Basic characteristics of the facilities intended for chickens

When planning the construction of a shed for broilers, a plot of land with good drainage and sufficient natural air draft should be selected first. The structure of the shed should be located in a place where the air circulates constantly and smoothly, considering an intermediate point in the circulation between not being blocked by bushes, buildings or mounds of earth and taking advantage of the presence of trees that serve as a windbreaker barrier and thus provide freshness.

As for the structure and construction materials, it can be said that the structures are almost always built in iron or concrete, although in small-scale poultry farming they are built in wood that although it is functional has great problems to achieve a complete and in-depth disinfection which sooner or later ends with sanitary problems.

In the construction of the shed, the floor is not recommended made of earth, it should be made of concrete considering that it should be rammed well to avoid gaps inside the shed, conditions for proper cleaning and disinfection of the shed should be guaranteed, drainage ditches should also be built all around the shed. The ideal is that it is in cement, of a good thickness, with a good unevenness from the center to the ends, for when it is unoccupied, the cleaning and disinfection of it is simpler.

The walls of the corrals can have an approximate height of 30 cm from the floor, although walls of an approximate height of 100 cm have also been observed in cooler climates, these walls serve as a barrier to direct air currents, they should not be very high so that there is good ventilation inside the shed so that ammonia gases can be easily dispersed and oxygen can enter the shed.

Likewise, from the last row of blocks or bricks, a plastic or wire mesh is installed that goes up to the ceiling or to the height of the columns, in order to prevent the entry of animals. The roof used is made of zinc, the roof should preferably be of 2 waters because this cone shape allows the hot air to rise and leave the shed easily and it favors lowering the internal temperature of the shed.

As for the drinkers used in the sheds can be automatic, their height must be regulated according to the height of the back of the chickens, there are also supplementary manual drinkers that can be made with containers or PVC pipes, either for use on the floor or hanging.

On the other hand, there are the feeders that can be linear or canoe type, which is an economic option, it can be placed on the ground and some food dispensers can be automatic that are used for anti-bird and anti-rodent birds, they are called automatic due to the actuation of a lever by the birds.

Dear readers, as you can see these are some of the characteristics that the structures for raising chickens have, generally this type of structures are those used in farms specialized in this type of poultry exploitation, we mention this because in some diversified production units enclosures or cages are made on the ground, only with metal or plastic stamens and the floors are made of earth, although it is cheaper in terms of floors, it is a little more difficult to maintain hygiene unless a mattress is placed with sawdust or rice husk that can be changed from time to time, thus avoiding pockets of contamination within the production unit.