Layer cages South Africa

If you are looking to buy a layer cages in South Africa there are only a few manufacturers of layer cages. There are currently to types of layer cages produced locally. Both are very similar – the difference being the size of each bay or individual cage. The standard size of layer cage hold 5 hens per bay – the other layer cage hold up to 7 hens per bay – the bay is larger. The cheapest layer cage in South Africa is supplied by Chicken Shack Agencies.

Hens in a layer cage

This can work in your favour – either by higher yields per house because of more chickens – or higher yields because of more space per chicken. The science has not been done on this but common sense says that the more space a chicken has, the better she will lay. Having too many chickens in a cage brings it’s own problems – disease being the biggest. The other factor in hot climates is temperature – when the chickens are very close together it is difficult for them to stay cool – and that is a big factor in the quality of your eggs – disease and temperature are proven causes for deformed eggs and low quality eggs. A great example of a layer is the 30m x 7m layer house in Brits – part of a project that will have a series of 4 chicken houses and a cross auger system that carries chicken food to the poultry houses. A mono rail will run along the front of the poultry house with an egg tray holder to move the chicken eggs to the egg sorting room where they will be graded packed and cleaned.

Built by Chicken Shack Agencies this Yellow door house is the largest in it’s class and is fitted with layer cages made in South Africa – each bay can hold up to 7 chickens- although 5 is advised. The layer cages are fitted with feeding troughs and nipple drinkers – the battery cage is made in South Africa and installed and assembled on site. The poultry house has lights on a timing system and outside security lights. The curtains are made from UV protected 550GSM curtain material and are raised and lowered using a big gear winch. The layer house is 2.5m high at the edge and 3.2m high at the apex – this is ample room for the layer cages – the top tier of the 3 tier layer cages sits 1 meter from the roof insulation – this means the birds never get too hot in the house. Using the fans and curtains and the cooling door means that this house, which is in a very hot place – will always be cool enough – the other poultry house on the farm has sprinklers running on the roof to keep it cool – this is because of an inferior curtaining system and a very low roof. Leaking nipples contribute to a terrible smell – all of which make egg farming a real challenge.