Poultry equipment for beginners in the poultry industry

Poultry equipment refers to a range of tools, machinery, and devices that help to manage and operate poultry farms efficiently. These activities include hatching, brooding, feeding, watering, and taking care of the chickens. To ensure maximum productivity in chicken farming, it is crucial to install all the necessary equipment required to facilitate the easy handling of your poultry. Keep in mind that the poultry coop is an integral part of the household backyard. Therefore, it is essential to install proper cleaning equipment to minimize the challenges associated with unpleasant odors in your surroundings.

For small-scale farmers, and beginners in the poultry industry, it is essential they install simple manual equipment that they can easily handle to effectively fulfill their desired purposes in poultry production. In contrast, large-scale farms deploy extensive machinery to aid their operations due to the large number of chickens kept.

Depending on the number of chicken farmers keep, they require various types of equipment. Here is a list of equipment you may require in your poultry farm.

Incubators poultry equipment

These are specialized devices farmers use to artificially hatch their eggs. An incubator is a machine that mimics hen brooding, by providing optimum temperatures, and humidity. In addition, it provides a turning mechanism that stimulates the hatching of the eggs.

Incubators are of varying types in terms of size, number of eggs they accommodate, and method of operating them. In that case, you should select the most appropriate incubator for your farm. In addition to the high rate of chicks hatching, the incubator also increases farm productivity by ensuring good health for chicks at any given time.

Feeders and drinkers’ poultry equipment

To achieve scalable feed and water management in your poultry farm, when setting up a coop make sure it is fully equipped with drinkers and feeders to facilitate the chicken feed consumption with minimal wastage. Chickens unlike other poultry like ducks require clean water throughout their productive cycle.

Feeders

These are containers or troughs from which the chicken feeds. In other words, they hold poultry feed to reduce wastage. Farmers use a wide range of feeders depending on their availability, cost, and lastly the level of production. For example, small-scale farmers can use manual hangable feeders, whereas large-scale farmers rely on automated feeders. Equally important, the feeder is crucial as feed management is the top priority in poultry farming it consists of the highest ration in the cost of production. In summary, farmers install feeders and drinkers depending on the number of chickens, and their capacity. The table below shows a summary of the number of feeders and drinkers a farmer needs.

	Up to 4 chickens	5 to 10 chickens	Over 100 chickens
Drinker	5 L	12 L	25 L
Feeder	2.5Kg	10Kg	15 Kg

Types of feeders.

Chicken feed trough.

Most farmers use this feeder on their farms. They measure about 35 cm to 1 M long and can used by multiple chickens.

Treadle feeders.

Large-scale farmers them rearing their flocks. Moreover, they can used by scale farmers who have other businesses and do poultry farming partly. Furthermore, treadles are adjustable, for example, you can adjust the speed of releasing the feed. Finally, the farmer can remove the cover for refilling.

Automatic feeders poultry equipment

As a matter of fact, this is a precise technique of poultry feeding. Under this condition, feed is only released when the chicken steps on the machine Peddle. They ensure precise food consumption. Although these feeders are more expensive than other feeders, they are a good means of reducing feed wastage.

Drinkers poultry equipment

Manual feed drinker.

Of all the drinkers used in poultry farming, this is the most basic drinker with mutual refilling.

Poultry drinker.

Water is contained in a tank and trickles down into a tray precisely—the mechanism of the same as that of treadle feeders.

Cup drinker’s poultry equipment

Farmers secure cup drinkers on the wall of the coop at the height that poultry can reach. This method is the most economical and reduces water wastage. They have replaced water in these drinkers every day.

Automatic drinker poultry equipment

Commonly found in commercial farms. Water flows through an automated system to the drinkers. It is a very efficient and effective method.

Egg handling poultry equipment.

Farmers use them for easy transport of eggs. Farmers used them for collecting, cleaning, sorting, and preserving the eggs.

Debeaking poultry equipment

Farmers use this tool to reduce the length of chicken beaks, especially in layers. Farmers take great care to ensure the health and safety of their animals, even when it means making tough decisions. One of these decisions is to trim the beaks of their chickens to prevent them from hurting one another while being confined together. By taking this proactive measure, farmers can keep their chickens healthy and content, which ultimately results in better-quality eggs and happier birds.

Brooders poultry equipment

As happens in many livestock activities, day-old chicks cannot maintain their normal body temperature, therefore they require an external source of heat for a couple of weeks. In all cases, a farmer raising a day-old chick will build a broader for your chicks.

A brooder is a structure a farmer builds to provide an artificial warm condition to mimic the hen’s body temperature for the newly hatched chicks. In several farms, brooders are an integral part of poultry structures as they rely solely on a day-old chick bought from the chick dealer merchants.

Brooding is a significant practice in poultry chicken farming since the newly hatched chicks can maintain their normal body temperature of about 41.1 degrees Celsius with fast six weeks. In fact, a day-old chick has a body temperature of 39 °c which is below the normal bird temperature of about 41.1°c. Therefore, brooding helps the young chicks to maintain these temperatures by providing an external source of heat. As a matter of fact, the farmer can reduce the death rate of their young chicks by employing effective brooding methods. Farmers choose the brooding techniques based on the effectiveness, cost of running the brooder, and finally the availability of energy sources.

Minimizing poultry mortality

Chicks are fragile, especially in the first few weeks. Hence good handling and care to reduce the mortality of your flock to a certain percentage. Moreover irrespective of the breed of chicks acquired, and the level of management deployed at this stage, chicks mortality cannot be 100% avoided. However, selecting a good brooding method at this stage can reduce the mortality rate by a certain percentage. A farmer should select a good brooding method in order to maintain an optimum temperature for the chick to thrive well.

High temperatures dehydrate the chicks and as a result of high water intake than the feed intake. Due to this reduced feed intake, the chicks start showing signs of stunted growth. Whereas low brooding temperatures cause chilling and prolonged coldness causes impaired immune systems of the young chicks.

Setting up a brooder.

Farmers can easily set up a brooder for their chicks using an infrared heat lamp, charcoal stove, and gas stoves. They should use a hood to direct the heat towards the floor and build a guard around the brooder using cardboard. This guard should be circular to prevent overcrowding of chicks at any particular point. It is cost-effective to use cardboard as they are readily available.

Farmers use various sources of energy to keep the brooder running at optimum temperatures ranging from 32 to 35 degrees Celsius in the first week. You should also ensure that your brooder has enough space to avoid overcrowding of chicks. More importantly, provides enough room for free movement of chicks to and from the heat source. For example, a brooder measuring 10 by 12 feet accommodates 120 chicks for eight weeks.

Types of brooder farmer’s use.

Charcoalkerosene stove.

In most areas with no electricity, chicken farmers use charcoal or kerosene as the main source of energy in brooding their chicks. As a matter of fact charcoal and kerosene brooders still hold great significance among small-scale farmers due to their level of the economy and they can be adopted for up to 150 to 750 chicks.

Gas brooder.

This is a new technique of brooding efficiency in both small and large-scale brooding farms.  This gas brooder provides warmth for up to 1000 to 1200 chicks ago with varying economic rates of gas consumption. Natural gases such as methane are used to heat the elements which hang 3 to 5 feet above the chicks to provide warmth to the chicks.

Electric brooders.

As rural service lines are extended, the use of electric brooders has become more recognized in rural areas. Electric brooder has several advantages over the other methods. For example, lower labour costs, and greater convenience of operation as it can be used to raise 3000 to 4000 chicks.

Infrared bulb.

Farmers use this specialized heat lamp or bulb to emit infrared to provide heat to the young chicks during the first week after hatching. Unlike the traditional heat lamp infrared emits radiation that heats only the surface, and objects directly including the chicks without heating the air. This has made this method gain popularity in the poultry industry recently. A bulb of 250 watts infrared is sufficient for 150 to 200 chicks placed at the center of the brooder.

In conclusion, to effectively manage a poultry farm, it is crucial to use suitable equipment that plays a vital role in ensuring the health and well-being of the birds. Poultry equipment is vital for maintaining optimal conditions for the birds and achieving maximum productivity.

References.

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/the-seven-basics-of-better-brooding.