Do-it-yourself cages for laying hens. Cage sizes for laying hens

Chickens in summer cottages are bred today by many. There are several ways to maintain them. One of the most convenient and promising is considered to be breeding of this bird in cages. Similar designs today, if desired, can be purchased ready-made. However, they are quite expensive. Therefore, many owners of summer cottages or their own country houses would probably like to learn about how to make cages for laying hens with their own hands.

Benefits of Cellular Chicken

There are only three ways of breeding this bird - walking, open-air cages and in cages. The latter method is becoming increasingly popular these days. The main advantages of using such breeds as cages for laying hens in breeding include:

• The possibility of rational use of the chicken coop area. On a smaller territory in this case, you can breed much more chickens.
• The best sanitary conditions. Litter with this method of breeding is collected only under the cells.
• Since eggs are rolled out of cells into special receivers, they do not get dirty and do not break. In addition, there is completely no risk of peeling.
• When grown in cages, it is much easier to monitor the health of chickens, as well as to make selective selection.
• It’s easier to keep track of chickens. Food when feeding is not pulled around the room.
• Water is convenient in terms of access for birds and always remains clean.
• Collecting laid eggs is much easier.

Of course, the cellular method of breeding layers has some disadvantages:

• Chickens do not have access to grass and pebbles. Therefore, vitamin preparations and coarse sand have to be added to the feed.
• It is necessary to constantly monitor the microclimate in the room. The chicken coop will often have to be aired. In addition, you will need to think about how to effectively heat and light it.

Next, let's talk about how, in fact, do-it-yourself cages for laying hens are made.

What materials will be needed

Before proceeding with the manufacture of cells, you need to stock up on the necessary materials. About which, you can find out from the table.

Cell Assembly Tools

Cages for laying hens are made using the following tools:

• Grinder for cutting a corner.
• Jigsaw for cutting tin.
• Hacksaw for the manufacture of feeders and pallets.
• Welding machine.

Where to begin?

So, how to make a cage for laying hens? Let's deal with this in more detail. And we begin, of course, with the drawing. There are some rules for its preparation. Firstly, the scheme should be performed in compliance with all proportions and indicating the dimensions. Secondly, when designing a project, the design dimensions recommended by specialists should be taken into account.

So what should be the size of the cage for laying hens? In order to make it comfortable, its length should be 52.5 cm, width - 61 cm, height - 52 cm. Of course, the size of the cage also depends on the breed of chickens. The above are suitable for a fairly large bird. For smaller chickens, “dwellings” can be made not so overall.

There is another fairly common version of the design of the cage for a layer. In this case, its length is 38 cm, the height from the top of the bottom is 45 cm, the height from the pallet is 68 cm.

Scheme of a cell of this design:

Sometimes a cage is made with the expectation that it will contain several hens at once. In this case, you also need to correctly calculate the dimensions. When choosing the size, one proceeds from the fact that one chicken should have at least 0.1 m ^{2 of the} sex of the cage. When solitary, this indicator is usually equal to 0.5-0.6 m ² .

Of course, the size of the feeder should also be correctly calculated. Its length should be equal to the length of the cell itself, the width is usually 15 cm, the height of the back wall is 10 cm, and the front wall is 12.5 cm.

Design features

Cages for laying hens consist of the following elements:

• Frame with legs
• Welded in the form of a lattice of bars.
• The partitions.
• The pallet.
• Inclined bottom made of mesh.
• Feeders.
• Drinking bowls.

The main feature of the cage, designed specifically for laying hens, is the presence of a special sector for the assembly of eggs. Cages for broiler chickens bred for meat most often have a straight horizontal bottom.

Frame assembly

The frame is made in several stages:

• Four identical segments are cut from the corner. Their length should be equal to the height of the cage plus a margin for the legs. These will be the racks of the frame.
• The frame is welded from the same material. Its length should be equal to the length of the cell, the width - according to its width.
• The frame is welded to the posts from above strictly horizontally.

Cell bottom

Do-it-yourself hen cages, as already mentioned, are made with sloping floors. For the bottom, it is better to buy a finished galvanized wire mesh. It is attached to the frame with a slight forward inclination (6–9 degrees). Part of the floor should protrude beyond the cell by 50 mm (the length of one cell). Its very edge must be bent up. This design will allow you to collect eggs with maximum convenience. They will not be trampled or pecked. As soon as the chicken lays an egg, it rolls down the floor forward and stops, delayed by a curved edge outside the cage. You can weld the mesh to the frame through pieces of the corner.

Lattice, sheathing and pallet

Next, the cage on the sides is scalded with metal rods. The back wall is sheathed with plywood or boards. The same material is used to make an opening roof. The distance between the bars of the lattice can be quite large, but, of course, such that the bird does not crawl between them. The height of the grill rods in front should be equal to the distance from the top of the cage to the highest point of the floor at the back. Thus, at the bottom in the front part there will be a gap sufficient in height for rolling the egg.

At the very bottom of the frame you need to make a pallet. It can be made from plywood sheet, securing it between the racks, or from galvanized sheet.

Drinking bowl and feeder

Keeping chickens in cages is a procedure involving the use of additional “accessories”. Of course, chickens will definitely need a feeder. It is a box with a high front and low back walls. After assembly, it is attached to the frame above the egg receiver close to the grate.

A drinker is made by bending a piece of tin in the form of a gutter and riveting on the sides of the wall. Hang it directly above the feeder so that the chickens are comfortable enough to reach the water.

Where can I install the cells

How to make a cage for laying hens, you now know. However, the assembled design must also be correctly installed. There are some recommendations regarding the placement of such "dwellings" for hens in the barn. For example, in no case can you install cells directly under the window. Otherwise, the chickens will catch a cold. It is best to place them at the wall opposite the window.

Of course, the best option would be cages for legged hens. If the structure is installed directly on the floor, under it you need to spread the litter. As the latter, straw, hay or sawdust is used.

Cell blocks

Usually, the "dwellings" for chickens are collected in multi-tiered blocks. In this case, the cell diagram is also drawn first. The doors in the cells of such a complex are made not in front, but in front. For their manufacture, you can use the same galvanized wire mesh. In this case, the feeder is mounted under the door, above the egg collector. The litter collection tray is made of tin in the form of boxes and placed between the tiers.

In this case, drinkers are usually used purchased. They are containers mounted on the roof of the last tier. From each of them hoses are drawn into the cells. In order for the water to stop flowing after filling the tank below, a special float system is used in the design.

These may be blocks and cages for laying hens (photo):

Block feeder

For a prefabricated structure, a wooden container for grain and mixers, of course, is unlikely to fit - because of its bulkiness. Therefore, in this case, it is better to make tin feeders. This material makes it easy to manufacture, including a removable structure. With a large number of chickens on the farm, the latter option will be the most convenient. The fact is that the feeders in this case are much easier to wash and disinfect.

A cell block feeder is made as follows:

• A strip of 30 cm wide is cut from a galvanized steel sheet.
• Then on it at a distance of 8 centimeters from the edge, a bend is made at an angle of 95 degrees.
• Then another 5 cm is marked on the strip.
• A bend is made at an angle of 100 degrees.
• The long end of the resulting feeder is bent "hook".
• Next, for him, the feeder is hung on the front wall of the cage.

Often, the chicken feeders contained in the cages are simply made from a tin strip, bent in the middle.

Large cages for chickens

Sometimes farmers and summer residents practice keeping chickens in very large cells. This design can be installed either simply in the yard, or in the barn itself. The latter option is mainly used to protect chickens from ferrets, foxes and rats. In this case, the drinking bowl and feeder are installed inside.

The cage itself is an ordinary frame assembled from a beam of the appropriate size for the cross-sectional design, fitted with a chain link or upholstered with galvanized gratings.

What are purchased blocks for cells

Of course, on your own for hens you can make just not too big a complex. In the event that you are going to breed this bird thoroughly, it is worth considering the acquisition of such an option as ready-made cages for laying hens. The price of single designs can range from 500 to 3000 rubles. The cost of blocks is usually 20,000-50000 rubles, depending on the number of cells, tiers, as well as the degree of equipment of the complex. Block cell designs today produce many manufacturers. Some complexes are equipped with automatic feed and water. Sometimes such blocks are additionally equipped with heaters.

Such complexes are quite expensive, and therefore, when buying them, you should be careful. Breeding and keeping hens in them will be successful only if the following conditions are met:

• Doors should open and close easily and without creaking.
• Litter collection trays must be easily removed from the cages and made of easy-to-care material.
• It is better if all the parts of the unit are made of galvanized steel. Normal will rust very quickly. In addition, galvanized metal structures are easier to care for.

Remember that choosing the right cells will help increase your business profitability by increasing the production of meat and eggs.

Features breeding chickens in cages

The content of hens in this way differs in some nuances:

• Lighting in the chicken coop should be as uniform as possible. In this case, it is necessary to make sure that the bulbs do not flash immediately, but light up gradually. This will reduce the risk of stress in chickens, and therefore provide better egg production. The best option for lighting is considered to simulate a change in time of day.
• Feed should be as balanced as possible. It is best to purchase a special, manufactured in factories. The most acceptable option with this method of breeding would be loose feed.
• Each layer should be provided with access to at least 500 ml of water per day.
• Chickens bred in cages should be given green fodder. This can be, for example, mowed cut grass, weeds, skins of vegetables, carrion, etc.
• The complex should be cleaned regularly. The feeders should be thoroughly washed after each chicken meal. Pallets are cleaned as they are filled. The bars must be wiped daily.
• Since the bird is kept very crowded when breeding in the cells, preventive vaccinations should be carried out.
• In each cell, you need to install a container filled with ash. "Bathing" in it will prevent the appearance of parasites in the pere.

As you can see, making cages for chickens on their own is not particularly difficult. And the method of breeding birds in them is quite convenient. So, it’s definitely worth thinking about using just such a technology for producing chicken meat and eggs.