Deep Litter System vs Battery Cage System — Which is Better for Poultry Farming?
Today, I would like to share light and dissolve one of the biggest arguments in poultry farming, Which is better; the deep litter system or the battery cage system? If you have ever wondered which one should you go then this post will be of a great benefit to you. The purpose of this, it’s to help you understand which system fits your goal, your budget, and your management style.
Let us start with what each one of the system means.
- Deep litter system: This simply means you are raising or rearing your birds on the floor usually covered with litter materials such as with wood shavings, sawdust, or rice husk. The birds move freely, eat, drink, and play around.
- Battery cage system: This system on the other hand, means your birds are housed inside cages usually made of metal with feeding and drinking lines in front of them.
Both systems will give you a fantastic results if you know the way of management to maximize output.
Now, let us look into the advantages of each system. Let’s start with deep litter.
As in the case of deep litter system, it requires low capital to start with. You can actually start it small by just building your pen house and spreading out the litter material then your birds are good to go. It’s perfect for beginners who are still learning.
The second benefits of a floor system is; birds on deep litter can easily exercise freely and this helps their natural growth and body balance. For example, if you are raising broilers, they can convert feed to meat very fast when managed well. Also, their droppings easily turn to manure which is very good if you are into crop production. This means you are recycling the waste from your farm into value.
Deep litter can be profitable, easy to start, and useful for mixed farming.
THE CHALLENGES OF DEEP LITTER SYSTEM
The truth is this; deep litter system also comes with its ups and downs.
The chief problem of this housing system is Disease control. Since all the birds share the same space then if one bird is sick, it can easily spread fast to the entire flock. Second challenge you may encounter is time to time egg breakage and egg eating when layers are on the floor. They can easily step on eggs, peck them or hide them under the litter. Also, this system does not allow for proper record keeping and feed monitoring. Due to the mix multitude of the birds on the floor, you can not easily identify which bird is eating well or not.
So the deep litter system requires serious hygiene, discipline and experience to manage properly.
Now let us take a look at the good side of the battery cage system. This is the “modern” or “commercial” system many farmers use today.
The biggest advantage this system gives your farm is cleanliness and control. Your birds are housed in different compartment of the cage called cells. So they do not have access to step on droppings or eggs laid. The eggs roll out neatly into the tray clean and ready for sale. This system also help you save time in collecting your eggs and it reduces the risk of egg cracking or eating.
The second advantage this system offers is high feed efficiency. It helps in easy monitoring your birds are eating and also reduces wastage. That means better feed conversion ratio which means more profit. Another big plus is disease control, since birds do not share the same space or droppings, it is easier to spot a sick bird and treat it immediately.
THE CHALLENGES OF THE BATTERY CAGE SYSTEM
The truth is battery cage is not all rosy too. The first challenge of this system is that it requires high cost for setup. Getting of cages are quite expensive whether locally made or imported. So for new farmers, this might really be add to bear together with other cost of setting up the farm entirely.
Another challenge face in this system is that birds in cages need proper ventilation because once the pen house is too hot or stuffy this leads to stress which will in turn affect their egg production. You also need constant water supply and power if you’re using automatic drinkers or feeders.
The battery cage system really pays if you are looking into a commercial scale but it also requires planning and investment.
HOW TO CHOOSE?
So, the big question now is, how do you know which one is better for you?
Here’s my honest answer. If you are just starting out to venture into poultry business with a low capital budget then start with deep litter. It allows you to learn the ropes without breaking the bank.
But if you already understand poultry and want to go commercial, or you’re tired of stress and losses, move to battery cage. This will give you a better control, easier management, and cleaner production.
The truth is both systems can work. What matters is your management and consistency.
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