Systems of poultry husbandry

Abstract

There are many systems employed in poultry husbandry but each represents an economic method of poultry production under a given situation. The type, the area and the location of a farm partly determine the system to be adopted. The economic status, time and the understanding of the farmer also help to determine which system is used. For a poultry husbandry system to be considered as less intensive, or an 'alternative system', it should be: (1)less confining - birds kept in cages should have more room to get up and lie down fully; (2) less crowded - birds in pens should be kept in smaller groups and with more floor area per bird; and (3)better able to meet the bird's food and perching requirements. The systems which are most suited to small scale poultry husbandry are: (1) free range, in which the birds can roam at will over an extensive area; (2) intensive, in which the birds are wholly confined, such as the deep-litter system; and (3) semi-intensive, in which the birds are partially confined, but have at least occasional access to an outside run or scratching shed or straw yard. Among them, the extensive systems or the traditional systems are not only favoured by a small minority of
farmers, but already have a place in many developing countries.