Solar Poultry Houses

Chicken Houses in South Africa are generally made of steel. Small chicken houses for small poultry farmers house from 200 chickens up to 3000 chickens – whether they are broiler chickens or layer chickens. The small chicken houses are very similar, although a layer chicken house is usually higher, and wider, so that the layer cages are not too close to the roof – and there is space to move around the battery cages.

Chicken House South Africa

Small poultry houses

These chicken coops are usually built on site and are a welded steel frame – large poultry houses have proper foundations and walls – but also use steel as the structure and for the roof. The large poultry house can hold up to to 40 000 birds.

Chicken houses and poultry houses for chicken farming in South Africa – Chicken Shack Agencies supplies poultry equipment to small chicken farmers around South Africa. Finding information on poultry farming is easily done by a simple web search. While there are many suppliers of cheap chicken houses – many of the companies involved are not poultry experts – while the structures may seem the same there are some major differences. A chicken house will be built and designed to carry the weight of the equipment – and there must be winched curtains on the sides. The header tank must feed the automatic bell drinkers inside the house. Many prospective buyers look for a cheap chicken house, and by default, cheap chicken farming equipment – this is not always the best option. You really want a company that specialises in chicken and poultry equipment – if you use a company that just makes steel structures how are they going to help you when you have problems on your chicken farm? While many new farmers think that chicken farming is easy – this is not true.

It is easy once you know how – and there are many subtle nuances to farm chickens successfully. “Wild chickens”, or “home chickens” are very robust – you just need to take a drive through any township or rural area to see how many free roaming chickens and hens there are – and they all seem to thrive – even with the sometimes harsh conditions they face – dogs, cars and children are all part of their life – they have no hutch or chicken run and look after themselves when it comes to food. They will live on anything they can find – from the streets and from rubbish dumps. And they not only survive – but thrive. Commercial chickens bought from a breeder farm are not in the same class – these factory chickens are weak compared to their wild brothers and sisters – they are prone to disease, are very fussy eaters, and need to be cared for like babies! If you think that chickens in a chicken house are the same as the rural chickens you are wrong. Chickens raised in a poultry house will be living on top of each other – they are bred to put on as much weight as quickly as possible (broilers anyway) – they are not hardy and will require very careful care – temperature, water, food, disease – these are the hazards that a factory farmed chicken faces. So you really have to know what you are doing when you start a chicken farm. In saying all of that – with the right training and farming principles anyone can run a chicken farm – it is not rocket science – just a case of doing the right things at the right time. Being aware of and noticing what is happening in the house. You will need all 5 senses – you nose is an especially useful tool – a chicken house that smells bad is likely to be a coop full of sick birds – or birds that will be sick soon. A well run farm will only smell of chickens – and that is not a smell that will make you wrinkle your nose or gag – it is a farm smell – granted – but not a bad smell. Picking up the birds and feeling them is another good thing – looking for bumps or lumps, or noticing missing feathers or swollen eyes will quickly let you know that you have disease or a problem in the hutch. Whether the chickens are eating properly, or gaining weight at the right time is also a good indicator. A healthy poultry house will also sound different to an chicken run with unhappy birds – the soft clucking and talkative nature of chickens will quickly change to a more threatening sound if your hens are unhappy – chickens are, believe it or not, quite intelligent. They will recognise you, and come running when you talk to them or bring them food. They will like to be petted and scratched. Although his is not possible when you have a house with thousands of chickens – the same principles apply – talk to your chickens, handle them with respect and they will make you a profit!

3 meter x 6 meter chicken house by Chicken Shack

Chicken farming has come a long way in the last 100 years. In the future we can expect green chicken houses to be the norm. Poultry houses driven by solar – solar lights, solar fans and solar heating – with today’s technology all of this is possible – if not yet affordable. If you have resources to solar poultry equipment – let us know. Technology has not reached a point yet where a viable solar house is possible, not in South Africa anyway. The cost of such technologies, mainly due to economies of scale, is just not viable. The most affordable small chicken house on the market today is the Yellow Door Chicken House, made by Chicken Shack Agencies. This robust steel structure is well made and comes with all the poultry equipment you need to grow chickens in South Africa. They work well with government – if you have a government grant or loan Chicken Shack Agencies is the place to get a quote on a small poultry house. The poultry house is made form sturdy angle iron and galvanised steel sheet. The chicken houses can be built using a government loan or agricultural loan.

All the  poultry equipment you need to start poultry farming is supplied and your  steel chicken house will make you a good profit. You will need poultry insurance to cover your chickens and your poultry houses. Chicken Shack Agencies will build you a chicken house in South Africa – anywhere – in the country! Consulting with knowledgeable people is vital – and this should happen before you prepare your business plan and before you apply for any kind of grant for farming. Many small chicken farmers make the mistake of rushing headlong into getting the money and forget to add critical elements such as concrete floors, gas heaters and poultry fans – without these your ability to farm with chickens will be limited, especially if you are on a tight budget.

A poultry house or chicken house that is sponsored by a  government loan, or agricultural loan will include all the poultry equipment you need for the first year of operation – it will also include broiler chickens or layer chickens and all the chicken food you need in that year. A steel chicken house is usually the choice for small farmers – although some farmers prefer a brick structure. The cost of such a poultry house is considerably more than a steel structure and the government departments that sponsor small chicken farming operations prefer the cheaper option – and there is certainly no difference in the yields and profit between the two. The success of poultry farming is in the management of the poultry farm – not the type of structure – although a badly built structure, or a building that is not designed specifically for chicken farming will affect your profit margins.