out the egg!

We are all about poultry and how to run the best poultry farm in the world – enjoy. If you need poultry equiment or advice visit us at www.chickenshack.co.za We can help you set up and maintain a world class poultry operation………from 1500 birds to 50 000 birds.

We have set up houses in Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We work well with Government and private sector.

We supply and manufacture a range of great poultry equipment and spares!

Tube Drinker

Durable plastic – easy to clean. Makes watering birds for the smaller farmer a breeze.

Big gear winch for curtain systems and drinking systems.

Powerful winch for pulling up curtains and feeding and drinking systems inside the poultry house!

Pulley

Tough pulleys – used for the winching systems – this guy walks the talk – don’t be fooled by cheap pulleys – you will be replacing them in no time!

Power head with auger attachment.

Powerful motor, great engineering – this unit will do the job in any automated feeding operation!

Brooder gas heater

Keeps your birds and day olds at the just the right temperature. Easy to maintain using gas to heat.

Galavanised Legs

A must for any poultry house that wishes to get long term benefit from equipment. Long lasting, no rust, very strong.

Bell Drinker for poultry

This brilliant product takes all the effort out of watering your birds – easily adjustable and perfect for the poultry man.

Corner and wheel unit

Durable and strong – used for trough feeding systems – easy maitenance.

Chick tray used for feeing baby chicks.

Durable plastic tray for feeding baby chicks.

Trough and chain

These items are used to carry feed around your house – the troughs are made of strong galvanised metal and the chain of strong steel. Great if you want minimal down time and easy feeding cycles.

A typical example of a "small farmer" poultry house.

We recieve questions all the time regarding poultry equipment. Farmers complaining that systems are not right… or equipment not functioning properly.

If your house and equipment are not maintained properly it can cause all sorts of problems – small glitches turn into major down time, resulting in mortalities, slow growth and exspensive repairs. Not the type of thing any poultry farmer wants.

I have made a list of  suggestions to help avoid these problems…… if you need any help you can email me on info@chickenshack.co.za

We’ll be glad to help.

MAINTAINING A POULTRY SYSTEM

Daily – To be done before switching on feeding system

Alignment – Troughs, corners and drives units

1.Check alignment of troughs
All the troughs should be lined up in a single straight line. Stand at the beginning of the line and ensure that there are no kinks or bends.
Get down on your hands and knees at the height of the trough line and look down the line – the troughs should be the same height along the length.
2. Corners
Troughs should enter the corner in a straight line.
All corners must form perfect right angles.
3. Check that all couplers are secure and have no bends or kinks.

Trough clearing and Cock excluders

1. Walk down the length of every trough and look for debris. Especially look for stones that have been thrown up by the birds. If a stone is dragged into a corner or drive unit the chain will break and your corner unit or drive unit will be damaged.
2. Check that the cock excluders are secure and firm. If the chain hooks a cock excluder, the chain will break.
3. Check for stone and debris.
4. Remember to close the clean out trough cover after cleaning the track
5. Look for birds stuck in the trough and at the corners, bins and drive units.

Chain Tension

1. Check the tension of the chain in the middle of each line unit.
The chain should not pull higher than the top of the trough – using almost full strength. If it is higher – remove links. If it lower – add links.
2. Check the chain tension on either side of every drive unit – the tension should be the same.
1. Check for stones and debris.

Drive Unit Maintenance

1. Tighten all nuts using a number 4 Allen key.
2. Ensure the sprocket is straight and tight.
3. Make sure that the shear pin clamp is NOT TO TIGHT. This clamp sits over the shear pins, the shear pin sprocket and the shear pin collar. The clamp must not be so tight that it grips the collar and the sprocket that they cannot move independently. This is a common problem causing chains to break often. The clamp is only there to hold the shear pins in place.
IF IT IS TOO TIGHT THE SHEAR PINS WILL NOT SHEAR AND THE CHAIN WILL BREAK INSTEAD.
4. Use only 2 or 3 shear pins. 4 is usually too many.
5. Check for stones and debris.
6. Check teeth on sprocket for wear.
7. Wipe down the drive unit with Q20 oil and grease regularly. Remove any rust.

Corners

1. Check all nuts and tighten if needed using a number 19 spanner.
2. Check and tighten shaft assembly. (nut on underside of corner)
3. Check wheel and ensure it is parallel to the bottom of the corner unit
4. Check for stones and debris.
5. Check that the trough enters the corners in a straight lie.
6. Check that the troughs are at perfect right angles.

Bins

1. Check that the feed slide adjustment is correct – SLIDE MUST NOT TOUCH CHAIN.
2. Check that hopper bin height is the same as the trough height.
3. Check for debris and stones.

Drinking System

1. Always check that the drinkers are not leaking at any of the joints.
2. Wash the drinkers at least three times a week.
3. Always make sure that the drinker heights are set correctly to match the bird height.
4. Ensure that the ballast is always filled with clean water.
5. Be aware that there is two shut-off valves for each drinker.
6. When doing maintenance on drinkers ensure that water supply is switched off.
7. Make sure all the drinker water levels are set correctly as per your standards.

Curtain and winching systems

1. DO NOT ALLOW CURTAINS TO DROP WITHOUT CONTROL. Wind the curtain down slowly whilst looking at the curtain for potential problems and hooks.
2. When winding the curtain up the operator should be looking at the curtain for potential problems and hooks. Do not force the winch if you hit an obstacle.
3. Keep the winch and main pulleys well greased.
4. Check the small pulleys for wear and damage.

Cross auger and tip scale

1. Calibrate scale at least once a week.
2. Always ensure that the feed is free of all obstacles.
3. Do not run the cross auger with out feed, it causes unnecessary wear and tear.
4. Always check that the shut-offs are closed or opened in the correct houses.
5. If the cross auger is making an unfamiliar noise switch it off ASAP.
6. Never leave the auger unattended while running.
7. Do regular spot checks on the power head to ensure that there is no unnecessary wear and tear.
8. Always check that the correct shut off gate on the silo is opened before transferring feed.

Monthly

1. Bushes.
2. Bearings.
3. Wear plates.
4. Corners rails.
5. Drive unit power shoes.
6. V belts on Auger power head.
7. Apply grease to the grease nipple at least once a month
8. Check teeth on all sprockets – 13 tooth, 15 tooth, 30 tooth.
9. Pulleys.
10 . Winches.

Warning Signals

1. Unusual Sounds.
2. Loud sounds.
3. Troughs pulling out of line.
4. Unusual vibrations or excessive vibrations.

Preferred Method for switching system on: Hands up method

You will need 5 people to switch your system on. (2 people if they are well trained and experienced)

Station one man at each corner of the house (observers). One man at the DB board (operator) – with his hand on the kill switch.

Each man should know the signal for each line:-

One arm up – line 1
Two arms up – line 2
Arms outstretched to side – line 3

All observers start with arms down.
System is started by operator.
If a problem is seen the observer immediately gives the signal relating to the the line and the operator switches that line off.

A smooth running system requires daily maintenance.
A small problem not attended to immediately can cause a major problem very quickly. This will result in down time at critical stages and in turn result in bird disruption and expensive, and time consuming repairs.

Chicken Shack Agencies
www.chickenshack.co.za
email us:info@chickenshack.co.za
012 669 9908
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