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Comparison between ground rearing of laying hens and rearing in batteries

There are two basic systems for housing egg chickens:

Chickens

the system of raising chickens on the ground

This system includes many types of housing, the most famous of which are:

A- The footnote system.

B- The open wards system.

C - closed wards system.

Annotation system

This system is used on farms specialized in breeding and improving poultry and research to facilitate the process of registration and breeding, as it is possible to raise limited individuals representing a specific family of individuals and specific lineage, and it consists of small houses in rows attached to it by external enclosures for the sport of birds. Shading works in the enclosures by planting some fruitful plants such as citrus or Berries, palms and other fruit trees according to the capacity of the enclosures.

Open wards system:

When constructing these wards, it is taken into account that the direction of the building is perpendicular to the direction of the monsoon winds, and the width of the building does not exceed 10-12 meters to facilitate the organization of ventilation in the building. The building is divided into two wings.

The ventilation openings (windows) are at a height of 5.1 meters from the ground surface and their area is about 20% of the floor area.

A part of the floor of the ward may be covered with perches, and the wire under it is sewers to collect the eggs. Usually, nests for laying eggs or egg traps are placed on the sides of the dwelling, and a mattress is placed under it, which is changed whenever needed. The building is equipped with all the necessary tools such as waterers and feeders. It is provided with automatic watering cans. In these wards, birds can be raised from the care stage to the production stage.

Closed wards system:

When constructing this system, it is taken into account that the direction of the building is parallel to the direction of the monsoon winds, and this system is devoid of ventilation windows, and the total reliance for ventilation is on suction or air blowing fans, which are installed in one side of the building, provided that there are openings for entry or exit on the other side. air.

The floor of these buildings may be made of concrete or made up of wooden or metal mounds over the concrete floor on which glaucoma is collected. This system is better in terms of health for birds.

Areas allocated for chickens in ground systems

A number of chickens shall be allocated per square meter of the dwelling as follows:

during the period of care

Number 10-15 birds at the age of 8-12 weeks

Number 7-10 birds at the age of 12-20 weeks

during the production period

5-7 birds, age 20 weeks, until the end of the production life

Second: the system of raising chickens in hanging cages or batteries

This system has spread recently, and it guarantees maximum benefit from the size of the building, as well as obtaining clean, distinctive eggs when marketing, but this system is expensive and requires a large capital.

. Cage system

This system consists of units or eyes in which one, two, or even four chickens are raised, depending on the capacity of these units. There are some surface cages that may accommodate 20-25 chickens.

Cage units are stacked in longitudinal rows on one, two or three floors in a stratified or hierarchical system.

Chickens can be raised in open or closed wards, provided that the proper ventilation system is taken into account for the density of breeding in these wards.

Batteries breeding system

The battery consists of several floors made of wood or galvanized sheet and wire so that each chicken or two chickens are allocated an area similar to the area used in cages, and under it there is a kind of inclined wire floor that allows droppings and residues to fall on a flat tray or mat.

The batteries are placed in a suitable hall-like building so that temperatures can be regulated in winter and summer, as well as ventilation. This system is suitable for closed buildings only due to the high density of birds, which reaches 25-30 birds / m2.

Cages and batteries include the following:

Automatic streams.

Automatic troughs through which the food moves through the chain or mat system.

· A kind of forward-sloping floor that ends outside with a barrier that holds the eggs that move due to the slope of the floor so that they can be collected outside the cage or battery.

A conveyor belt may be attached to it to transport the eggs to where they can be collected, graded and packed in an attached room outside the amber.

1- Connected Education System:

In it, the herd is raised throughout the periods of vaccination, care and production in the same farm and the same dwelling. This is followed by small farms whose herds are raised on the ground. The breeder prepares the immunization requirements in the first three weeks of life, then implements feeding programs, lighting, immunizations, and other transactions throughout the care period... And near the production period (at the age of 18 weeks), nests are placed to collect eggs (linens) for the birds to get used to. With the beginning of the egg production period, feeding programs, lighting and other transactions that are commensurate with the egg production period are changed... At the end of the production period (at the age of 18 months), the breeder gets rid of the herd by selling them alive or slaughtered. Then he evacuates the house, disinfects it, and equips it with immunization equipment, in preparation for receiving a new batch.

The most important defect of this system is that the farm stays for about 5 months every year and a half without producing eggs, which does not enable the breeder to establish a fixed and regular program for marketing eggs.

2- Separate education system:

The flock is reared throughout the vaccination and care periods in separate specialized housing, and then transferred at the age of 17-18 weeks to the egg production housing. This system can be followed when rearing on the ground or rearing in batteries... Many breeders prefer rearing flocks on the ground during the vaccination and care periods, and then the birds are transferred to the residences for egg production in the batteries. Although the large integrated poultry companies provide housing with batteries designated for the vaccination and care periods, in addition to the batteries designated for the production period.

The time program for the integrated breeding in the houses of laying hens:

There are two systems that guarantee the continuity of supplying egg production farms with productive birds in a continuous and regular season, namely:

1- Program 3:1

The replacement herd (or replacement) is raised for 18 weeks in the incubation and care homes, then transferred to the egg-producing homes to remain there for another 4 weeks until it begins to lay eggs, then the production period remains, which is within 56 weeks, then there is a period to get rid of the herd by selling it alive or slaughtered, and then the purification period, and this period ranges between 3-4 weeks.

Accordingly, the program will be as follows:

A- Nursing home and care:

18 weeks rearing + 3 weeks sterilization = 21 weeks

B- Egg production housing :

4 weeks to complete the period of sexual maturity + 56 weeks of egg production + 3 weeks to get rid of the herd and disinfection = 63 weeks, i.e. the ratio between the period needed by the birds in the housing for vaccination and care to that which they need in the housing for egg production, including the periods of disinfection and disposal of birds.

21:63: Chron. 1:3

Accordingly, when planning to calculate the batteries needed for the flock to be reared, it is necessary to calculate one of the replacement homes that can accommodate a number of birds when they reach 18 weeks, equal to the number that will be transferred to one of the three egg-producing homes.

2- Program 1: 4

The replacement herd (or replacement) is raised for only 14 weeks in the housing for the incubation and care periods, then it is transferred to the egg production housing to remain there for another 8 weeks until it begins to lay eggs, then the production period remains, which is within 56 weeks, then the herd is disposed of by selling alive or slaughtered After that, the purification period is about 4 weeks. Accordingly, the program will be as follows:

A- Nursing home and care:

14 weeks of rearing + 3 weeks of disinfection = 17 weeks.

B- Egg production housing:

8 weeks to complete the period of growth and sexual maturity + 56 weeks of egg production + 4 weeks to get rid of the herd and disinfection = 68 weeks.

That is, the ratio between the period needed by the birds in the housing for incubation and care to that which they need in the housing for egg production, including the periods of purification and disposal of birds.

17:68 Chronicles 1:4

When discussing the two programs, the following becomes clear:

Program 1: 3 is distinguished by being closer to the nature of birds, as the bird stays for the entire period of vaccination and care in one house... As for the 1: 4 program, the growth period is divided between the replacement house and the egg-producing house, and the immature birds stay for a long time (8 weeks).

1- In the egg production housing until the stage of sexual maturity and egg production is completed.

2- When birds at the age of 14 weeks are transferred to egg-producing homes (program 1: 4), their size is small, as this allows a very large number of birds to escape from between the wires of the batteries originally prepared for adult and larger birds... This causes continuous agitation for the birds and increases of its mortality rate.

3- At the start of the project, the third and fourth homes remain for more than a full year without exploitation due to the waiting period in the education timetable.

4- Despite the aforementioned defects referred to in the 4:1 program, its advantage is that the number of birds that can be reared in this program exceeds the number of birds that can be reared in the 1:3 program due to the increase in the number of egg production houses (4 housings instead of 3 housings) and the increase in the number of cycles. Education (3 courses instead of 2.5 courses) annually, although the investment costs in the 1:4 program are greater.