GB2247147A

GB2247147A - Poultry houses

Info

Publication number: GB2247147A
Application number: GB9015920A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Robert Clayton; Nicholas Lawrence Jones; Ronald George Padfield; Frank Heuff
Original assignee: SUPACAT Ltd
Current assignee: SUPACAT Ltd
Priority date: 1990-07-19
Filing date: 1990-07-19
Publication date: 1992-02-26
Also published as: GB9015920D0

Abstract

A poultry house includes a wheeled chassis on which a mesh floor (10) is supported. The house has a double-skinned wall structure (14) and a ventilation system is provided which includes fans or blowers providing an inflow of air into a ventilation chamber (23) extending along one side of the interior of the house. <IMAGE>

Description

POULTRY HOUSES Field of the Invention This invention relates to poultry houses and to an improved method of providing for the laying of free range eggs.

Background to the Invention Conventional poultry houses are of a variety of different constructions but, with each of them, a major problem is the requirement for disinfection of the house after one flock is removed and before the next flock is introduced. With the problems that can arise as a result of viral infections, worms, coccidiosis and the like, a reduction in egg production of 10% in respect of a second flock, as compared to a first flock in a new building, is not uncommon, even though a period of three weeks or more may have been spent in cleaning and disinfecting a poultry house and the ground on which it stands.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of poultry house which enables the problem outlined above to be overcome.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved method of providing for the laying of free range eggs.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a poultry house which includes a chassis providing a support for a mesh, grid or otherwise apertured floor which is supported at a substantial spacing above ground level, an insulating wall structure defining the boundary of the house, wheels or wheel mountings on the chassis to permit bodily movement of the house, a door or doors enabling the entry and exit of operators and poultry into and out of the interior of the housing, and a ventilation system for providing for the inflow of air into the interior of the house.

The form of the mesh, grid or otherwise apertured floor (which is hereinafter referred to as a mesh floor) is such that the poultry droppings will readily drop therethrough and the substantial spacing of the mesh floor above ground level is preferably of the order of 1 to 1i meters so that, if required, the poultry house may stay in the same position for, for example, eighteen months before being moved to a new site.

The poultry house is preferably of generally rectangular form in plan view with a plurality of doors for the entry and exit of the hens along one of the longer sides of the rectangle and a series of nest boxes along the other longer side of the rectangle. The nest boxes are preferably roll-away nest boxes to which access can be obtained from the exterior of the house.

The nest boxes are preferably located beneath a generally horizontal partition which extends along said other longer side of the rectangle and defines the lower wall of a ventilation chamber into which air is blown by means of a pair of fans or blowers located one at each end of the poultry house, and operation of which is temperature-controlled so as to increase the flow of air into the chamber in response to an increase in temperature.

The ventilation chamber is preferably bounded, on that side thereof closer to the centre of the house, by an internal wall which is of generally S-shape in cross-section so as to provide for a controlled flow of air between the upper edge of said internal wall and the adjacent surface of the wall structure.

In order to avoid extremes of temperature, the wall structure of the house is preferably double-skinned and is preferably of generally semi-cylindrical form so as to optimise the wall strength for a given thickness of wall material which is preferably plastic-coated steel sheet.

The poultry house is preferably provided with water and feed systems, for example, a nipple drinker line and and an automatic pan-feeding system.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of caring for hens so as to provide for the laying of free range eggs, which method comprises the use of a poultry house as defined above, the house being stocked with hens at a density of the order of from 15 to 25 hens per square meter of floor space and the doors being opened for such a period each day to allow the hens to spend, if desired, a major portion of the daylight hours of each day outside the house.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view showing the internal layout of a poultry house in accordance with the present invention, Figure 2 shows an end wall of the poultry house, Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views of the end wall of the house, Figure 5 is a plan view of the chassis of the poultry house, and Figure 6 shows an end frame of the chassis of the poultry house.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment The poultry house shown in the drawings provides a floor area of 32 square meters and can thus accommodate a maximum of 800 hens at a density of 25 hens per square meter. It is preferred, however, that a density of between 15 and 21 hens per square meter should be used, i.e. a total of between about 500 and about 700 hens in this area.

As shown in Figure 1, the poultry house has an internal floor 10 which is in the form of a mesh, grid or lattice with the apertures in the mesh grid or lattice such that chicken droppings can readily drop through the apertures. The floor 10 is supported on vertical legs such that the floor 10 is maintained at a height of between 1 and 1i meters from the ground. The legs (not shown) may be in the form of jacks, with a pair of jacks at each end of the poultry house and a further pair disposed centrally of the house. The central pair of jacks are located adjacent a pair of wheels and the arrangement is such that, when it is desired to move the poultry house, a tractor is connected to a hitch or draw-bar at one end of the poultry house and the jacks are operated to lift the legs clear of the ground and allow the poultry house to rest on the wheels.The house can the be moved bodily either to a different part of the field in which it was located, or to another field.

The mesh, grid or lattice floor 10 is supported on a chassis 11 which includes rectangular end frames 12, each as shown in Figure 6, and a central rectangular frame 13. The wheels (not shown) are attached to the central frame 13 and the jacks for the legs are attached to each of the end frames 12 and to the central frame 13. The frames 12 and 13 and the other components of the chassis are formed from galvanised steel sections, the galvanising providing protection from corrosion by the droppings.

The poultry house is of generally semi-cylindrical form, as can be seen from Figure 1, and has a main wall 14 of appropriate configuration formed from spaced apart inner and outer plastic-coated steel sheets 15 and 16. The steel sheets 15 and 16 are mounted on and supported by a metal skeleton framework of the appropriate configuration formed by welding together steel frame components. The double-skin formation of the wall 14 acts as an insulator to avoid extreme temperature conditions within the interior of the house.

The house has a pair of end walls, one 17 of which is shown in Figures 2 to 4. End wall 17 has a door 18 so that operators can gain access to the interior of the house when required. End wall 17 is of double-skin construction comprising, as shown in Figure 3, an outer sheet 19 and an inner sheet 20, both of which are plastic-coated steel sheet.

Channel section steel frame members 21 define the sides of the doorway and an opening 22 of generally circular form is formed adjacent one side of the end wall 17. The other end wall (not shown) is of similar construction, except that it is not provided with a door.

A fan or blower (not shown) is mounted externally of each end wall with its outlet in communication with the associated circular opening so that an airflow is directed into the interior of the house into a ventilation chamber 23. The ventilation chamber 23 extends for the full length of the poultry house along one of the side walls of the house. The chamber 23 has a base 24, which is spaced upwardly from the floor 10 of the chicken house, and an inner wall 25 which, as can be seen in Figure 1, is of generally S-form in vertical cross-section.

The upper end of the inner wall 25 is spaced from the adjacent surface of the inner skin 15 of the wall 14 of the house so as to define a throat 26 which extends for the length of the house. Fresh air is blown into the two ends of the chamber 23 by means of the fans or blowers and the curvate form of the inner wall 25 is such that a cooling air flow issues into the interior of the house through the throat 26 passing over the inner surface of the wall of the house in the general manner indicated by the arrows 27.

The base 24 of the ventilation chamber 23 serves also as the roof of a series of nest boxes 28 which extend along one side of the house. Each of the nest boxes 28 has a wire mesh floor 29 which is inclined downwardly and outwardly so that the eggs which are laid will roll gradually outwardly, being restrained by a flexible curtain (not shown) so that the eggs to be collected are positioned against an outer lip 30. A series of plastic covers (not shown) are pivotally mounted along the outside of the wall of the house so that they normally cover the projecting portions of the floors of the nest box floors 29. When it is desired to collect the eggs, either manually or mechanically, the covers are raised and the eggs are collected.

Within the interior of the house there are a series of longitudinally extending hardwood rails 31 arranged at two different levels, a nipple drinker 32 for supplying the hens with water and a pan feeder for supplying the hens with food.

The wall of the house opposite to the row of nest boxes 28 is provided with a series of doors, for example, four doors, which can be opened to allow the hens to walk out of the house.

The doors (not shown) are located immediately above the floor 10 and are thus between 1 and 14 meters above the ground.

Slatted wooden ramps are accordingly provided so that the hens, after passing through the open doors, can walk down the ramps to ground level. A series of exhaust outlets may be located along this wall of the house, beneath the ramps.

The chassis 11 on which the house is supported, which is provided with wheels and legs, is covered by cladding beneath which a curtain is located to improve the insulation of the house and to ensure that, when the hens are inside the house, the house is substantially light-proof. The conditions provided for the hens are thus such as to minimise disease and to maximise egg production.

Before a new flock of birds is introduced into the house, the whole of the interior of the house is cleaned, utilising high pressure water jets, and disinfected. The interior surfaces of the house to which the hens have access are either galvanised or plastic-coated steel sheets. There are thus no surfaces in which viruses, chicken mites, etc. can accumulate and escape cleaning. The house is moved to fresh ground and the pullets introduced, the ground on which the house stands being such as to permit free-ranging of the birds.

The birds are returned, or return, each evening into the interior of the house and the doors along the side of the house opposite the nest boxes 28 are then shut for the night, remaining shut until, for example, ten o'clock on the following day. The fans or blowers which provide for the flow of air into the ventilation chamber can be thermostatically controlled so that, in elevated temperature conditions, the rate of cooling is increased. This, allied with the insulating effect of the double-skin wall 14, ensures that temperature-induced stress is minimised.

It is to be appreciated that the specific form of chicken house described with reference to the accompanying drawings represents but one method of putting the present invention into effect and that numerous modifications thereof are possible.

For example, the poultry house could be mounted on castor wheels and brake mechanisms provided for holding the house stationery except when it is desired to move it to fresh ground.

Claims

Claims:

1. A poultry house which includes a chassis providing a support for a mesh, grid or otherwise apertured floor which is supported at a substantial spacing above ground level, an insulating wall structure defining the boundaries of the house, wheels or wheel mountings on the chassis to permit bodily movement of the house, a door or doors enabling the entry and exit of operators and poultry into and out of the interior of the house, and a ventilation system for providing for the inflow of air into the interior of the house.

2. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 1, in which the substantial spacing of the floor above ground level is of the order of 1 to 18 metres.

3. A poultry house as claimed in either of the preceding claims, which is of generally rectangular form in plan view with a plurality of doors for the entry and exit of the poultry along one of the longer sides of the rectangle.

4. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 3, in which a series of nest boxes are disposed along the other longer side of the rectangle.

5. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 4, in which the nest boxes are roll-away nest boxes to which access can be obtained from the exterior of the house.

6. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5, in which the nest boxes are located beneath a generally horizontal partition which extends along said other longer side of the rectangle.

7. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 6, in which the partition defines the lower wall of a ventilation chamber into which air is blown by means of a pair of fans or blowers located one at each end of the poultry house.

8. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 7, in which operation of the fans or blowers is temperature-controlled so as to increase the flow of air into the chamber in response to an increase in temperature.

9. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, in which the ventilation chamber is bounded, on the side thereof closer to the centre of the house, by an internal wall which is of generally s-shape in cross-section so as to provide for a controlled flow of air between the upper edge of said internal wall and the adjacent surface of the wall structure.

10. A poultry house as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the wall structure of the poultry house is double-skinned.

11. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 10, in which said double-skinned wall structure is of generally semi-cylindrical form.

12. A poultry house as claimed in Claim 10 or Claim 11, in which the wall structure is formed of plastic-coated steel sheet.

13. A poultry house as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which includes a nipple drinker line and an automatic pan-feeding system.

14. A poultry house substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of caring for hens so as to provide for the laying of free range eggs, which method comprises the use of a poultry house as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

16. A method as claimed in Claim 15, in which the house is stocked with hens at a density of the order of from 15 to 25 hens per square meter of floor space, and in which the doors of the house are opened for such period each day to allow the hens to spend, if desired, a major portion of the daylight hours of each day outside the house.

17. A method as claimed in Claim 16, in which, before a new flock of hens is introduced into the house, the whole of the interior of the house is cleaned and disinfected, and the house moved to fresh ground.