tannin content is high especially sawdust of hardwood plants. In early ages chick may take it
and toxicity signs develop which may cause mortality.
Depth:
Depth of litter material depend upon age, type of bird and environmental conditions
Depth during Brooding period:
Care and management of chicks in the cage till they require external source of heat to maintain their
body temperature because muscle depth is less and body temperature is low in small chicks (de body
temperature). Day old body temperature is 101-108 and adult body temperature is 105-107.so depth of
litter during summer should be 2-3 ″ and during winter 3-4 ″.
• Broiler 0-4 weeks
• Layer 0-8 weeks
• Layer breeder 0-8 weeks
• Broiler breeder 0-6 or 8 weeks
Depth during rearing period:
Depth in summer should be 3 ″ and during winter it should be 4 ″ for both layer and broiler.
Depth during laying period (21—40weeks):
Initially depth is 4 ″ and then depth is increased according to need of litter that is called litter buildup.
Dropping increase the depth but it should not be greater than 8 ″.
Moisture:

Moisture %age for first week of age should not be 15% or more.
Moisture %age for later weeks should be 20-30 %. Optimum moisture level is 25%.
Ideal relative humidity is 40-50 %. Birds can tolerate 65% relative humidity
High moisture in litter increases the relative humidity
Moisture is judged apparently by hand.
High moisture disadvantage:
Intestinal diseases:
• High moisture results in intestinal parasitic infection such as coccidiosis which is also called
Managemental disease. Coccidiosis can be prevented by good management. Coccidiosis is a
common protozoan characterized by enteritis and bloody diarrhoea
Ammonia:
• Ammonia production is high. Total level should not be greater than 25 ppm.
Lameness:
1. Most common in Bumble Feet and foot rot
2. Lameness chances increase in high producing especially in high weight broiler breeder.
3. Swelling of hock joint also increase the chances of lameness
• Fertility decreases sharply due to less mating cause by lameness. So infertile eggs are produced
Dry litter problems:

Respiratory problems:
Dust particle enter in respiratory tract especially trachea and bronchi resulting in breathing problem.
Poor feather growth:
In low moisture skin will be dry resulting in poor feather growth
Advantages of floor or litter system:

1. UGF: unknown growth factors that stimulate the growth because bird feels happiness and calm
and take more feed.
2. Screening and preening activity of bird increases in litter system
3. Availability of B-complexes especially B12 that enhance the growth
4. Fertility is higher in breeding flock which is which is kept on litter floor system

Disadvantages:
1. Ammonia production is high
2. Parasitic infections: there are more chances of
• Coccidiosis occur at 7-8 days (life cycle or incubation period)
• Intestinal diseases such as tapeworm and round worm
• So deworm at 2-3 days of life
3. Dirt eggs and egg breakage is more in floor system
 SLATE SYSTEM:

Normally, this system is not adopted in Pakistan but adopted in tropical and temperate regions.

Slat litter system:

Slat system is divided into 3

portions. Slat portion consist of
33% on both sides and litter
portion consist of 40% in center.
Height of slats from floor is 27-30 ″
Dimension:
Dimension of slat 2⨯2 ″ (thickness
⨯ wide) and 1 ″ gap between slats
Spread on small wall or beams Slat litter system
Length along the length of house
Mostly plastic slates are used but wooden slates may also be used
Plastic slats are 4 -5 ″
Automatic scrapers are used for removal of litter.
Less space/ bird is required than any other system
This system is adopted in the area of high humidity
Male birds stay mostly on slats and female stay on litter.so; this system is mostly used for broiler
breeder.
(Slats and litter area are cemented by stair steps that are 15-20 feet away)
Drinking and nest systems are placed on slats and feeding system is placed on litter.
Leg health problems are more common
SB made slat system first time in Pakistan in 1960 but this system failed due low fertility that was caused
by mating problem
All slat system:
Slates are installed all over the floor
Height of slats from floor is 27-30 ″
Space below is sufficient for dropping accumulation for one year
Exhaust fans are installed for drying litter and to control flies
Male health leg problem is most common and comparatively low fertility
Merits:

1. This system is mostly used in European countries especially in winter when there is no sunshine.
Faeces consist of 70 % moisture in litter. In subtropical countries especially in in rainy season,
there is more moisture. Droppings fall down and there is no contact with birds and humidity
level become low.
2. Decreases the chances of parasitic infections
3. Less space/ bird is required
4. Egg production is clean because nest are placed on slat system

Demerits:

1. Installation cost is very high

2. Fly problem because exhaust are installed bellow slats that mechanically remove faeces or dry
faces.
3. Less fertility: Fertility is comparatively low because slat is hard that cause foot pad and lameness
problem. This system is removed from Pakistan due to low fertility.2-3% decrease in fertility,
losses 6000 eggs.

Cage system:

This system is used for commercial layers

Types:

1. Single bird cage

2. Multiple bird cages
3. Colony cage

Single bird cages are mostly used for research trial or pure life

Multiple bird cages:

• Most commonly used

• Used for 2-10 birds
• Multiple birds Length ⨯ width = 24 ″ ⨯ 24 ″
• Space 0.5 square feet/ bird
• Optimum space is 0.7 square feet/ bird
Colony cages:
Used for 20-30 birds/ cage
1. Flat deck cage
2. Single deck cage or laying cages
3. Stair step cages
4. Reverse or A type cages
5. Battery or H type cage
Flat deck cage:
• Used for growing and rearing of pullets
• Single story along the length of house
• Each cage is usually 1 m (100 cm) square block
fitted on stand
• 40-20 pullets/cage can be kept
• Birds are kept from 9-17 weeks. Number of Flat deck cages (Single story)
birds/cage is reduced as the bird’s age increases. At 16
weeks only 20 pullets are kept
• Manure belt are used at each cage that fall in pits on sides
• Feeders to cages are attached from outside on both the sides length-wise . Because the quantity
of droppings is less due to smaller size of birds, droppings can easily be stocked for 2 months
and removed along with shifting of chicks to grower houses at 9 weeks of age or 17 weeks to
layer . Generally four rows of cages are installed in 8.5 m wide house
Single deck cage or laying cages:
• Single story
• Tube drinking outside or nipple drinking inside
• Locally used in Pakistan for laying purpose
• There is slope in center so that eggs come on sides in
trough.
• Manure removal is manual
• Used for 2-4 birds /cage
• 3-4 cages are used depending upon the width of house
Stair step cages: Stair step cages
3 tiers i.e. 3 stories
Dropping comes in pits
Reverse or A type cages:
Compartments are arranged step-wise in two or three tiers on
stands in two or three rows were droppings may fall on ground or
deep pit under cages. The droppings be removed once 6 months or
after 12 months along with disposal of layer batch pending on
depth of pit formed by raised platform . Double strength of birds
can be accommodated the same space in this type of cages as Reverse or A type
compared to deep-litter.
Battery or H type cage:

• Most popular
• Upto 8 tiers can be constructed
• Partition in center for manure belts
i.e. Mechanical system is installed
to remove manure
• Vertical cages
• Take smallest space

Advantages of cages:

1. Space and land required is lowest

than any other type of rearing
2. Labor involvement is less
3. The cost of litter and litter
management problems are totally
eliminated so cost/bird is less
4. Clean Egg production
Battery or H type cage
5. Egg eating is largely prevented
6. Minimum egg breakage which increases profit of margin
7. Less chances of parasitic infections
8. Birds are under complete control
9. Scientific management practices in respect of feeding, watering, breeding, manure removal,
health care, etc. can be adopted easily.
10. Accurate records of individual bird can be maintained which is helpful in efficient breeding
programmes
11. Good FCR with less feed intake due to less exercise

Disadvantages:
1. Welfare issue
2. Soft bones due to less exercise Ca metabolism is affected
3. Fatty live syndrome
4. Cage liver fatigue

For more practical view on modern

poultry cage system kindly visit this
video link
https://youtu.be/wxQztszi4mA