4 Broiler Chicken Coop Systems for Higher Productivity

The broiler chicken coop plays a major role on any poultry farm. Get the coop wrong and your farm won't reach its full output. Broilers spend every day inside the coop, unlike kampung chickens (Indonesian free-range native chickens), which spend most of their time roaming an open run. There are several things you need to know about building a coop system designed for broilers, and meeting all of them can help your farm get the most out of every flock.

What an Ideal Coop System Looks Like

To boost your birds' weight and productivity, you need to know what a good, ideal coop system looks like. Here are the broiler coop system essentials you need to get right:

Coop Design

You'll find many different designs among broiler coop systems. In general, though, these coops resemble a warehouse: a rectangular box with a pitched roof. Recent findings, however, suggest that the ideal design for a chicken farm is the closed house, in which the whole coop is enclosed. If your coop still uses an open house system, many diseases can attack your birds during rainy weather like now, while a closed house protects them from a wide range of diseases. Unfortunately, the closed house system has its downsides: it is expensive to build, uses a lot of electricity and requires a generator.

Also read How to Choose the Right Feed for Broiler Chickens

Building Materials

Your chicken coop also has to fit your budget. Don't overstretch yourself if your budget is limited; you can use building materials that won't drain your wallet. You can hand the job to an experienced coop builder who can source high-quality materials that still fit your budget.

Roof

The coop roof deserves close attention. Just like the roof of a house, it shouldn't conduct heat. If the roof transfers heat, the birds won't be able to cope with the high temperature inside the coop. That's why you should choose a roof that keeps the coop secure: one that doesn't leak easily, lasts a long time, reflects sunlight well and so on.

Setting the Coop Height

It may look like a minor detail, but building a coop system involves many factors you need to consider. One of them is coop height. Keep in mind that your chickens will grow and develop quickly, so a coop that is too low will keep them from moving freely. Build a coop that is taller than the birds, while the width can be adjusted to your needs and the number of chickens you raise.

Why Day-Old Chicks Need Their Own Coop

When you plan a proper coop system, don't forget about day-old chicks (DOC). DOC need special attention from you, because the success of the whole coop depends on how well they are raised. To raise DOC properly, you need to build a suitable DOC coop. A DOC coop can be set up in a box or a mini coop that keeps out drafts, stays warm and protects the chicks from other animals. To keep it warm, don't forget a brooder, which keeps the chicks' bodies warm.

Also read 5 Broiler Chicken Feed Management Tips for Higher Productivity

Hard work pays off, so if you raise your DOC the right way, the results will follow. Chicken productivity depends heavily on how the birds are cared for on the farm, from the coop and DOC to feed and more. That's why, to raise productive chickens, you need to pay attention to a sound broiler chicken coop system.