Over the years poultry housing has changed depending on several factors. Some of this factors include; availability of construction space/land, capital,number of birds, whether it is large scale or small scale, type of birds etc. Because of these factors farmers can chose the best housing system while putting these factors into consideration. I would explain only two of this housing systems in this paper namely; free range and battery cages.
Free range
In this type of housing system the house is constructed in such a way that the birds are safe from predators but have sufficient access to land. They can access pasture which allows them to feed on grass, insects and seeds during the day and move back to closed house during the night. So in this type of housing there is a permanent house and a section usually surrounded with wire mesh for grazing. It is a very old method of poultry housing.
Battery cages
In this type of housing the hens are kept in a cage that is enough to allow it to sit and stand comfortably even though the movement is limited. The base is made of a galvanized wire that is sloping to allow the eggs roll into a collecting gutter. The base of the cage is often 14 by 6 inches and 17 inches high.Food and water is placed outside the cage and a tray of droppings underneath the cage. These cages can also be joined together or multistoried and consists of metal which does not harbor parasites.
I would prefer the battery cage system of housing because first and foremost it is modern and eye-catching. It is also economical on space especially where the land is limited then this would be very convenient. The eggs are also clean and floor eggs would be eliminated. The labor that I would require to manage it would also be reduced very much. The problems that I am likely to encounter include handling of manure, the eggs might have bloodspots and the problem of flies which might also be a great disturbance. Some of the things I found interesting are that the cage system was used in rearing silver foxes which were kept for their fur and that in the deep litter system, the litter is a source of food for the birds.