THE HEN BATTERY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 55, 6 March 1937, Page 25

THE HEN BATTERY

At least one New Zealand poultryman is experimenting with laying cages for hens, with much satisfaction to date. The principle of confining each layer to a small coop' is not new and it is over fifteen years since the writer saw fifty hens kept in cages measuring three by two feet. These were an experimental lot on a farm in Melbourne, and the owner was more than pleased with the results. Progress has been made , with flooring, however, since the use of wire cloth floors, instead of litter, assists in ventilation arid the control of disease. Manufacturers are now offering a wide variety of laying cages in batteries of three and four tiers with many patent feeding, v/atering, and cleaning devices. In each case the floor is of wire mesh and slopes to the front so that the eggs laid roll out away from the hen. Thus the eggs cannot be pecked and remain perfectly clean. In some cases iron trays slip under each coop and are removed for cleaning purposes, in others/the cleaning is done from the end of a section of cages by means of a special scraper. Food is in front of the birds all the time and one feed a day is all that is required, while most of the watering systems are automatic. The amazing point about these cages is that the birds get no exercise at all, yet for years we have been told that exercise is the keynote to health and -good laying. . Certainly it is not suggested that breeding, siock should be accommodated in 'such cages, yet one hen in England has laid well in such a cage for six years and experimental chicks hatched from her have proved quite good birds. Crossbreds appear to give more satisfaction since they are more contented than purebreds. The broody factor no longer causes any trouble, since few hens will cluck for long sitting on a wire floor without any eggs. The chief use of these cages is for culls and odd birds which are not doing well in the flock pens. Since each bird is automatically single tested (the eggs are usually collected only. once a week), it is very simple to find out if any are really permanently out of profit. Suitable feed troughs prevent any waste of foodstuffs at all, and the manure is doubly valuable since it is obtained in a pure state without the addition of straw and weed seeds. These cages have also been found most successful rearing table cockerels. Instead of moving the cockerels to range when about six weeks old they are placed in these laying cages to be finished for the table. Growth is most rapid and at ten to sixteen weeks a , well-plumped bird is obtained. All] sorts .of buildings are' being adapted for these hen factories and it is said that a boy can easily attend to 1000 layers without any extra help.

Since, however, climatic conditions are so favourable to free range poultry in this country, it is unlikely that many will attempt to commercialise these laying cages. Some submit that they are cruel, but this point has been well fought out in England. It will be interesting to watch developments

and see just how useful these cages can be. Certainly they offer a wonderful solution to disease problems and to vices such as feather eating and cannibalism.