The bottom of the air outlet slots are located 12-inches above the surface of the litter, which makes them about 16- to 18-inches above the floor of the house. One-half inch hardware cloth can be placed over the inside opening of the outlet slots. Outlet air slots are 4-inches wide and 6-feet long.
A slight advantage during the spring, fall, and winter is gained by having the air inlet wall face south. The sun is farther south and aids in warming the cool air before it enters the house, thereby saving fuel.
An alternative house orientation is to run the length of the house east and west, but turn the house around so that the fans face south and the air inlets face north. Located in this manner, the air inlets are always protected from the sun. The disadvantages are that the fans face south and must blow air against prevailing southwesterly winds. This results in a need for more fan power to accomplish the same amount of air movement through the house. In addition, no partial warming of the air at the air inlet wall is gained during spring, fall, and winter.
Using an evaporative cooler (not shown in the plan) results in cooled air being blown from the cooler into a distribution box, from the box into a PVC pipe duct and eventually into each pen. Install the PVC pipe duct a few inches under the air inlet slots. Wrapping the PVC pipe with outdoor-type insulation adds to its efficiency. The pipe inlets from the PVC duct that carries air into the pens is installed at an upward angle that stirs the cool air with the hot air, thus making the entire room cooler. It also prevents cool air from hitting the birds directly. Devise an air flow regulator for each cool air inlet opening. Due to differing ages of birds, the need for cool air volume will be different for each pen.
When do you use an evaporative cooler? Use it on one-week old birds when the temperature in the pen is above 95 degrees F. Use it on two- and three-week old birds after the temperature rises above 90 degrees F. Use it on birds four-weeks and older only when the temperature is above 85 degrees F.
Having a large dial-type thermometer in each pen makes it easier to monitor the air flow rate. Watch the thermometer and the reactions of the birds to arrive at the best temperature and rate of air flow.
Wood floors are not normally used because they cost about as much as concrete but are not as long lasting or as easy to manage as concrete.
Dirt floors that are well drained and stay relatively dry work well when covered with 4-inches of pine shavings. Using hardwood litter always increases the possibility of an aspergillosis outbreak in the birds.
Cover concrete floors with 4-inches of pine litter. Concrete floors are great at clean-out time because they can be washed and cleaned more thoroughly than wood or dirt floors. Slope concrete floors about 1-inch in the direction you want your wash water to drain. Sloping the floor also helps drain away water spilled from a leaking water system and does not wet the litter as thoroughly as happens with level floors. Provide an adequate opening at the lower side of the pen for the water to flow when washing. Tightly cover the opening when not in use. Do not slope the floor more than about one-inch or the litter will shift to the low side of the pen, leaving the litter layer thinner on the high side.
Wire floors, properly constructed, offer many advantages, especially to the producer of meat-type birds. Birds raised for flight may experience feathering problems when grown entirely on wire. But with meat birds, where perfect feathering is not critical for sale, the use of wire floors should be strongly considered. Birds raised on wire have almost no problem with the gut diseases like ulcerative enteritis, coccidiosis or worm parasites. Eliminating cecal worms greatly reduces blackhead disease because the blackhead organism is transmitted primarily through the cecal worm egg.
The wire floor may be built above well-drained dirt floors or concrete floors. Bird droppings under a wire floor that is only 6-inches above the subfloor may have to be removed at 6 to 12 month intervals. Wire floors that are 24-inches above the dirt or concrete surface may not need cleaning but once every 3 to 5 years. Moisture loss plus insects and bacteria feeding on the waste, eventually reduce the droppings volume to about ten percent of the original mass.
A good choice for a wire floor is 1/2" x 1/2" welded wire. Wire this size is strong enough for a person to walk on and allows the droppings to pass through freely. During the first week of brooding, the birds are so small that some will fall through the 1/2" x 1/2" wire floor. To prevent this, place 1/4" x 1/4" hardware cloth over the pen's wire floor inside the brooder guard during the first few days of brooding.
Support the wire floor using 2" x 4" lumber placed on edge to form a grid. Install the 2" x 4" supports in a checkerboard fashion to form 30-inch squares. Several leg supports underneath the floor are used for support. The wire floor may also be supported by a framework of metal reinforcement rods. The 3/4-inch diameter rods are welded to form 2' x 2' squares. Several leg supports are needed to support this flooring.
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences