Deep Litter vs Battery Cage, Which one is the best housing system for poultry farming?

 Deep Litter  vs Battery Cage, Which one is the best housing system for poultry farming?

One question that starting poultry farmers ask when they want to start growing birds (especially layers), is which of the poultry housing systems is the best for them. There are two most common types of housing and they are the deep litter system and the battery cage system. Both housing systems are effective depending on what the farmer wants and both of them have their own pros and cons. In this post, we will discuss the upsides and downsides of deep litter and battery cage systems. By the end of this post, a startup poultry farmer should be able to make a guided decision on which system to opt for based on what he/she wants and what he/she has.

In the deep litter system, the birds are kept on a thick layer of bedding material, such as straw, wood shavings, or sawdust. This system allows for the birds to move around freely and exhibit natural behaviors such as scratching and dust bathing. The bedding material absorbs water and waste, which helps to control odors and provides a comfortable environment for the birds. Conversely, in the battery cage system, the birds are kept in small wire cages, usually with several birds in each cage. The cages are equipped with feeders and waterers, and waste falls through the wire floor. We will compare both systems under some subheadings below. Let's roll!

1. Costs: When it comes to cost, instituting and maintaining a battery cage is considerably higher than a deep litter. Deep litter system only requires building the farm house and frequently changing the litter materials (wood shavings, sawdust, etc.). On the other hand, to successfully run a battery cage system, a farmer has to buy the cages and pay professionals to install them, the farmer also has to pay for maintenance of the battery cage so as to keep it running in perfect condition.

2. Space Requirement: When comparing the space required to raise the same number of birds using both systems, deep litter system takes up way more space than battery cage system. In battery cage, a cage can have up to three tiers, some units can contain up tp 120 birds. This makes very efficient use of a smaller space than in deep litter system.

3. Animal Welfare: In the deep litter system, the farmer is simulating the natural habitat of the birds, allowing them to exhibit their natural behaviors such as scratching the ground, dust bath, running around, etc. Conversely, the birds are more confined in the battery cage, thereby restricting them from doing the things they should naturally be doing. Many argue that this is an infringement on the welfare of the animal.

Some other things the farmer should put into consideration include the number of birds to be raised (for a few birds, deep litter system will be more cost effective and easier to monitor; for a farm aiming at raising 5000 birds and above, battery cage system would do the farmer more good) and the type of disease that is prevalent in the area (coccidiosis spreads faster in a deep litter system while CRD may spread faster in battery cage _ ask your local vet to guide you).

Having read these, a farmer can make appropriate decision on which system to adopt based on what he wants and what he has.

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