Differences between deep litters and battery cage system



Home - Blog - Headquarter Office - Differences between deep litters and battery cage system

Time : 2007-02-22

Basic information

There are different housing system used in rearing birds but the major concern here is discuss the differences between the two major and common housing system in poultry farming. It is equally important you observe the type of housing system you can use to attain and maintain high lasting production cycle. There is no doubt about it that good and furnished environment is tantamount to good and healthy living. Various researches done by expert has shown and proven in diverse ways that the important of cage cannot be underestimated in poultry farming

There are various ways in which livestock have been kept before cages were invented, however, those methods have exposed poultry farmers and their livestock to different dangers, risk, loss, and so many other things and this has made some of this poultry farmers to shift their attention elsewhere and found themselves another source of income

There are basically two most common housing types we used in our country, they are

1. Battery cage system

2. Deep litter system

1. Battery cage system

This is a way of raising birds in a caged conferment and it is said to be the best way of raising birds. The cages are divided into compartment containing a bird or two in a cage. It have sloping floor for easy passage of eggs and a laying nest as well. Cages were invented to curb so many things such as risk, loss, dangers, diseases, unproductivity and lots more in which poultry farmers had encountered/faced in time past. Now the question is what is cage and how does it looks like? To proffer answer to this will lead us to the definition of cage and its importance on livestock

Poultry cages/battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. Though cages are now available in different sizes for different species. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, in a unit, as in an early artillery battery. Although the term is usually applied to poultry farming. Battery cages are made of wired mesh which does not hold the livestock feces to keep them save from diseases, well or proper ventilation, automatic feeders which reduces feed spillage, automatic drinker which gives water adequately in proportion of what each bird is able to drink

Advantages of battery cage system

1. The battery cage saves spaces

2. Improvement in performance when compared with birds raised in deep litter system

3. It is easy to identify birds that are not producing

4. Stress factors are removed

5. Feed wastages is reduced unlike the deep litter system

6. It helps in easy taking of stocks

2. Deep litter system

This is a way of raising birds on a cemented floor of a building. The essence of calling it deep litter is because the wood shavings or sawdust are spread on the floor to make the birds feel comfortable. Both the chicken feeding through and drinker are placed on the floor or hanged to the reach of the bird

Disadvantages of deep litter system

1. Direct access to their droppings, the birds have direct access to their droppings and picking up food along with their droppings is dangerous to their health

2. To erect the housing of deep litter is capital intensive

3. It is not easy to have a proper documentation of the birds, were the farmer have a large stock

4. It is almost impossible to detect unproductive birds in deep litter

5. There is wastage of feeds

6. Disease is on the high side

7. Production is low because the chickens move about freely their by burning energy reserved for egg production

8. Eggs comes out dirty

9. It is stressful packing litter often and on to avoid smell

10. Egg breakages are high, the by reducing the farmers revenue