Large Poultry Barn

[gingernutranger]

Anyone ever seen any good ideas for large poultry farms for breeding opperations that could hold 100+ birds to 500? Or been to a hatchery/breeding opperation and have pictures of what they have? I know some people have been to Cackle Hatchery but I think they're the only ones that have offered a tour.

Thanks for the help!

 

[OkChickens]

Is your plan for egg layers or specific breeds? How many different breeds if so?

Nate

 

[patandchickens]

Do you want cages, breeding-pen type setups, indoor free run in large pens, or indoor space with large outdoor runs; and how much space are you wanting to give each chicken. That will make a big difference in what sort of setup you need.

Honestly the serious breeders I've seen, and the smallish heritage-breed hatchery I am acquainted with, have not had purpose-built buildings. They just take over an old bank barn and use each stall as a breeding pen and make pens up in the mow and in any ol' place you can fit 'em, and divide up all other outbuildings for pens, and cobble things together in any odd sheltered corners and nooks, and accumulate sheds etc, and it is all a sort of ad-hoc crazy quilt that's built up over the years

Pat

 

[suzeqf]

I guess it depends on if it's for egg/meat/chick production, me personally if i was going to do it for eggs/chicks and i already had a barn i would use it and convert a few stalls into breeding rooms and the others into nests

 

[gingernutranger]

For breeding exhibition poultry and I want to have 4X8 breeding pens for a few birds and some bigger ones. The size can change somewhat. I have a picture of superior farms' old breeding facility on my website http://www.mtsimarketing.com/hbp/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=63 and was thinking of something like that with breeding pens inside. This was the inside: http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g259/jrsygntbrdr1/Superior Farms 12-31-2008/. I'm going to have A LOT of breeds eventually. Our properties wont have any barns on them that will be suitable.

There is going to be a lot of smaller coops and barns also but I want one main one because winter in Spokane WA can get really cold which is where were moving. I was also thinking of using old apple crates which are 4X4 and using those as summer and spring coops and moving everyone in a larger building in winter. Roosters and hens separated maybe.

Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[gingernutranger]

I also need to figure out what to do for a hatchery building (not to big, maybe size of double wide trailer?), and conditioning pens for birds I am going to be showing in larger numbers. Thanks for the help!