Poultry Coops

Poultry coops – or chicken houses are usually made from steel and galvanised sheet. There are several manufacturers of poultry coops in South Africa who you can buy chicken coops from – but many of them have no idea about how a good poultry house should be built! when asking “how to build a poultry coop” you need to look at certain factors. Ventilation, insulation, structural integrity amongst others. Many steel structure manufacturers are climbing into the market of building poultry coops – but the are not poultry farm equipment manufacturers and actually know nothing about chickens, poultry or chicken housing – they cannot supply the poultry equipment a a fair price because they are buying chicken equipment form a farm equipment supplier. Before handing over you cash I would suggest you ask to see one of the poultry houses that they have built – preferable a chicken house that is in operation and has chickens inside. This way you will be able to talk to the poultry farmer and see what kind of service they receive and how well the equipment works – you find small poultry farms at the chickenhouses.co.za website. Ask how the structure is holding up – if they have had any problems with the chicken coop – most of these small chicken houses are built for small farmers through the South African government.

Some questions to ask the chicken farmer:

1. Look and see that the coop is level – or if the structure was merely dumped on site.
2. Ask if the farmer got any training on the equipment – how to use the gas heaters and the automatic drinkers – these are not difficult to use but do require some basic training.
3. Look at the quality of the concrete floor – find out who did the slab – was it the farmer or the poultry house manufacturer? Did the slab or topping have plastic sheeting placed underneath to stop vegetation from growing through the floor?
4. Look at the quality of the winching system and the winch?
5. Check the quality of the curtaining – is it UV protected?
6. Look at the welds on the steel frame – are they good and is the house properly painted to protect against rust?
7. Has the house got a built in water tank with a manifold system to feed water to the drinkers?
8. Does the house have insulation – did the farmer ask for insulation?
9. Is the chicken house facing the correct direction – North South in South Africa is incorrect – the door should face east or west – depending on the wind and other factors on the farm such as storage and admin offices.
10. Does the chicken house have a foot bath and was the farmer advised on the right chemicals and procedures?
11. Did the supplier supply live day old chickens or layers – and if so were they correctly inoculated against disease?
12. Did the farmer get the option to upgrade the thickness of the roofing – most coops use 0.27 thick material to save costs – but in the long run this is not advisable.
13. Does the structure have tie downs to guard against high winds? – and how deep do the steel pegs go into the ground?
14. If the farmer is in a very hot area he should have poultry fans – was he offered fans and are these industrial strength fans?

poultry coop being built

To get the best deal on a poultry coop  you will need to deal with a company that supplier and makes poultry equipment and puts up poultry coops – this way you get the best advice and the best deal on the chicken equipment. You will also get back and spares at a better price – if you don’t have poultry insurance you will at the very least need a good poultry company to help you. Don’t be fooled that just because the steel construction company can put up a steel structure that it is a chicken coop or poultry coop. Buy chicken coops and chicken house game meat from supplier in South Africa.