Poultry is kept in two ways: on the floor and in cages. The cellular method allows you to place a large number of individuals on 1 m², save time during harvesting and feed costs. However, the birds are deprived of the ability to move freely and are in close conditions. The features of the cellular content of chickens and how to make a cage by ourselves will be discussed in this material.

Chicken Cage Requirements

The daily chickens are placed in a brooder, where they create warm and comfortable conditions for them. And when the chicks reach the age of 5 days, they can be moved to another cage, with a trellised floor. Young animals up to 1.5–2 months are preferably kept separately from adult individuals. This will prevent the development of diseases, and will also allow chickens to get enough food, as adults can push them away from the feeder.

If there are few goals, it is desirable that the cell structure is mobile and can be carried manually. With a large number of chickens, multi-tier batteries will be required. Cages for chickens are a rectangular parallelepiped with a floor and a roof, as well as walls made of mesh, wood or metal. Such designs can be purchased ready-made or built with your own hands.

They put forward a number of requirements:

1. Strength. All parts must be made so that the chickens cannot damage them.
2. Safety. There should be no places in the structure that the birds could get hurt.
3. Environmental friendliness. For the construction of the cell housing materials must be used that do not emit substances hazardous to birds and humans.
4. Convenient use.
5. Good lighting.
6. Comfort for the birds.

Important! Poor lighting in the cage leads to slow growth of chickens, their poor health, vitamin D deficiency, and aggression.

How to make a chicken cage on your own

You should start by preparing a drawing on which to prescribe the dimensions of all the details. You can use ready-made drawings or make your own with individual sizes.

Examples of drawings:

The optimal size of a stationary cell: length - 1.5 m, height - 0.4 m, depth - 0.5 m. Mobile structures are reduced by 2-3 times.

Necessary tools and materials

To make a home for chickens, you need to stock up on such materials and tools:

• wood bars with a cross section of 20 × 30 mm;
• metal mesh with cells of 20 × 12 mm cross section, 2 mm thick rods;
• corners made of metal;
• boards 2-3 cm thick;
• plywood sheets;
• door hinges;
• glass, plexiglass, polycarbonate for the manufacture of doors;
• self-tapping screws;
• saw;
• screwdriver or screwdriver;
• roulette;
• pencil.

Important! In order to calculate the dimensions of the cell, it is necessary to proceed from the size of the room in which it will be installed, as well as from the number of livestock. Up to 13 chickens 1 month old or up to 22–25 chickens 5 days old can be placed on 1 m².

Step-by-step instruction

Consider the stages of building metal and wooden cages.

Metal construction

In the construction of metal, the walls, floor and ceiling are made of grating.

A step-by-step manufacturing instruction is as follows:

1. Assemble the frame of the cage from the bars.
2. Assemble the roof frame from planks or beams.
3. Cut the mesh to the right size for wall and roof sheathing.
4. Fasten the mesh to the frame.
5. Make a roof by attaching the mesh to the frame.
6. Attach carry handles to the frame.
7. Equip the cage with a retractable tray.

Wooden structure

Wooden construction is easier to do. In addition, materials for its construction will cost less.

Did you know? The walls of the tomb of Tutankhamun are decorated with drawings, upon examination of which it becomes clear that the hens were kept in the courtyards as early as 1350 BC. e. It was at this time that scientists attributed the drawings.

To make it, you will need:

1. Make a frame from the bars, fastening them with metal corners. 10-15 cm should be added to the height of the structure, which will later move under the legs.
2. Cut the side and back walls of the required dimensions from plywood sheets.
3. Attach them to the frame.
4. Attach the front wall in the form of a grid.
5. Fix the bottom of the mesh floor.
6. Make a frame under the door.
7. Insert glass or polycarbonate into it.
8. Attach door hinges.
9. Install the door.
10. Attach a latch.
11. Make a removable roof.
12. Make a stand for a cage from a tree 40 cm high.
13. To make a sliding tray from plywood or tin sheet, which is attached to the stand.

Video: wooden cage for chickens

Arrangement of cages for growing chickens

Inside the cage, there must be a feeder and a drinking bowl. They are placed on a front wall made of mesh. The feeder should pass along the entire length of the structure at such a height that it is convenient for chickens to eat from it. Most often, feed accessories are made from food grade plastic or galvanized iron.

You can also independently make various types of automatic feed adaptations. The best type of drinking bowl for chickens is nipple. Also a good option is a vacuum device. In order for the owner to be able to control the microclimate in the cell, it must be equipped with a thermometer and a hygrometer.

Basic rules for raising chickens in cages

When keeping chickens, 3 factors are very important:

• temperature condition;
• good influx of fresh air;
• purity.

Did you know? The smallest chicken egg laid in China. His weight was 2.5 g.

Starting from the 6th day of life, temperature is required for chickens at + 22 ... + 23 ° С, and under the lamp the temperature should reach + 30 ... + 32 ° С. From the 2nd week of life, it can be reduced to + 21 ... + 21 ° С and + 25 ... + 29 ° С, respectively. From the 3rd - up to + 20 ... + 21 ° С and + 22 ... + 25 ° С. At the age of 1–1.5 months, birds can be at + 18 ... + 19 ° С. They no longer need tube heating.

Cages with chickens should be installed in a room with good ventilation. The lack of fresh air is the main reason why young individuals begin to get sick. With the cellular content of birds, it is very important to correctly compile their diet, especially if the cells are stationary and cannot be carried outside.

Chickens should receive with feed all the necessary minerals and vitamins for normal growth and development. Chicks need to be fed with special compound feeds, cereals, sour-milk products, boiled eggs, greens. Starting from a week old, you can add boiled vegetables, mineral additives.

Did you know? To communicate with each other, chickens are able to make about 30 sounds. Chicken “tongue” contains separate sounds warning of danger, the proximity of food, a laid egg, etc.

It is important to remember that broiler and egg breeds should be kept separately, since the feeding regimen and diet differ from the first weeks of life. Meat breeds are most often fed with compound feeds, and the menu of egg chickens is made from natural products. Layers are best kept in portable structures, since walking is very important for them.

The cage should be regularly cleaned and disinfected. Feeders and drinking bowls should be washed daily. If the floor is not trellised, but solid, then it should be laid on a bed of straw or sawdust. She will need to be regularly replaced with a new one.

Additional recommendations

To ensure that the chickens are comfortable and safe to live with their cages, and their owner is comfortable to care, you should use the following recommendations:

1. In the manufacture of walls from plywood sheets, it is desirable to protect them with plastic or polycarbonate.
2. The most convenient during operation is a sliding door.
3. A threshold 10-15 cm high must be equipped in the cage. This is necessary so that the chickens cannot leave it when harvesting.
4. The excrement pan should be located 10-15 cm from the floor.
5. In wooden structures, drinking bowls should be installed at a certain distance from the walls so that accidental moisture does not destroy them.
6. For lighting and heating, it is best to use infrared lamps. One 250 W lamp is enough to illuminate and heat a cage with dimensions of 100 × 50 × 45. Lamps must be attached to the top of the side wall.
7. All wires must be led out for safety.
8. Natural or forced ventilation must be installed in the cage. In the first option, 2 holes should be made in the lower part of one wall and the upper part of the opposite wall or in the ceiling.
9. On the floor you should pick up a mesh with such cells that cannot fall into and get stuck in the limbs of chickens.
10. If it is planned that the design will be portable, then you need to equip the handle for carrying it or attach the wheels.
11. The floor in the cage can be made so that it is cleaned when walking.

Important! When attaching infrared lamps to the ceiling, and not to the top of the side walls of the cell, the intensity of lighting and heating is significantly reduced.

Thus, chickens can be kept both on the floor and in cages. For the successful cultivation of birds, it is important to follow the recommendations for the maximum occupancy of the cell premises, adhere to sanitary and hygienic standards, and create the necessary microclimate. Designs can be purchased ready-made or made yourself from wood or metal.