Generally, layer chicken cages can be divided into full ladder cages, half ladder cages, stacked cages, ladder mixed cages and flat cages according to the cage profile or assembly form.
For full-step layer cages, the upper and lower cages do not overlap in the vertical direction. In this way, the feces of each layer can fall into the lowest ditch. Then, the ground scraper manure cleaner installed in the manure ditch cleans the manure out of the chicken house.
Half-step layer cage, the upper and lower cages are partially overlapped, and the overlap can reach 1/2 to 1/3 of the depth of the cage. The top net of the lower cage is made of oblique angles to facilitate the installation of the manure bearing plate, so that the manure accumulated in the upper layer will fall into the manure ditch under the cage under the action of gravity after drying. The growing chicken cages and breeder cages currently produced mostly adopt this form. The half-stepped chicken coop occupies a small area and the feeding density is higher than that of the full-stepped chicken cage.
Battery layer cage system in poultry, each layer of chicken cages overlap in the vertical direction, and there is a horizontal manure holding device under the bottom net of each layer of cages, and a scraper manure cleaner or a conveyor belt manure cleaner can be used. The chicken manure is sent to one end of each row of chicken coops, and then the chicken manure is sent to the outside of the house by the horizontal spiral manure scraper. The small stacked chicken coop can be manually cleaned. Feeding, drinking water, manure cleaning, and egg collection are all easily mechanized. The advantage of stacked cages is that the housing density is high, generally 16-18 birds//m3 for three layers and 18-20 birds//m3 for four layers, so that the civil investment for each chicken is low and labor productivity is high. The disadvantage is that the vertical ventilation between the layers is poor, and the environmental conditions of each layer of the chicken cage are quite different, and the requirements for the environmental control of the chicken house are high.
The layered mixed layer cage, the upper and lower layers are staggered, and the middle and lower layers are all overlapped. There is a manure bearing plate on the top net of the lower chicken coop, and the manure can be manually pushed inward to make the manure fall or use a mechanical scraper to remove the manure.
The horizontal modern layer battery cages has only one layer. Every two rows of chicken coops are installed back to back, sharing a feeding trough, a sink and an egg belt. The chicken manure can fall directly to the ground, and the drinking water and manure removal equipment is the same as the stepped chicken coop. The flat chicken coop does not need to be equipped with corridors, so the feeding density of the house is higher than that of the full ladder type. However, feeding, drinking, manure cleaning and egg collection must all be mechanized. Therefore, the mechanical equipment used must be reliable and highly dependent on electricity. Once the power is cut off, the consequences will be disastrous.