Several poultry houses: rotation, annual calendar and orders

Rotation: a cycle, not chance

A white broiler house is occupied for about 6 weeks of rearing + 2 weeks of cleaning and sanitary break = a cycle of 8 weeks. With three houses staggered, a flock comes out about every 2 and a half weeks, that is 6 flocks per house per year and a sale almost every two weeks. With two houses, one sale a month. For coloured chickens (14 weeks + 2), the cycle is 16 weeks: more houses are needed for the same regularity.

Absolute rule: a single age per house (all-in, all-out). Mixing two ages in one house means passing the diseases of the older birds to the younger ones and never being able to carry out a sanitary break. And the houses are spaced at least 15 to 20 metres apart, with the order of visits from the youngest to the oldest (level 3).

The annual calendar

Selling prices follow the festivals and the seasons: end of year (Christmas, New Year), Easter, Tabaski (a date that moves forward by about 11 days each year), the back-to-school periods. A chicken ready two weeks before the festival sells well; a chicken ready two weeks after is sold off cheaply. So the calendar is built backwards: desired date of sale → minus 6 weeks (white broiler) or 14 (coloured) = arrival date of the chicks → minus 15 days = pre-order date.

The calendar also takes the seasons into account: fewer heavy white broilers in March-April (heat), coloured chickens over that period; caution in the middle of the rainy season for poorly served areas; and the sanitary break placed in the weeks of no commercial interest.

Chick orders

• Pre-order 15 days before the desired date, more before the festivals: places on the schedule go quickly.
• A deposit confirms the place; the order is placed on WhatsApp at +225 07 07 72 78 67 with type, boxes of 50, town, date.
• Departures are on Monday and Thursday: you choose the arrival date accordingly, and the sanitary break is calculated so that the house is ready the day before.
• Quantities: per house, usable floor area × density at sale (level 1), never more.

The cash flow of rotations

Three houses in rotation means three flocks eating at the same time at different ages, and only one being sold. The cash must cover the feed of all the flocks in progress until the next sale. A simple table, week by week, with the outgoings (feed, chicks) and the incomings (planned sales), avoids the cash shortage that forces you to sell too early or to ration the feed. Level 5 comes back to financing.

Broilers and layers together?

Possible, provided you separate the sites or at least the houses (distance, boots, order of visits), because layers live a long time and accumulate germs that broiler chicks have never met. Many entrepreneurs choose one site for each production; it is simpler and safer.