Poultry rearing is a common business in many house holds in Africa with broilers being reared for their meat.
When building a poultry house, the orientation is very important and it is recommended that you build the house on an east- west orientation where the length of the house runs along the raising and falling of the sun. This helps the sun to always be on top of the roof to avoid direct sunlight into the poultry house.
Poultry house recommendations
When building a poultry house, build a solid wall of about half a metre made of bricks along the length and from that solid wall upwards, use a wire mesh. Along the width, build a solid wall all through from the bottom to the top.
Plaster the solid wall to make washing and disinfection easy. The mesh wire used on both lengths should be of 10 mm diameter to prevent birds and rats from getting into the poultry house because these spread salmonella.
If the poultry house is already built and oriented on a north- south orientation, put a roof over hang that prevents entry of direct sunlight into the poultry pen.
Chicks management
For beddings, its ideal to use wood shavings because these absorb moisture and if used at a depth of about 10 cm gives chicks comfort and also helps keep the warm temperatures of the room because most coldness come from the floor.
When the chicks spill water around the drinking area, remove the wet litter and replace it with new litter.
As the chicks get older, adjust the height of the drinker and feeders to ensure the chicks feed and drink comfortably. Also provide ample feeding and drinking space for the chicks which is 1 drinker and feeder for every 50 chicks to avoid bullying.
