Cannibalism among chickens – causes and prevention

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Cannibalism is a behavioral disorder that has nothing to do with aggression in hens. This behavior is the fulfilment of a natural need to forage for food, but also a manifestation of boredom in the flock. The hens become overly interested in each other and feathers are pecked out at each other, which is considered to be a kind of precursor to cannibalism. In this case, individual feathers are plucked and eaten by deliberate beak strokes towards other hens. Preference is given to areas on the neck, back, upper sides of the wings and base of the tail.

And from feather pecking to cannibalism is not really far…

The transition from this stage to cannibalism can be accelerated by visible injuries to the animals where feathers are pecked out. Small, bleeding wounds increase the pecking instinct, which leads to a worsening of the injured hen’s condition. In addition, the hen may start pecking not only the feathers but also the fingers. Bleeding caused by spontaneous pecking on healthy fingers will prompt the hen to launch further pecking attacks.

But not only blood can be a stimulus for hens’ aggressive behavior.

The shiny, bulging mucous membrane of the cloaca during egg laying also encourages pecking. Hens that observe other hens pecking at the anus of another hen also start pecking. Suddenly hierarchy no longer matters, although it is known to be very important for hens and even considered the most stable in the animal world. Distressed hens are usually unable to defend themselves, nor can they rely on other hens to defend them. The intensity of the pecking can be so great that hens affected by cloacal cannibalism are literally eaten from behind.

Another possible factor for cannibalism among hens is an unfavorable climate in the poultry house. Too low humidity, too high temperatures or too much light can unsettle the birds and trigger this behavior.

Stress caused by insufficient nest space, irregular feeding, parasite infestation or vitamin and mineral deficiencies can be another possible factor. Although the last factor seems to be the least likely cause of cannibalism, as ready-made hen feed mixtures are optimised for nutrients, it cannot be ruled out that the hens have a calcium or salt deficiency in their bodies.

What should we do if we observe symptoms of cannibalism?

When this situation occurs, the behaviorally disturbed animals should be separated from the injured hens as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it is very likely that the cannibalized hens will continue to injure each other, but this is the only way to prevent more severe injuries to the affected hens and the further development of cannibalism in the flock.

If the two groups are separated, one should immediately start looking for the cause and eliminate possible triggers of such behavior and, above all, intensify the care of the animals and call in professional help (e.g. a veterinarian). It is also worth checking the climatic conditions in the poultry house to avoid increased nervousness of the animals, which can lead to feather pecking and cannibalism. The ammonia content of the air, which should be below 15 ppm, and the temperature, which should fluctuate between 18-20 °C without draughts, should be noted.

In addition – you can give the hens salt (NaCl) and also give them access to a source of calcium (e.g., by feeding them oyster shells) – a lack of these nutrients in the body can lead to increased nervousness and behavioral problems in the birds. Another way to combat feather pecking and cannibalism is to change the lighting to red. However, it is important that the lighting is uniform throughout the house, as a partial change can only make the situation worse. In the case of redness or sores in hens, red lighting can prevent them from being detected by other animals.

What can be done to prevent feather pecking and cannibalism?

As a first step, you should ensure that the hens have constant access to litter (the material must be loose, dry, of high quality and not harmful to health). Suitable materials are straw, wood shavings, wood chips and wood pellets. At the beginning, a mulch height of 1 to 2 cm is sufficient (“less is more”, i.e., it is better to re-spread more frequently).

In addition to the litter, other variable occupational material should also be continuously offered to the animals. (e.g., hay baskets, straw / straw bales, grains in the litter, etc.). In addition, it can be useful to offer suitable pecking and scratching through wire baskets with e.g., cabbage or carrots. However, the occupational materials should be renewed or replaced regularly to maintain their attractiveness for the animals.

When selecting materials, care should be taken that they are hygienic and do not pose a danger to the hens.

Offering a sand bath provides an additional opportunity for plumage care and occupation. A cold scratching area and a paddock provide outdoor climatic stimuli and enrich the housing environment.

In summary, the causes of feather pecking in hens are indeed diverse – and although cannibalism and feather pecking have been known among poultry farmers for generations, modern research has not yet been able to fully explain this undesirable misbehavior.

To ensure the hens’ welfare, it is important not to introduce new birds into the flock, to monitor their behavior regularly and to control the house climate. The hens should have frequent access to food to avoid “starvation”. The lack of light in the nests can in turn prevent feather pecking in the cloaca area, where cannibalism often develops. Let’s remember to take care of our chickens in every way!

Ventilation in the chicken house and the health of the chickens

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Temperature and humidity are important microclimatic factors that the farmer should constantly monitor. They are crucial for the health of the animals and thus for the production results.                      

The sources of humidity in poultry houses are… first and foremost the hens themselves, which produce huge amounts of water vapour. Damp feed, steaming faeces, damp floors and air coming in from outside all contribute to the fact that the humidity in a poultry house can be enormous. In addition, the humidity depends on the efficiency of the ventilation systems or the type of bedding.

How can you tell that the ventilation in a poultry house is inadequate and something needs to be changed?

First of all, the first impression when you enter the house is important – if your breath catches when you open the house door in the morning because a bad, unpleasant smell hits you, this is an indication that the ventilation is clearly too poor.

If you also notice that mould or mites, which prefer a warm and humid climate, are developing in the poultry house, this means that there is far too little oxygen in the poultry house. This can lead to rheumatic diseases, rickets, and skin fungus. Another sign that the poultry house is too stuffy are fogged windows. It is also advisable to observe the behavior of the chickens, which are more or less affected depending on the humidity and temperature in the house.

When the temperature is low, but humidity is high, hens’ body heat loss increases. Low temperatures combined with high humidity cause a sharp drop in production. In addition, they lead to dampening of the hen’s feathers and thus reduce heat insulation – the body’s resistance then decreases and the birds become more ill.

There can also be high temperatures and low air humidity, and this is by far the most common situation. Intense evaporation from the surface of the skin and mucous membranes, which occurs in low humidity but high temperatures, causes them to dry out and crack, and this promotes the development of microorganisms. Decreased appetite, increased body temperature, lower feed intake and therefore reduced body weight and an increase in the number of collapses in the hen flock can then also be observed.                                                                                                                                               On the other hand, when the temperature is high and at the same time the humidity is high, the birds have limited opportunities to lose body heat due to impaired evaporation. Under such conditions, hyperthermia can occur, especially during summer periods.

So how can you make sure that you protect your chickens from such situations? What can you do to make the ventilation in the chicken coop as good as possible?

First of all, you should use gravity ventilation, which requires at least two openings, preferably on opposite sides of the coop. One opening serves as an air inlet, the other as an air outlet.

The body heat of the chickens causes the air in the coop to have a higher temperature than the outside air. The warmer air absorbs moisture, rises due to its lower weight and then “escapes” from the poultry house through the air outlet. Due to the resulting suction effect, the colder, “heavier” air moves through the air inlet and falls to the floor, and an air exchange takes place in the poultry house.

Windows with adjustable opening to avoid draughts, removable ventilation flaps or nets in doors can be very helpful here. It is important that when windows, flaps or doors are open, the resulting space is secured with nets to prevent predators from entering.

Is it possible to support gravity ventilation with anything?

Of course, you can! One of the best ways to do this is to use a temperature controller in your mobile poultry house, which helps to keep the temperature in the poultry house stable with the help of a thermal actuator that opens the window and a fan.

The operation of the actuator and the fan is very simple, and very effective.

The two devices start working when the temperature set on the control unit is lower than the temperature in the poultry house. The thermal actuator then opens the window to lower the temperature in the poultry house. However, if this does not help and the set temperature is not reached, the fan will switch on after a few minutes and the temperature should drop quickly.

These two devices work both together and separately, as they each support gravity ventilation in different ways.

Remember – a bad microclimate in the poultry house stresses the animals and makes them sick faster. The flock becomes restless and increased losses, feather pecking and even cannibalism can occur. Good ventilation is therefore particularly important and there should be as few draughts as possible. For this reason, when buying a poultry house from the very beginning, consideration should be given to how to provide the hens with the best possible ventilation.

Perhaps it is worth paying attention to the solutions described above? In our opinion, it is definitely worthwhile, as we use them in our mobile poultry house KROPPER and can recommend them to you with a clear conscience!

What is the water requirement of laying hens?

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The digestive system of birds is much shorter than that of mammals, although their nutritional requirements are also high. Therefore, feed for chickens must be characterised by a high nutrient content and good digestibility. In addition to feed, hens also need a lot of water – the daily requirement of a laying hen is about 250-300 ml, with 40 g of water consumed by the hen to produce one egg (i.e., about 20 % of the water intake). And although water is not a nutrient in the strict sense, it is the basis for almost all life functions and the main component of the body – it accounts for 55-65% of the body weight of a laying hen and about 74% of the weight of an egg. For this reason, water is often called “the most important food” or “the silent nutrient”. 

Poor water quality or lack of water leads to slower digestion of feed, which reduces feed intake, and this in turn has a negative impact on the growth of the birds. In laying hens, lack of water means small eggs and reduced shell thickness. In addition, a lack of drinking water for several hours – e.g. due to a blocked water pipe or a tank that is not filled in time – can lead to a drastic drop in laying performance.

Reducing or even stopping egg production is essential for the hen’s survival. Why? Because egg production requires water, which can only be redistributed in the body to a limited extent. So if the hen continues to lay eggs even though she lacks water in her body, this can quickly lead to her death. After laying is complete, hens shed large amounts of feathers and moult partially or completely. Therefore, it is very important for self-sufficient mobile hen houses to keep a close eye on the water level in the tank so that it can be refilled at the right moment. 

To avoid such effects, it is assumed that laying hens should receive 1.8 – 2.0 g water per 1 g feed intake. Laying hens drink little but often – a total of about 230-280 ml per day. Daily water intake is a good indicator of flock health, so it is worth recording the daily water and feed intake of the hen house. It is also important that the water temperature is correct – it should be between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius. If the drinking water temperature is above 20 degrees, not only does the quality of the water decrease, but also the intake by the hens.

It should also be remembered that bacteria multiply very quickly at such temperatures. Biofilms with pathogenic microorganisms can form in the drinking lines, which can cause digestive disorders and even intestinal infections in the birds. It is therefore very important to systematically clean drinkers and drinking lines.

IMPORTANT! The water the chickens get should not be “hard”. It should be clean, without pathogenic bacteria and heavy metals. Otherwise it can contribute to the proliferation of bacteria in the birds’ bodies.

It can also happen that the quantity and quality of water is optimal, but the water intake has changed a lot. This is a very important signal that should not be underestimated. If the water intake increases significantly, the water supply system and the water pressure should be checked immediately. Then check the temperature in the poultry house and the salt content of the feed. If none of these factors is the cause of the increased water intake, the health status of the hens should be checked (the hens may be sick, or it may be a reaction to a vaccine).

If, on the other hand, the hens are taking in too little water, the first thing to check is whether the drinkers are working properly, and the water pressure is correct. If the drinking water system is working properly, the quality of the water should be checked. Hens that consume too little water appear sluggish.

As you can see from the above, all chicken keepers should constantly have their finger on the pulse and check the quality of the water and the amount of water the hens are receiving. Laying hens, as well as broilers and chicks, must always have easy access to drinking water, the quality of which should be checked regularly, as contaminated water can cause serious health problems. For the layer, insufficient water intake by the hens means that they cannot lay eggs, and no eggs means that a mobile chicken house is of no use.

How can laying hens be effectively protected from attacks by birds of prey?

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One of the biggest challenges for the mobile laying hen farmer is to protect the birds from predators. In this regard, he is subject to certain rules nowadays. While the farmer used to take a shotgun out of the cupboard to protect his animals from foxes, hawks, wolves and co., today he no longer has this option and must come up with something else.

The goshawk – currently the greatest threat to free-range chickens

Goshawks have become one of the biggest problems for free-range poultry farmers. The hens instinctively try to defend themselves against them by making certain sounds that warn of the impending danger and help the flock to hide from the predator. In this way, they try to protect themselves from the threat. You may also notice that hens feel the need to be near elements that provide them with some kind of shield.  If these are not available, they usually do not move far from the mobile hen house for fear of being attacked by a predator. 

Another instinctive behaviour in the face of danger is to constantly look up and sprint for safe shield when a larger bird circles in the sky.

Importantly, the goshawk is a bird that does not circle in the sky looking for prey, but sits on high perches or branches looking for opportunities. It attacks quickly and uses the element of surprise. Female goshawks hunt mainly chickens, while males concentrate on smaller birds and small mammals.

The fact that goshawks are at home in cities is certainly also since their main prey, the pigeon, feels very comfortable there and can be found in flocks. However, since each pair of goshawks claims a certain breeding territory for itself and the offspring are driven out of it after rearing, it is understandable that young goshawks must acquire new territories. Thus, the settlement density of goshawks is also increasing in rural areas. Here, in addition to natural prey, they also find a richly laid table on free-range and organic laying hen farms.

How can we prevent our friends, the chickens, from being thrown to the hawks?

Nets over the run

The most popular and effective method of protecting chickens from birds of prey is to place a net over the run. This will prevent attacks from the sky. To prevent the penetration of birds of prey, the mesh size of the net should be less than 10 cm.

Appropriate fencing

The hawks are clever and hunt on the ground. Quite often “chicken thieves” roam the free-range enclosure on foot and look for gaps in the fence, so it is important that the fence works properly. This means that the vegetation around the fence must be as short as possible. An overgrown electric fence has practically no effect, as the current is diverted along the grass blades into the ground. In addition, the fence should not have a gap, because if a predator discovers it, not all hens manage to escape into the barn despite the alarm signal. A bird of prey needs only a few centimetres to enter a chicken coop, it needs much less space than a fox or a wolf.

Shelter in the chicken run

When a rooster or a hen sounds a warning, all the hens run away and hide. In modern chicken farming, an open run with no hiding places is common, although this does not correspond to the nature of the chickens. For large areas that cannot be covered by nets, hiding places significantly reduce the risk. To prevent attacks by birds of prey, low-mounted wooden roofs help.

Goats grazing together with chickens

Many holdings that have suffered flock losses because of aerial attacks by predators and have tried the protection measures mentioned above find that keeping goats exclusively on their herds is a relatively good remedy for hawk loss. Goats are large, fast, and aggressive and very reliable when it comes to defending their territory. It may be surprising that the hawks are usually unaffected by sheep and cattle and continue to roam among these grazing animals to meet the chickens. On the other hand, if you keep goats, possibly with a bell on the collar, the shy hawk stays away. It has been shown that the hawk reappears on the feeding ground within 24-48 hours when the goats are removed from the herd.

Special sound or light protection devices that emit sounds or light to deter predators or other animals may also be used in conjunction with the above protection methods.

Regardless of which protective measures you choose, it is important to regularly check and repair damage so that your chickens can live in a safe and quiet environment. Remember that your chickens are your friends, and it is worth taking care of them so that they can enjoy a long and happy life.

A mobile chicken house – a mobile team

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The process of ordering the components for the mobile chicken coop and the period during which we produce it is a very intense time for us. However, the moment when the mobile chicken coop produced by us is being transported to you, our customers, is in turn the most exciting and eagerly awaited stage. This is because we want your mobile chicken coop to arrive on time, ‘safe and sound’ and that you are completely satisfied with your purchase. That’s why transport, unloading and commissioning are so important to us. 

In September, we had the pleasure of unloading two Auto-Feeder 225 mobile henhouses a tour Austrian customer. Despite unfavourable weather conditions, the unloading went smoothly and in just over two hours the poultry houses were on the meadow.

We will certainly remember this customer and this unloading for a long time, as it was the first time that we produced and delivered two poultry houses for one customer. In addition, the location of the unloading was magical – beautiful peaks of the lightly snow-covered Alps and at their foot a beautiful, wide green meadow. We did not expect our two poultry houses to look so beautiful there. Right next to the meadow is also Hofladen Gabriel, where you can buy not only eggs from happy hens, but also other local products.

Two months later, we went to unload the Eko 225 mobile poultry house to our customer in the Czech Republic. We are very pleased when an investment in a mobile chicken coop is not just the purchase of a new agricultural machine, but a kind of event in the life of the farmer and his family. This was also the case here, as not only the investor himself, but also his family and friends were present at the unloading. In addition, the great weather and the beautiful location of the farm – far from the hustle and bustle of the city among the many fields, meadows and forests – meant that we will remember this trip fondly.

The fact that we find mobile chicken coop delivery very stressful and exhausting does not change the fact that it is what we enjoy most about our work. After all, it’s not about the unloading itself, but mainly about meeting you, being able to answer your questions directly and explaining how to operate our mobile chicken coop. And the moment when the KROPPER chicken mobile is already standing in your meadow and you try to operate it yourself is the most beautiful sight for us.

In addition, the smile on your face confirms our conviction that the purchase of a mobile chicken house not only enriches your farm, but also makes it grow.

The language of hens – how to understand it?

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The animal world holds all sorts of secrets. We can look for them literally everywhere and there is a good chance that the results of our search will surprise us. Let us look, for example, at our immediate surroundings: did you know that chickens have developed their own language?

Recent scientific studies have shown that hens, chickens and roosters have developed cognitive abilities (they have the ability to learn and acquire information) and communication skills. Hens communicate with each other using body language or vocal signals. Another way they communicate is by secreting chemicals called pheromones from special glands or by marking an area with urine or faeces. However, what interests us most is their spoken language, in which more than 30 different sounds with distinct meanings are distinguished. With their help, hens express their emotions, raise their chicks, announce food they have found or approach danger.

The language of hens accurately describes their reality, there is no randomness in their noises, they do not noise mindlessly under fear. Their warning sounds vary depending on whether the predator is approaching from the ground or from the air. They respond to predators approaching from the ground with much louder and more frequent voices. A bird that makes a warning sound is trying to draw attention to itself and make the predator aware that the flock is already aware of its presence and is preparing to flee.

The signals that tell of food found are also not uniform. Some indicate that they have just been served a treat, while others indicate that the meal is inedible.

Below you will find some examples of the hen noises with which they attempt to communicate specific content.

Clucking

This is probably the most well-known sound a hen makes

When observing the clucking of hens, you may notice that they seem sort of… hysterical. This is not surprising, as clucking occurs mainly when hens lay eggs or shortly afterwards; they are then very excited. Clucking in young hens that have laid an egg for the first time can also be an expression of a kind of “surprise”. It is also assumed that the clucking hen wants to draw the rooster’s attention to the laid egg.

Cackling

Another sound used by hens is the cackling sound (which can be heard before they lay their eggs, as an expression of their desire to lay an egg at that very moment).

This sound is used by the hens if, for example, the preferred nest is occupied by a higher-ranking mate and the latter does not want to let her into the nest.

In addition, hens express needs in this way, such as to be fed or let out of the coop. The rooster only makes this sound when it is being stalked by a winning rival.

Crowing

Another very typical sound is crowing. It is one of the most characteristic sounds when it comes to this group of birds. After all, who among us has not heard a rooster, especially in rural areas? That’s right!

The sound of crowing, however, is never heard from a hen, as it is a sound made exclusively by roosters.

Contrary to expectations and stereotypes, this sound is not used to wake people up. In the wild, roosters crow to draw attention to themselves, thus showing their confidence and giving a clear message – “look – I’m the one in charge”.

In addition, roosters use their crowing to attract hens. In the wild, it sometimes happens that hens stray too far from the group and never find their way back. Through the rooster’s crowing they regain their orientation in the area and return to the flock.

Hens can scream too!

The screams of hens can be heard when they are attacked by predators or other hens, or when they injure themselves. It is a shrieking cry that can be louder or less loud, depending on the potential threat.

It is worth spending some time with the animals and observing their behaviour, listening to their conversations. You can really learn a lot this way.

The ability to understand and interpret chicken language is a very useful skill for the hen keeper, allowing you to make their lives as stress-free and comfortable as possible.

The role of light in the chickens’ world

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How is it possible that chickens can see better than humans?

After a number of studies, it has been found that chickens can see much better than humans at low light intensity, especially they can perceive more colours.

This is because humans have three types of light-sensitive cones – red, blue and yellow. A chicken, on the other hand, has additional cones that are sensitive to violet light and are separately specialized for perceiving movement. Birds are thought to need these for foraging and probably also for mating. Because of their sensitivity to ultraviolet light, they perceive dawn earlier than we do, which means that chickens see daylight almost an hour earlier than we humans do. However, they cannot see at night because they lack nerve cells that respond to light intensity. They also see less well from a distance of 25-50 meters, which explains why they do not move further away from the chicken coop, but keep a safe distance. 

Of all the senses that birds use, the sense of sight plays the most important role, while the other senses are less developed. It is also worth noting that birds’ eyes are proportionally larger than those of humans. Their size is about 15 % of the weight of the head, while the ratio in humans is only a little more than 1 %.  Nevertheless, the colours a bird sees are not the same as those of humans, as they are more sensitive to long-wave colours and less sensitive to short-wave ones. In the end, it turns out that a bird can only distinguish 20 colours, whereas a human can distinguish 160.

How does light affect the chickens’ functioning?

Light has a decisive influence on the rhythm of life of chickens, it regulates the internal clock and controls the sleep rhythm as well as the activity and rest phases and the feeding behaviour.  Chickens are indeed among the animals that react strongly to light. It directly stimulates the animals’ endocrine system and influences the maximum use of the laying hens’ production potential. In addition, the right lighting stimulates feed intake – if there is insufficient light or if the light day is too short, the birds take in less feed than they need, which leads to a drop in production output. We must not forget that the length of the daytime and the intensity of the lighting in the poultry house are factors that directly affect the hens’ laying performance. These parameters are particularly important in autumn and winter (in December, for example, the astronomical day is less than eight hours long). Chickens need at least 14 hours of light a day. The low angle of incidence of the sun’s rays on the ground and the heavy cloud cover, which blocks much of the light in our direction, further complicate the situation during this period. To maintain a satisfactory laying performance of the flock, it is therefore necessary to use artificial lighting.

What is the so called lighting programme?                         

The lighting programme determines the starting phase of the laying hens and influences their productivity during production. By setting the lighting programme correctly, productivity can be adapted to the specific needs of the farm (of course it also has its limits).

However, the lighting programme actually starts with the first day of the hen’s life, when the length of the daylight is generally 16 to 24 hours. It is then gradually reduced to 8 or 10 hours until the hen is 10 weeks old. At 17 or 18 weeks of age, the hens’ day length is gradually increased to promote maturity. Subsequently, at 22-24 weeks of age, the hens’ day length should be increased to at least 14 hours. 

The most important thing is that the laying hen farmer continues the light programme to which the birds have become accustomed so far.  In this way, a too early start of egg laying can be prevented.

It is worth paying special attention to this, because if this process starts too early, the hens will not take in enough feed to develop properly at the same time.

It is therefore very important to get all the necessary information from the breeder of the pullets.                                                                                                                                      
The light or lack of light affects the temperature and humidity of the environment in which the chickens are housed. In order for them to have sufficient natural light, they must have a run or provide the room with large enough windows. Natural light is an excellent source of vitamin D. In addition, light with its UV rays has a germicidal effect.

Insufficient lighting can lead to misbehaviour (aggression, feather pecking, cannibalism, self-mutilation, malnutrition), disease and even death.

As you can see, light, especially daylight, is not only important, but it is simply indispensable for the animals, as it has a significant influence on their functioning. It is therefore necessary to choose a chicken coop that is adapted to the needs of the chickens and that really lets in a lot of sunlight. It is worth paying attention to this, because it is not always possible to have an all-day outdoor run – either because of the weather or because of legal regulations that restrict the chickens’ run in certain situations. When deciding whether to keep chickens in a standard or mobile coop, it is therefore good to pay attention to the key word “light”. Apart from the fact that this is essential for the chickens, working in a darkened poultry house is not pleasant for humans.

Why a mobile chicken house?

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Mobile chicken coops are becoming an increasingly popular form of free-range chicken housing. They are often chosen by farmers who already have their own poultry farm, by farmers looking for an alternative use to manage their pastures and fields, or by those who simply see it as good, forward-looking business.

However, there is an opportunity for any farmer to get into this type of farming as it is an activity that does not require as much commitment and money as investing in stationary poultry houses.

However, many of you probably see the many advantages of a mobile poultry house and yet have wondered more than once whether buying one is really a good idea. Will it bring the expected benefits? One thing is for sure: if you don’t decide to make this investment, you won’t know!

In our last post, we described the main benefits of a mobile chicken house, focusing mainly on how its mobility and the chickens living in it affect the condition of the meadows and fields, and conversely, the impact that constant access to fresh grass has on the chickens.

However, this was only an introduction to what we would like to share with you in this post!

The undisputed benefit of mobile chicken coops is that they offer the possibility to keep fewer chickens (200-250 chickens). This makes it possible for small farms in particular to “start” keeping chickens without a great financial risk. This is because, unlike a stationary poultry house, a mobile hen house can always be sold in the event of a difficulty, just like any other agricultural machine. The purchase of a mobile poultry house is a low-cost factor compared to the construction of a stationary house. It is also often possible to obtain subsidies for the purchase of mobile poultry houses that comply with ecological standards and requirements, upon submission of the relevant documentation.



It could give the impression that the workload in a mobile chicken house is much higher than in a stationary house, but this depends on the number of chickens kept, the size of the house and its level of automation. In a mobile poultry house in our production, for example, no more than half an hour a day is needed to check the feed, to check the processes in the poultry house in general and to collect the eggs in the poultry house.  The 600-litre water tank is filled up every 7 days on average, and this does not require much effort either – just connect the hose and check the water level in the tank (this does not take more than 40 minutes, and in the meantime, you can do other work in the poultry house, such as refilling the feed containers). Also, manure removal will not take much time because, as in most mobile poultry houses, we used a belt system, and it takes no more than 30 minutes to remove the manure from the belt. 

So, by planning the activities in the mobile poultry house well, all the required activities can be done efficiently and in optimal time, and most importantly, you don’t need staff to manage it. Most of these activities can be done alone.

What deserves special attention is the power supply system of the mobile chicken houses.

Most of them are equipped with photovoltaic panels that can supply the entire poultry house with electricity on sunny days. It is therefore not necessary to constantly connect the poultry house to the electricity grid or to use a power generator every day, which significantly reduces the maintenance costs of the mobile poultry house. 

Moreover, thanks to this independence from the electricity grid, the poultry house does not have to be located on a plot of land right next to the farm but can just as easily be erected in a meadow some distance from the house.

Many farmers decide not to buy a mobile chicken coop because they have concerns about the safety of the animals outdoors, and these fears are partly justified. When investing in a mobile chicken house, one must expect that the lives of free-range chickens are at greater risk than those of chickens living in sheds or in much smaller runs near farms. However, manufacturers of mobile chicken coops are responding to farmers’ concerns by introducing several measures to protect chickens from foxes, martens, or birds of prey. One of these is the electric fence, which, in combination with other safety measures, ensures that the chickens feel safe not only inside the coop, but also outside.

In our offer you will find, among other things, a special protective net over the run that covers an area of 22.5 m2 and thus creates a “safe zone” for the chickens in case of danger.

When deciding to buy a mobile hen house, there are many factors that will affect the selection of the right mobile hen house tailored to your needs.

However, we recommend choosing a model that is largely automated, as you will then have much more time to focus on marketing and the well-being of your chickens.

Therefore, we invite you to take a look at our mobile chicken house models. Contact us for a non-binding offer.

What is a mobile chicken house?

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A beautiful green meadow, an open space where the chickens dig in the ground in search of worms and grains. This is the image that gets stuck in our heads when we think of happy chickens laying beautiful, healthy eggs. This beautiful sight can be enjoyed every day, and the easiest way to achieve this is to own a mobile chicken coop!

By buying a mobile chicken coop, the farm can gain prestige in the eyes of people who want to know what they are eating. With the right advertising, eggs from chickens from a mobile henhouse can be sold not only in the farm shop but also in supermarkets.  At first glance, it is hard to distinguish an organic egg from a non-organic egg, but the living conditions of laying hens from the two types of farming differ considerably, which affects the taste of the egg and the nutritional values it contains.

Most customers are therefore happy to pay a higher price for the fact that the origin of the agricultural products in particular corresponds to their idea of farming. The farmer himself is also happy if his animals can live without restrictions under the best possible conditions adapted to their needs.

What is a mobile chicken coop, and does it make sense to have one? In this blog post you will find the answers to these very questions.

A mobile chicken coop is a fully equipped coop that is designed so that you can change its location at regular intervals.

The mobile chicken coop was built with the welfare of the animals kept there in mind. Compared to traditional poultry houses in the form of free-standing buildings, mobile houses offer the farmer much more room to manoeuvre. They are built to be easy to clean and disinfect, yet friendly and completely safe for the chickens. It is the ideal space to protect the chickens from fluctuating temperatures while allowing the birds access to fresh air, water, and feed.

In addition, the mobile poultry house makes it possible to expand production while moving the chickens off the property. For example, the chicken house can be located in a field where the grain has already been harvested, so that the chickens’ feed is enriched with food that they mainly procure themselves. After all, they still have grass and grain in the field near them. Importantly, when the chickens are in the field or meadow, they leave droppings on it, which is a really “nasty thing” on the farm, but very necessary in the meadow.

Nowadays there are various manufacturers of mobile poultry houses, whose concepts differ mainly in the type of power supply, the type of water connections and the degree of automation. The mobile poultry house from Poland by Kropper combines innovation with practicality and modern design. With a poultry house with or without an automatic feeding line, it adapts to the needs of every farmer.

What are the advantages of a a mobile chicken coop?

Mobile chicken coops are, as the name suggests, a combination of a traditional chicken coop and the ability to be mobile and, as we have seen, there is really a lot to gain from this.

Benefit 1: The meadow is protected and better fertilised.

Hens love green grass and like to pick up feed from the ground. But the longer and more intensive they work, the more sensitive the grass becomes. At some point, it can no longer regenerate and an area that’s left is no longer green.

With the mobile chicken coop, it is possible at any time to provide the chickens with another part of the meadow or field – this is done completely stress-free and without much effort. This gives the meadow enough time to regenerate.

Advantage 2: There is always greenery

By offering the hens a mobile hen house that is moved regularly, we give them access to fresh greenery. This is necessary to meet the hens’ nutritional needs.

In addition, high-quality feed increases the quality of the eggs and thus their sale.

Advantage 3: Low risk of parasites

Free-range chickens have access to the outdoors, but they stay in the same place all the time and can therefore quickly become infected with parasites. This happens through the droppings they produce, which accumulate very quickly and are ingested by the chickens as they forage on the ground.

However, if you change the location of the coop regularly, the soil recovers more quickly, which reduces the risk of parasite infestation. Parasites in chickens have a negative impact on laying performance.

As you can see, mobile chicken coops really do offer great options. They are suitable for both novice breeders and farmers looking for an idea for a profitable, thriving business. Professionally built chicken coops provide the animals with adequate protection, not only from predators, but also from the weather. Importantly, in some federal states a mobile chicken coop can be erected without a building permit, saving the time of obtaining a permit and money.

The way chickens are raised – it’s up to you what you choose.

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As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the demand for protein, so we buy more and more eggs. Everyone knows they come from a hen, but not everyone is interested in the conditions under which the hens lay them.

Maybe you don’t want to buy the eggs, but sell them? You have probably asked yourself more than once which form of poultry farming is the best? After reading this post, you should no longer have any doubts!

Currently, 3 types of rearing are most popular on the market: barn, free-range and organic. Cage rearing will be completely banned soon (in Germany from 2025) due to the living conditions of the chickens.

Floor / barn husbandry:

At first glance, floor housing sounds good. However, on closer inspection, you can realise that the chickens are not particularly well off in this type of housing. Although at least one third of the floor must be strewn with straw, sand or peat, the rest of the area consists of grids under which the droppings pits are located.

Moreover, such a henhouse can accommodate up to six thousand hens. Exactly nine hens can be kept in one square metre, but in a multi-storey poultry house up to 18 hens can be kept in one square metre. The chickens in such a coop can barely walk, bathe in sand and flap their wings.

Many animals quickly become stressed and overwhelmed living in such conditions and having to share space with so many other chickens, so they often pluck out the feathers of themselves or their conspecifics.

In addition, many bacteria can multiply in such conditions when so many chickens live side by side and produce large amounts of water vapour. Eggs from barn-raised chickens carry a “2” in the egg code.

Free-range

Free-range chickens live in an enclosed coop, like floor-raised chickens. However, there is a big difference between the two systems: free-range animals, as the name suggests, are allowed to leave the coop during the day and roam outdoors. They have a large meadow to themselves where they can move around freely. Each hen must have at least four square metres of outdoor space, which is significantly more than in a barn.

This outdoor space must be available to all hens for at least eight hours a day, regardless of the weather.

There are also situations when the hens are not allowed outside, and the authorities order them to be kept indoors. However, so that the animals can move around, such a poultry house has a “winter garden”. This room has daylight and is well ventilated. It takes up about half of the indoor area of the house. The code of the egg begins with a “1”, which indicates free-range husbandry.

Organic farming

Organic rearing is primarily characterised by its naturalness. The chickens eat only organic feed and are treated only with natural and homeopathic medicines in case of illness. Hormones and antibiotics are prohibited in this type of breeding. Compared to floor and free-range farming, the available space is even larger, as no more than six hens per square metre can be kept in a poultry house.

The chicken flock is therefore smaller than in other types of husbandry and can number up to 3,000 birds. The perches are slightly longer – each hen should have 18 cm of space for itself. As with free-range husbandry, there is also a large outdoor area in organic husbandry. In at least four square metres, each hen can peck and forage for food without worry.

The producer code on the egg bears a “0” right at the beginning.

As you can see, organic and free-range farming differ in the way they are fed and the restriction of antibiotics. Also, in both cases, the hens have access to a large outdoor area.

Floor keeping is indeed the most productive because such a quantity of hens really “produces” a lot of eggs – but is it all about quantity?  Don’t forget that an organic hen means not only better feed, but also better living conditions, which affect the taste of eggs and poultry meat. Organic eggs taste more aromatic. This is because the feed contains more plant-based ingredients. So, do we want chickens to be just machines that lay average eggs? Decide for yourself! 🙂