Feed is one of the major costs in poultry production, so even small amounts of waste can add up over time.

Feed spillage around feeders is one issue worth paying attention to. Feeder design, proper adjustment, and regular checks can all make a difference.

In larger poultry houses, well-designed automated feeding systems can help improve feed delivery and reduce unnecessary spillage when properly configured and managed.

I work in poultry equipment and farm automation, so I’m interested in practical experiences from farmers.

What has worked best for reducing feed waste on your farm? Have you found any particular feeding methods or equipment designs especially helpful?

I'm making chicken and waffles for brunch on Sunday and I'm already bored of the maple plan. The chicken is plain, just salt, pepper and potato starch, double fried so it stays crunchy. The waffles have a little cornmeal in them.

Maple is fine on the waffle, but I'd like something savory to dip the chicken in so the syrup stays where it belongs. Hot honey is the obvious one, though I think it's one-note with fried chicken. A friend says mustard sauce, another says butter and hot sauce.

What do you serve with it that isn't syrup? And do you dip the chicken, or pour something over the whole plate?

I got things pretty clean! Things still look messy but it's hard to keep it looking spectacular with all the dust
Anybody have tips for keeping birds in the garage and keeping up with dust? The dust is killing me!!

I've been looking into poultry house environmental control systems, particularly for commercial layer and broiler farms in hot climates.

One thing that seems easy to overlook is the difference between ventilation and cooling.

Exhaust fans help remove heat, moisture, and stale air, while evaporative cooling pads can lower incoming air temperature when conditions are suitable. But cooling pads become less effective when outdoor humidity is already high.

From an equipment planning perspective, I think a few things deserve attention before adding more fans or cooling pads:

• House design: Open-sided and enclosed poultry houses have different ventilation requirements.
• Airflow: Fan quantity should be based on the required airflow and operating pressure, not just bird capacity.
• Humidity: Cooling pads are not equally effective in every climate.
• Controls: Temperature sensors and automatic controllers can help coordinate compatible ventilation and cooling equipment.
• Power reliability: A backup plan matters when a farm depends on electrically powered ventilation.

I work with LIVI, a poultry equipment manufacturer, so I'm familiar with the equipment planning side. I'm interested in hearing more from people who actually operate poultry houses.

For those managing commercial poultry farms in hot or humid areas:

Have you found that improving airflow makes a bigger difference than adding evaporative cooling?

And what has been your biggest challenge: high humidity, uneven airflow, power outages, or equipment maintenance?

Would be interested to hear what has worked in practice.

I've been looking into the differences between A-type and H-type layer cage systems for commercial egg production.

From what I've seen, A-type cages can be a practical option for farms with simpler equipment requirements, while H-type systems are often considered for higher stocking capacity and more integrated automation.

But I think the decision involves more than just cage prices.

A few factors seem especially important:

• Initial equipment investment
• Poultry house size and layout
• Labor availability and costs
• Electricity reliability
• Feeding, egg collection, and manure removal requirements
• Long-term maintenance

For those with practical experience managing layer farms:

What would influence your decision most when choosing between A-type and H-type cages?

I'd be particularly interested in hearing from farmers operating in hot climates or areas where electricity supply can be unreliable.

I've been working with commercial poultry farming equipment and farm planning, and one thing I've noticed is that equipment decisions can sometimes happen before the overall farm layout is fully considered.

For example, a farm may have a target capacity of 10,000 or 30,000 birds, but there are still important questions to work through:

• Is the poultry house layout suitable for the feeding and drinking systems?
• Is ventilation being planned around the local climate?
• Is the power supply reliable enough for the planned automation?
• Is there enough space for manure handling and maintenance access?
• Has future expansion been considered?

I'm curious to hear from people who actually run or work on poultry farms.

What's one planning mistake you've seen that caused problems later?

Would love to hear real-world experiences, especially from layer and broiler farms in different climates.

Woke up this morning chicken is only using one leg it feels solid but her foot is curled

I think my little bantam may have aspirated some Nutri-drench. What should I do.

We've had chickens for a little over a year, and sometime at the end of July we discovered what we thought to be "piojillo" (Dermanyssus gallinae), but after some research I think they could be other kind of mites since they do not seem red. They climb up our bodies and do not bite, but I have skin problems and their walking around me itches a lot, so I have been showering compulsively whenever I step into the coop.

My family always had chicken, so I asked my mom and she said to use "Zotal" (I don't know the English equivalent, but I believe it is a phenolic disinfectant). So far, we've applied the product five times, eliminating the plague for up to three days, but they always come back.

The chicken were very plucked, but it could be due to it being time for them to molt. Two of them died during this time looking really thin and another one died of a fall (she was very young and we took most things out to disinfect, so she must have tried to get on a post that was too tall for her and fell breaking her neck). We are now left with six hens and three roosters (two of them very young, they do not fight yet), and they seem very happy and energetic, but I can't stand going to feed them and seeing these bugs everywhere.

Has anyone had to deal with anything like this? Any advice you'd be willing to share? Thank you in advance!!

PS: Apologies for my English. It is not my first language and, while I have considered myself quite proficient for a long time, turns out I do not have the vocabulary to talk about chicken and mites.