Housing and Operational Studies on California Egg Farms

Abstract

ABSTRACT EGG farming in California has undergone radical changes in the last fifteen years. Once a sideline, today most egg production takes place on highly specialized farms where poultry is the only enterprise. Average flock size has increased from about 500 layers to three or four thousand or more. Mechanization in feeding, egg gathering, and egg cleaning has come, and further developments are anxiously awaited. But most important, chicken housing has undergone great changes in design. The conventional litter type house remains, but two new types of housing have become increasingly popular: one is the wire cage that holds one or two layers; the other, the wire-floored pen or colony house holding 6 to 60 or more layers per pen. These factors of increased flock size, mechanization, and changes in house design are making the poultryman seek more efficient methods of operation. Although some information is available on the labor requirements . . .