Agriculture for Standard Six - Unit 21 - Systems of Keeping Chickens 2 - Intensive system of keeping chickens - Deep litter house and battery cage system

Jul 19, 2026

The material explains two intensive systems for keeping chickens, focusing on how birds are housed, managed, and fed throughout their lives. It describes the deep litter house, including raised flooring, ventilation through wire mesh, litter depth and composition, and routine litter turning and replacement. It also compares advantages such as higher egg and meat production and better protection from predators, and disadvantages like cannibalism and disease risk from moisture.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Intensive system of keeping chickens

Deep litter house

Advantages of deep litter house

Disadvantages of deep litter house

The battery cage system

Agriculture for Standard Six-Unit 21 SYSTEMS OF KEEPING CHICKENS 2 English Agriculture Agriculture for Standard Six-Unit 21 SYSTEMS OF KEEPING CHICKENS 2 English Zomba, Southern , Malawi Copyright © 2025, Knowledge & Information for Successful Society [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) You are free to make commercial use of this work. You may adapt and add to this work. You must keep the copyright and credits for authors , illustrators , etc. INTENSIVE SYSTEM OF KEEPING CHICKENS The chickens are confined all the time. This system requires high levels of management and totally depends on commercial feeds. There are two main houses used to keep chickens under this system. These are -Deep litter houses -Battery cages DEEP LITTER HOUSE Chickens are confined (kept) throughout their life in a house. Part of the wall is built with wire mesh to allow ventilation. The house is built on a raised ground. The floor is well filled with litter up to 10 to 15 centimetres high. DEEP LITTER HOUSE (Contd) The litter can be made of sawdust, wood shavings, crashed maize cobs or chopped straws. The litter is turned constantly using a rake. The old litter is removed when new birds are put into the house. The house has a floor space of 2 to 3 birds per square metre. The farmer provides laying nests, roosting perches, feed and water troughs. ADVANTAGES OF DEEP LITTER HOUSE Many chickens can be kept in a small area More eggs and meat are produced in this system than in the semi-intensive system Chickens are well protected from disease and predator attacks DISADVANTAGES OF DEEP LITTER HOUSE There is problem of cannibalism and egg eating Chickens can easily catch diseases if litter has a lot of moisture Litter may not be available when needed It is difficult to identify non laying chickens THE BATTERY CAGE SYSTEM This is the most intensive of all the systems. The chickens are put in cages. The number of chickens per cage varies from 1 to 4.

FAQs

What is the intensive system of keeping chickens?

Chickens are confined all the time. The system requires high management and depends on commercial feeds.

How is a deep litter house built and managed?

The house is raised and has wire mesh ventilation in part of the wall. Litter is kept 10 to 15 cm deep, made from materials such as sawdust or chopped straws, and turned constantly.

What are the main advantages and disadvantages of the deep litter house?

Advantages include keeping many chickens in a small area, producing more eggs and meat, and better protection from disease and predators. Disadvantages include cannibalism and egg eating, disease risk if litter is too moist, limited litter availability, and difficulty identifying non-laying chickens.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Ava Thompson