A.

Environment requirements that are needed to be considered in designing poultry

housing.

1. The Climatic Conditions

It is very important to consider the climatic conditions in the environment you hope to
sr before you choose the right poultry housing system. Enquire from the poultry farmers in
your area to know the climatic challenges they have. It will help you put up a poultry
housing that takes care of those challenges. If it is a cold area, the housing must be
insulated to provide heat for the poultry. Ventilation is also a key factor to consider. Bad
ventilation easily leads to spread of diseases.

2. The Location 

The location of the farm is also an important factor to consider in poultry housing
system construction. If you intend to put up your poultry farm in an area which is easily
accessible to predators, then consider fencing the farm. Cats, snakes, dogs and some wild
animals could be a threat to your birds. Fencing will help protect your birds.

3. The Type / Breed of Birds 

The space requirement of a chicken is different from turkeys, guinea fowls, quails

and others. The number of chickens that are accommodated in a specific space per time is
different from turkeys and other birds and so is the space dimensions. Therefore, it is
important to know the type of birds you intend to raise. This will help design the appropriate
housing with appropriate spacing. Some birds like guinea fowls and quails can fly and their
housing should be designed to prevent them from flying beyond restricted areas.

4. Controlled Access

A good poultry housing system should be designed in such a way that workers can
move easily, unrestricted by obstacles. Ease of movement will help in feeding, providing
water and effective cleaning of the farm. Also, the movement of objects and birds from the
farm would be easier.

However, the design should make the birds not easily accessible to visitors and
unauthorised people. Easy access to this group of people can increase the incidence of
diseases and even theft. The position of the housing on the farmland from the main
entrance to the farm is very vital to consider to prevent easy access to unauthorized
people.

5. Comfortable flooring/bedding for the birds

A good poultry housing should have a comfortable flooring/bedding for the birds. It
should also be safe for the eggs. If your bedding is poor, eggs can easily get cracked and
you incur losses.
6. Convenient to Clean

A poultry housing system should be built in a way that makes every part of the farm
easy to access and clean. In poultry production, hygiene is key and may determine the
success or failure of the poultry farm business. A good and well-planned poultry housing
system is easy and convenient to clean to minimize the death of birds.

7. Easy Egg Collection

The safety and easiness of egg collection should be considered in poultry housing
system. If eggs production is the main purpose or part of the purposes for a poultry farm
business, then the way eggs are collected to prevent cracks and damages should be
considered when building the poultry housing. Eggs must be collected in good condition
and so cracked eggs are a loss to the business.

8. Good Lighting and Heating System

Surely, a good lighting and heating system is a very important consideration in

poultry housing system. You need to provide adequate warmth for the birds for good
health. A good lighting and heating system ensures that. A good lighting system lightens
the house enables the birds to find water and feed.

9. Proper Ventilation

Proper ventilation prevents the spread of flu and other contagious diseases. A good
ventilation is another key feature of a good poultry housing system and key to the success
of your poultry farm.

10. Effective Waste Disposal Unit

An effective waste disposal unit reduces the risk of exposing the birds to diseases.
Birds dying in poultry production is inevitable. However, leaving the carcass in or around
the farm poses health risks to the birds. If dead birds are not well disposed of, they produce
some foul smell and may result in flu for both humans and birds. Bad eggs also produce an
offensive smell. So, incorporating am effective waste disposal unit in the poultry housing
will help manage waste.

11. Divisions for Different Ages and Species of Birds

A good poultry housing system should be designed such that birds of different ages
or species and separated. The must be divisions in the house that allows you to do that.
Older birds may kill your chicks by stepping on them or pecking them. Moreover, other
types of birds when mixed with other different types may result in fighting. They must be
kept and confined to different room/pen.

12. Standard Hatchery Unit

Since it is more economical to hatch your own eggs than buying day-old chicks,
having a standard hatchery unit in your poultry housing is very much recommended.
13. Temperature
Layers are warm blooded (homeothermic) i.e. within a certain range, their
body temperature is quite constant. On average, the body temperature of birds is
between 41°C and 42.2°C. Body temperature is kept quite constant and is regulated
by part of the chicken brain (the hypophyse). This part of the brain is comparable to
a thermostat. Contraction and widening of blood vessels and the speed of respiration
influence heat emission and retention which consequently influence the body
temperature. It takes some time before heat regulating mechanisms start functioning
in newborn animals and therefore they need a higher ambient temperature than
adult animals do. Furthermore, the ratio between the surface area and weight of
young animals is unfavourable and they do not have any fat reserves.
14. Safety from Weather-Domestic birds must be shielded from the cold, rain, sun and
wind. Newly hatched chicks need a source of warmth as a basic requirement to shield
them against harsh weather conditions.

15. Safety from predators- The chickens have many predators including snakes,
rodents, foxes, dogs and other animals. The best way to solve this problem is to confine
chickens in modern structures. These are large installations with concrete floors, electric
fences, strong walls and other features. This discourages the predators from digging
under floors and walls. Wire mesh doors are also very necessary not to forget meshed
windows. Make sure that the available domestic birds are supplied with food and water.
Ensure proper hygiene of the poultry house as well.

16. Adequate ventilation- When planning a poultry housing exercise, keep ventilation
requirement in mind. A good flow and circulation of air is an essential element in any
chicken house. To achieve this goal, it’s imperative to consider the poultry production
capacity. One can do the large-scale poultry farming or small-scale poultry farming. The
necessary structures in both cases are different in sizes and designs. Numerous birds
require a big housing unit with adequate ventilation features. This prevents poisonous
gases such as ammonia, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from harming the birds.
Fewer birds require small poultry houses with windows and vents on one side of the
house. This is to provide abundant exposure to air. The farmers who live in warmer
climates should build structures with open sides.

17. Heat control- It is good to build poultry houses in such a way that heat can be
controlled. Too much heat could even kill the birds not to mention it as a constraint to
fruitful poultry farming. On the other hand, temperatures below freezing point should be
prevented. Surprisingly freezing temperatures are not very risky for chickens. If
temperatures go up to forty degrees, inside the poultry house, the birds cannot survive.
At this heat range or over, the birds’ stress levels go up quickly. At 46 degrees Celsius
the birds could die. Potential farmers of chicken or any other domesticated birds must
read books. Books contain facts about building materials and techniques to lower or
raise temperatures. The chicken house construction procedure should be based on the
type of local climate to control heat.

18. Humidity levels- As the farmer constructs the poultry houses, he or she must
consider the humidity factor. The birds do not have sweat glands like humans hence
their cooling system is via the beaks. When the humidity levels rise, this natural cooling
mechanism fails.

19. Creating space happens to be the most important poultry housing principle-
Space determines the quantity of birds you could keep. It also determines the kinds of
poultry you could keep. Birds require space so that they can move freely and work out.
Space is essential for creating chicken nests and perches too. When thinking of space
creation, considering the type of bird species, breeds and production system used is
vital. Always make sure that the chickens or any other domesticated birds are not
congested in the house units.

B. Different design of ventillation system of poultry housing in the Philippines.

Illustrate or attach photos and describe briefly.

1. Tunnel Ventilation -Tunnel ventilation is a system where exhaust fans are located at
one end of the house and two large openings are installed at the opposite end. Air is
drawn through these openings, down the house, and out the fans, like a wind tunnel
2. Natural Ventilation- is the process of supplying air to and removing air from an
indoor space without using mechanical systems. It refers to the flow of external air to an
indoor space as a result of pressure differences arising from natural forces.

3. Cross ventilation- (also called Wind Effect Ventilation) is a natural method of

cooling. The system relies on wind to force cool exterior air into the building through an
inlet (like a wall louver, a gable, or an open window) while outlet forces warm interior air
outside (through a roof vent or higher window opening).
4. Sidewall ventilation- fans and inlets on sidewalls

5. Attic inlet ventilation- are used change the winter air inlet system so that minimum
winter ventilation air is pulled out of the attic in the center of the building instead of
directly from outside over the eaves. This free solar heat can also help to lower the
relative humidity in the house and reduce litter moisture.

C. Show computations or solutions in designing poultry house ventilation

system.

A. Relative Humidity %

If the air temperature is 10 °C and contains 5.7 g of moisture, the relative

humidity is 5.7/9.5 x 100 = 60%. (See the table 3 on absolute moisture content in
g/m3 of air for the moisture content in air with a temperature of 10°C). If the same air is
heated without adding moisture until it reaches a temperature of 20°C, the relative
humidity will be 5.7/17.5 x 100 = 33%. So it can be concluded that heating air results in
lower relative humidity. Conversely, cooling the air will result in a higher relative
humidity e.g. if the same air was 4°C the relative humidity would be 5.7/6.4 x 100 =
89%. This demonstrates that the warmer the air, the greater its capacity to contain
moisture.
 B. Ventilation rate formula

The airflow rates through exhaust fans and inlet slot openings can be estimated
using the fan performance curve and the orifice equation respectively, assuming
standard air conditions. The airflow rate through the exhaust fans must be equal to that
through the inlet slot openings based on continuity. Therefore, by combining those two
equations, the ventilation rate (Q) and the static pressure difference (DP) can be solved.
When the fan performance curve and orifice equation is plotted in a Q e DP relation
graph, the point where the two curves intersect indicates the ventilation rate and static
pressure difference of the facility. Letting Q be the total ventilation rate of the
mechanically ventilated facility, and be the number of operating exhaust fans. Assuming
the same performance for all fans, the airflow through one exhaust fan is equal to Q/n.
Therefore, the fan performance curve can be expressed as follows:

∆ P−Co+ C 1 ( Qn )+C 2 ( Qn ) 2
The orifice equation can be transformed into a formula for static pressure difference
(DP) as follows
∆ P−¿2C2D A2Q

C. Calculation: number of fans for a house

Through this topic belongs to tunnel ventilation but to ensure continuity we have to
discuss # of fans to be installed ina a house first.
No. of fans = Cross Section x Desired velocity/ CFM of one fan
 Cross Section = width x height of the house
 Desired velocity in our climatic conditions must be more than length og the house
to get less than 1-minute air change.
 CFM’s of air expelled by a single fan depends upon the size and efficiency of fan
recommended by the manufacturer

Sample Problem:
1. Knowing how much to ventilate during cold weather is crucial but to simplify a
minimum ventilation value of 0.588 cubic feet per minute per kg bofy weight is
suggested. Let suppose we have a house of length 500 ft, width 45 ft, Total
number of birds are 40 000 and average weight of the bird is 500 grams.
Capacity of one minimum ventilation fan is 9000 CFM. Outside temperature is 2
degrees centigrade. How to calculate its ventilation?

Solution:
40 000 x 500 / 1000 = 20 000 Kg
20 000 x 0.588 = 11760 CFM required

11760/9000 = 1.30 Fans

❑ Coss
❑
 Number of birds= 10,0000
Minimum ventilation fan = 1 x 91 cm
Fan capacity= 255m3/ minute X 60 = 15300 m3/ hr
Using a 05 minutes cycle timer
Ventilation rate= Minimum vent
= 90.59 cmh) X (10,000)
= 5900cmh ( cubic meter per hour)

REFERENCES:
Poultry Housing – The Basic Requirements to Consider/plaNning to build poultry
house.retrieved at http://thepoultryguide.com/poultry-housing-the-basic-requirements-to-
considerplaning-to-build-poultry-house/ on November 19, 2019
https://www.google.com/search?
q=different+designs+of+ventilation+systems+for+poultry+houses+in+the+philippines
R. A. Bucklin, J. P. Jacob, F. B. Mather, J. D. Leary, and I. A. NaasFunctions of a
Ventilation System.Tunnel Ventilation of Broiler Houses. Retrieved at
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps041 on November 19, 2019
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_ventilation
https://www.google.com/search?
rlz=1C1MSIM_enPH703PH703&biw=1164&bih=785&ei=45zTXbqeEo_ahwP43ZOIAw&
q=Attic+inlet+ventilation+defination&oq=Attic+inlet+ventilation+defination&gs