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.

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

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

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.

I’ve been reading the comments on my previous post, and ventilation came up as an important factor in raising healthy chickens.



It got me thinking about what really makes a chicken coop well-designed.



Besides having enough space, what do you think matters most when designing a coop? Good ventilation, easy cleaning, predator protection, or efficient feeding and watering systems?



For those with experience raising chickens, what would you do differently if you were designing your coop from scratch today?

Hi guys, first time poster here.

I am in Australia and my chooks are dropping like flies, I am pretty rural and none of the vets around here specialise in poultry so they're not much help. I have lost a half a dozen chooks in the last month and it's actually really upsetting me.

Basically, I have a crop of chickens that I raised from eggs. They're about 6 months old, and I have had them in the same place the whole time. I had 21 that made it to adulthood and now they are one by one getting really sick and just dying.

They start off by having really droopy wings then they sit down a heap then I find them dead the next day. Sometimes I do notice them with their wings drooping a couple of days before they die.

I have one of my favourite hens quarantined because she is showing the symptoms that all of the others were showing and I have her on a coccidiosis treatment. I have only started that today so I am going to see if I can hopefully fix her.

What do you guys suggest I do to stop all of this? they are all in a big chicken run but it is an older one and its just plain dirt. We have been getting a bit of rain and it does have parts that do hold a little water. I am in the process of fixing it up bit by bit but I want to stop the deaths before I end up with no chooks at all. Is there anything I can spread on the dirt to kill whatever is killing them to begin with?

Thank you!

Hi all,

I built Hatch Day, an Android app where you set a clutch and it shows what the eggs need that day. But I'm a developer, not a poultry farmer so I need feedback from target audience.

What it does:

- Day counter and countdown for each clutch

- Today's temperature and humidity targets (°C or °F)

- Turning reminders at times you pick, and when to stop turning

- Candling days, lockdown and the hatch window on one timeline

- Cooling and misting days for waterfowl

- 11 species built in (chicken, duck, Muscovy, goose, turkey, Coturnix, bobwhite, guinea, pheasant, partridge, peafowl) plus a custom profile

- Works offline, no account

The free version tracks one hatch at a time. Pro adds multiple incubators, a candling log, temp/humidity logging and hatch-rate stats.

Most hatching charts assume chickens: 21 days, done. Muscovies (35 days), geese, and bobwhite vs Coturnix quail each have their own schedule, and that usually means digging through university extension PDFs. The targets come from incubator makers and university poultry guides. Your incubator's manual and a calibrated thermometer still come first.

What I'd really like to hear:

1. For those of you hatching waterfowl or game birds: do the humidity and lockdown numbers match what has worked for you?

2. Is there a species or step I'm missing?

Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mintwave.hatchday

I'll answer questions in the comments, and I'm happy to fix anything that's wrong.

Male layer chicks are born into a system that has no use for them.

Because they cannot lay eggs, millions are killed shortly after hatching. Some are ground up alive in industrial macerators. Others are suffocated.

They are born. They suffer. They die.

All because they are male. 💔

This is the reality of the egg industry.

My question is what can i use for a diy brooder or warm light for chicks, since i have a project of raising chicks and dont know what can keep them light with warmth.

Ive only thought of the idea of a nightlight for a box for my chicks, need help😅🥲