What does this machine do?

[simme]

This is a machine I had not seen before. Used on the farm.




The two wings on each side fold out into the front and becomes a 30 foot "combine head" for harvesting chickens while driving through the chicken house. Each "wing" has a belt that rotates to move the chickens to the back of the "header" where there is another belt that move the chickens to the center of the machine, then an inclined belt though the machine that delivers the chickens out a "discharge spout" on the back. The little "trailer" behind is a turntable that hold two 8 foot wide (truck width) multi-story cages that come off the semi trailer empty and goes back on loaded with chickens. Workers ride on the back of the machine and "direct" the chickens into the cages. A loader brings an empty cage off the truck and takes the loaded one back to the truck. Machine is remote controlled by a guy walking beside it.

Previous method was to herd the chickens closer together with the house lights very very dim. Chickens sit down and a catch crew would stoop down, pick them up by the feet with several chickens in each hand and then place then in those same cages. I guess the new machine is faster, shows up on time and gets the job done. I have not seen it in operation. My brother says it is quick.
If you have never seen a "chicken catching" and loadout, it is something else. Several tractor trailers coming and going in a small lot. They only know one speed - fast and furious. Loader going in and coming out (in reverse) of the house at max speed. You don't want to be walking around the loadout area. Often done at night in the dark. You can sense that you are out of place if you are too close to the action.

 

[wbvs58]

Do they have many mishaps with the chooks?

Ken

 

[sstterry]

This is a machine I had not seen before. Used on the farm.
View attachment 3621

View attachment 3622

The two wings on each side fold out into the front and becomes a 30 foot "combine head" for harvesting chickens while driving through the chicken house. Each "wing" has a belt that rotates to move the chickens to the back of the "header" where there is another belt that move the chickens to the center of the machine, then an inclined belt though the machine that delivers the chickens out a "discharge spout" on the back. The little "trailer" behind is a turntable that hold two 8 foot wide (truck width) multi-story cages that come off the semi trailer empty and goes back on loaded with chickens. Workers ride on the back of the machine and "direct" the chickens into the cages. A loader brings an empty cage off the truck and takes the loaded one back to the truck. Machine is remote controlled by a guy walking beside it.

Previous method was to herd the chickens closer together with the house lights very very dim. Chickens sit down and a catch crew would stoop down, pick them up by the feet with several chickens in each hand and then place then in those same cages. I guess the new machine is faster, shows up on time and gets the job done. I have not seen it in operation. My brother says it is quick.
If you have never seen a "chicken catching" and loadout, it is something else. Several tractor trailers coming and going in a small lot. They only know one speed - fast and furious. Loader going in and coming out (in reverse) of the house at max speed. You don't want to be walking around the loadout area. Often done at night in the dark. You can sense that you are out of place if you are too close to the action.

I have never seen one of those machines, but I have seen the "catch crews" before. There are 8 houses and over a quarter of a million birds growing just about a mile from me (luckily we are upwind). My partner represented a guy once (chicken catcher) who boasted he could hold 7 birds in each hand.

 

[Mrcopier]

This is a machine I had not seen before. Used on the farm.
View attachment 3621

View attachment 3622

The two wings on each side fold out into the front and becomes a 30 foot "combine head" for harvesting chickens while driving through the chicken house. Each "wing" has a belt that rotates to move the chickens to the back of the "header" where there is another belt that move the chickens to the center of the machine, then an inclined belt though the machine that delivers the chickens out a "discharge spout" on the back. The little "trailer" behind is a turntable that hold two 8 foot wide (truck width) multi-story cages that come off the semi trailer empty and goes back on loaded with chickens. Workers ride on the back of the machine and "direct" the chickens into the cages. A loader brings an empty cage off the truck and takes the loaded one back to the truck. Machine is remote controlled by a guy walking beside it.

Previous method was to herd the chickens closer together with the house lights very very dim. Chickens sit down and a catch crew would stoop down, pick them up by the feet with several chickens in each hand and then place then in those same cages. I guess the new machine is faster, shows up on time and gets the job done. I have not seen it in operation. My brother says it is quick.
If you have never seen a "chicken catching" and loadout, it is something else. Several tractor trailers coming and going in a small lot. They only know one speed - fast and furious. Loader going in and coming out (in reverse) of the house at max speed. You don't want to be walking around the loadout area. Often done at night in the dark. You can sense that you are out of place if you are too close to the action.

Don't be on the roads when the trucks come through, they are on a mission

 

[simme]

Do they have many mishaps with the chooks?

Ken

As far as the machine, I have not seen it operate. The belts look pretty soft and gentle. Chicken houses here have several inches of litter on the dirt floor. I am sure that the machine runs in close contact with the litter. So, I would not think there is a issue of "running over" chickens.
Biggest risk with the chicken houses is loss of power/ventilation. Houses are completely enclosed with many exhaust fans and auto positioned air inlet dampers and inside mixing fans. Just hatched chickens delivered into a house heated to about 92 degrees initially. Lots of gas usage to get that done in cold winter weather. Especially with the exhaust fans running periodically to remove ammonia and moisture. In a few weeks, the houses are self heated from the chickens themselves. In summer, evaporative cooling pads on the fresh air inlets, fogging nozzles and full outside air makeup. Loss of power or a failure in the controller circuits will kill almost all the chickens in less than an hour in hot weather in the last third of the growout cycle. Electric generators with auto transfer switches, backup controllers, alarm systems all in use. Generators tested weekly. But a dirty fuel filter can stop the generator. A bad battery won't start a generator that started fine just a few days earlier. An electronic board failure in the fan control output box can stop the fans. Then you have a disaster. Thousands of chickens that must be buried quickly. There is a community response from other chicken growers that will include a lot of people, an excavator and several skid steers. In several hours, houses are cleared out and chickens are buried. The chicken farmer could not handle that himself. Then the economic impact hits. About 25,000 or more chickens in a house. Loss of income of maybe $10,000 to $12,000 per house. May have 4 houses or more on a generator. Farming is risky business.

 

[sstterry]

The Chicken Farmer does not make nearly what one would think they do from all of those birds either. The chicks are provided by the Supplier, the feed that must be used is provided by the Supplier, and all of the specifications of the Houses have to meet the Supplier specs.

The main job of the farmer is is insure the heat or cooling is running and that the power stays going. The Farmer hits the automatic feeders and does a daily death summary of birds that are lost and incinerated. After the birds are collected he/she has to clean the houses and prepare for the next batch.

The profit margin is not what one would think considering the investment required.

 

[littletom]

I think a big part of the farmer is paying interest. Got friends that do it looks like a pretty one sided partnership to me. They get payed some weird tournament pay against the other farmers, Company is paying a set amount. But if you do better than guy down the road catching out same week. You get .02 of his pay. I was at one one day they didn't get his feed to him till a day late. Told him turn the lights off they wouldn't be as hungry. Said he would get last in tournament now. Sounds like bunch crap to me

 

[Little Joe]

The Chicken Farmer does not make nearly what one would think they do from all of those birds either. The chicks are provided by the Supplier, the feed that must be used is provided by the Supplier, and all of the specifications of the Houses have to meet the Supplier specs.

The main job of the farmer is is insure the heat or cooling is running and that the power stays going. The Farmer hits the automatic feeders and does a daily death summary of birds that are lost and incinerated. After the birds are collected he/she has to clean the houses and prepare for the next batch.

The profit margin is not what one would think considering the investment required.

And to add to that, about the time you get everything paid off they require an expensive update on your houses that puts you right back in debt.

 

[simme]

A few facts about chicken farming.

The most physical work is removing the dead chickens from the house. Mortality is high in the first couple of days. But at that point, a five gallon bucket will hold hundreds of baby chicks. Mortality is fairly low during most of the growout and then picks up the last two weeks when the chickens are larger. Then you can barely fit 5 dead chickens in that 5 gallon bucket. They "ripen" quickly in the environment. Walking many trips through a 500 foot house full of chickens - stepping over feed line and drinker lines without tripping, picking up and carrying out 6 pound dead chickens is work.

In my lifetime, I remember always hearing that there is no money in farming. Farmers barely get by. Struggle to pay their bills, lose their farms, go bankrupt, etc. Sometimes that is true. Everyone could use more money. Human nature to think that the guy up the chain is getting all the money while the farmer does not get his share. In my area, there are cattle farmers, chicken farmers, grain farmers, a few dairy farmers and tree farmers. Based on appearances, who is doing the best? Who has the most reliable income? Who is most often expanding? Looks to me like it is the chicken farmers. Sure ain't the dairy guys. Sometimes, you have to give the trees away to get them gone. An 8 house chicken farm can pay near $500,000 per year to the farmer. Then he has to pay himself, employee and expenses.

The farmer signs a contract with the terms. Generally something like base pay of $0.055 per pound of chicken with a premium added or subtracted based on cost of production. If the grower is top notch in performance and equipment - culling, ventilation control, ammonia control, temperature control, rodent control, height of feeders and drinkers as the chickens grow, litter quality, etc etc, then cost of production is generally lower in his houses due to better feed efficiency and conditions. If he only picks up dead chickens every three days, does not repair equipment as needed, never raises the feeders and drinkers as they grow, keeps houses cold initially to save on gas, keeps houses hot later to save on electricity, does not maintain evaporative cooling, inside of house is as wet as his cow hay feeding area, then his chickens don't perform as well and he receives less money. For a given week, all growers that sell on that contract (same type of chicken and houses) have company cost of production calculated per pound of chicken produced. Pounds of feed to produce a pound of chicken is the big factor. Growers that produce a pound of chicken at a cost lower than the average cost for the week make more money for the company and they get extra pay for that as specified in the contract. Growers who produce chicken at a higher cost of production per pound make less money for the company and they get less as well. So the grower is competing against the average cost for the week - essentially the other growers that week. Good management and good luck - more money. Bad management or bad luck - less money. I think that is fair - being rewarded for better results. Raise better cattle and get paid more for them. Raise the same cattle with less input cost and keep more money from them. Sort of same principle. Sort of like paying people for what they produce instead of paying everyone the same regardless of what or if they produce.

Newer houses are more efficient - equipment, lighting, ventilation, heating systems. Older houses can be upgraded to compete. Some companies have different contracts for older houses that have not been upgraded. They compete in their own group, but those contracts pay less. Grower can choose to not upgrade, save money on expenses, receive less money, but may be dropped down the road. AND, there may be so called free government money for energy efficiency upgrades or covid relief funds - equal opportunity for all to share in the government excess.

Most chicken farmers here also have cattle. "Free" fertilizer for the pastures and hay fields.

 

[sstterry]

And to add to that, about the time you get everything paid off they require an expensive update on your houses that puts you right back in debt.

I know a guy that went bankrupt because of that.

 

[sstterry]

Most chicken farmers here also have cattle. "Free" fertilizer for the pastures and hay fields.

Or row crops. My neighbor spreads it on his fields prior to planting every year. It does have an odor for about a week.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I was always told that chicken manure was the worse smelling but the most valuable.