Selecting the best poultry housing system is essential to successful poultry farming. For starters, a suitable housing system promotes health in a flock. Moreover, proper housing ensures productivity in your flocks.
As you know, every poultry housing system has its own pros and cons. Some require huge initial investments, others large land parcels. Nonetheless, you can still pick a system suited to your context and needs.
However, your choice of poultry housing system may be influenced, even determined by factors outside your control. For example, poultry regulation in some countries is banning cage systems.
Poultry housing system defined
A poultry housing system refers to the type of structure or coop poultry birds reside. There are at least 8 poultry housing systems. These are categorized under extensive and intensive systems as you can see below.
There are a number of key differences between extensive and intensive poultry systems. Fundamentally, flocks in extensive poultry systems have access to the outdoors. In contrast, in intensive poultry systems, flocks spend their entire lives indoors.
6 Factors that determine a good poultry housing system
You can refer to a number of factors to determine what poultry housing would be best for you.
1. Biosecurity
Your first and foremost choice of a poultry housing system is to guarantee basic biosecurity. In general, your flocks have to be protected from the environments. For instance this might mean climate control and regulation, and proper ventilation.
Moreover, the coop must be properly situated to ensure good drainage and to prevent pollutants.
Additionally, a housing system must keep birds safe from predators and pests. Essentially, irrespective of whether a flock is outdoors or indoors, its housing must guarantee its safety.
Such basic provisions of biosecurity are the fundamentals of health in a flock. Furthermore a good poultry system must have worker disinfection foot baths, and birds quarantine spaces, in the least.
2. Flock productivity
Some poultry systems promote flock productivity than others. For instance, hens in enriched cage system have been found to have a higher egg production rate than those in aviary and conventional cages.
However, the comparison above focuses on a subset of intensive poultry systems. If you know how all systems compare in egg production, let us know in the comments. We will be happy to update this article respectively. Furthermore it would be interesting to know how extensive methods compare in this regard.
Lastly but not least, a good coop ensures a flock is safe and protected. Consequently a flock that is safe is not stressed. Inescapably, a stress free flock is likely to be productive.
3. Animal welfare
Poultry welfare is becoming increasingly important lately. Essentially, from both a consumer and regulation perspective, there is a need to raise birds in suitable and conducive conditions.
Notably, the EU has already banned conventional battery cage poultry systems. Nonetheless furnished or enriched cage systems are still in use. However, these too will be banned sooner than later. In fact by 2027, the EU is going to ban all cage systems for animal farming. Other countries including some states in the U.S. will likely follow.
Animal welfare requires the raising of birds in housing systems where there is at least the following:
- Ample living space allowance
- Free movement
- Scratching
- Nesting and perching
- Access to the outdoors
The last one is not necessarily mandatory given severe weather conditions in various parts of the world. Although each country and or regional bloc is setting out animal welfare requirements by itself, these are likely to become common in the near future.
Whatever the case, a good poultry housing system for you should ensure birds can engage in natural movement and behaviors. Moreover, access to the direct sunlight, and even vegetation will definitely improve your farm’s animal welfare rating.
4. Market perception
As a commercial poultry farmer, market perception is another factor by which you determine poultry housing. It is no longer enough to raise chicken and produce meat or eggs.
The conditions under which you practice poultry farming are increasingly important to consumers. At least in shaping their perception of poultry produce.
In particularly, consumers want to know and feel that the produce they are buying was produced humanely. Importantly still, they want to know and feel that respective housing systems are sustainable.
Furthermore, consumers want to know and feel that consuming poultry produce will be nourishing for them.
Consequently, your choice of a housing system must fulfill these factors and more in order to have a good market perception. Failure to do can result in produce boycott and other negative outcomes to say the least.
5. Poultry farming regulation
Farming in general is increasingly becoming regulated and poultry farming is no exception. Essentially, regulation aims at improving farming standards and the quality of farm produce. For instance, it is for this reason that the EU is banning all cage systems for animal farming.
However, poultry regulation can be expected to go even further. For example, the space required per bird in intensive systems may come under scrutiny.
Consequently, the best poultry housing system for you will be one that meets all regulation requirements. Moreover, you will want to choose a housing system that you can easily use into the future. For instance if you are in the EU, building a cage system in 2026 will not do you any good since those systems will be banned a year after.
6. Produce certification
Various agricultural sectors have produce rating as proof of how output is produced. In poultry farming, you have seen or heard of produce certifications. For instance organic produce, grass finished and grass grown and finished certifications.
As a result, if you are aiming for your poultry produce to have a certain certification, you should build a respective housing system. Produce certification may include other factors such as:
- Farmhands working and compensation conditions
- Environmental and sustainability
- Animal welfare
Produce certifications can improve market perception. This can be beneficial especially if you’re targeting niche markets. Ideally, you should get in touch with produce certification bodies when choosing your poultry system. This can help you choose the best system accordingly.
Poultry housing system takeaways
- A good poultry system must promote biosecurity, health and productivity
- It must take into consideration farming, market and regulation requirements
- Other factors that can influence your choice of poultry system include labor automation, financing and land size
- Animal welfare will be a key factor in your selection of a poultry system especially if you’re looking for produce certification
Let us know what is the best poultry system in the comments section below. In a later article, we will compare all poultry systems by criteria discussed above.