2. • When it comes to commercial poultry farming, constructing a
good poultry housing system is very important for success. The
same way you make plans when you want to build your own
house, that’s about how much planning you need to make for
your poultry pen.
• A poultry house is important because it provides security for the
birds and protects them from adverse weather conditions.
3. Here are the best reasons for constructing a standard
poultry housing for your birds;
1.A good poultry housing provides comfort and protection for the
birds
2.It makes poultry management easy for the farmer
3.Easy, convenient and economic operations
4.Reduces the total cost of production
5.Helps to protect the birds from floods, rain and the sun
6.It gives room for optimum and uniform growth rate
7.A well-secured poultry house will prevent mice, rats and other
birds from eating your poultry feed and prevent disease
transmission.
8.Poultry pens protect birds from predators – dogs, cats, snakes,
birds of prey, rats and thieves.ng
9.You need to build a chicken coop or nest to give hens a safe place
4. 10.A commercial poultry housing must be comfortable for the
birds in order to maximize flock performance.
11.Better ensure better poultry health and welfare.
12.With a good design and construction of the poultry pen, you
can maximize the use of space and increase stocking density.
5. Poultry housing systems
• Based on factors such as type of climate, type of poultry
farming, available labour, availability of land and cost of land,
different poultry housing systems have been developed. They
aim at achieving desired productivity levels in poultry
6. Free-Range or extensive system
• The free-range system is one of the oldest systems in poultry
keeping. It is making a comeback as the demand for poultry
organic meat and eggs grows.
• Under the free-range system, poultry is free to move around the
land, foraging for its own food. Water and shade are provided in
the range. At night the birds can be housed.
7. • Advantages of the free-range system
• Low capital
• Low housing costs
• Birds fertilize the soil as they forage for their food
• Birds need less food as they get most of their food from the land
• Tastier meat and eggs as compared to other systems
• Disadvantages of the free-range system
• Diseases can be spread from wild birds to the flock
• It is hard to control predators under this system
• Loss of eggs as the birds can lay them in the bushes / tall grass
• It is not possible to practice scientific methods of poultry keeping under
the free-range system e.g controlling the environment/
8. • Semi-intensive system
• Under the semi-intensive system, the poultry farmer provides housing with
attached fenced runs where the birds can forage during the day. It contain
plants where the birds feed on It and scavenge for worms and other
insects/
• Advantages of the semi-intensive system
• It is possible to practice some scientific methods of poultry rearing.
• There is a better utilization of available land as compared to the free-range
system.
• Birds can be protected for extreme weather and predators.
• It offers a compromise between the free-range system and the intensive
system, where it tries to take advantage of the benefits of both systems.
• Tastier meat and eggs as compared to the intensive system.
• Disadvantages of the semi-intensive system
• There is a higher cost than the free-range system. This includes the higher
cost of fencing and labour.
• There is a need for extra labour as compared to the free range system
9. • Intensive system
• Under the free-range system of poultry keeping, the birds are confined
in their houses (cages or floor ).
• The intensive system is the most economical system of modern poultry
farming because it supports the rearing of a high number of birds.
• Advantages of the intensive system.
• It is possible to practice scientific methods of poultry keeping for
example culling, breeding, feeding, vaccination, and medication.
• It is easier to identify, quarantine and treat sick birds.
• This method has higher production levels as energy is saved by
restricting movement.
• The farmer requires less land than in other systems.
10. • Disadvantages of the intensive system
• All the required nutrients have to be provided to the birds as
they are not exposed to sunlight and external feed sources
• Diseases spread easily as the birds are kept close together
• The welfare of the birds is affected as they cannot roost, spread
their wings or scratch the floor.
• Meat and eggs from the intensive system do not taste as good
as from the free-range and semi-intensive system.
