With a certain dimension of the breeder house and a certain bird density per m², we need to see if we can fit the required equipment into the house in a way that the birds can use it optimally.

In the article about dimensions of the house (“House dimensions for broiler breeders in production”) we stated that the density per m¹ of laying nest should not exceed 100 birds. This means that one meter length of house (with one row of laying nests) can hold 100 females, as the nests will be in the full length of the house. So for the placement of the equipment we can work with the fact that we need to cater for 100 females (plus 10 males) per m of length of the house.

Lets start with the drinkers. Nowadays we usually use nipple drinkers for breeders, with a high flow rate (120 ml/min). As the nipples are usually placed 20 cm apart, we have 5 nipples per m¹ of drinker line. We usually place the nipples in front of the nests, and as we have two sides of the nest it means that we place two nipple lines with each 5 nipples per meter, so 10 nipples in total per m¹ of house. 100 birds per m¹ of house for 10 nipples means 10 birds per nipple, which is a workable number. As one can see, this is not depending on the width of the house but just on the number of birds per m¹ of nest or m¹ of house.

To place the male feeders, we need to know how much feeder space a male needs. For females we normally use 15 cm per bird, as the females are 15 cm wide over the shoulders, but males are bigger. When we actually measure the males, it shows that a full grown male is easily 20 cm wide over the shoulders. That means that we need to give each male 20 cm of feeder space when we use throughs or chain feeders. We have 10 males per m¹ of house (as we have 100 females per m¹ of house and 1 male per 10 females) so we need 10 x 20 cm is 2 meter of male feeder space per m¹ of house. As we use male feeders on both sides of the house, we need 1 meter of feeder space for the males on each side per m¹ of house. When we place the male feeders away from the wall (at a distance of approximately 60 cm) the male feeders can be used from both sides, so we need 0.5 m of feed through per m¹ of house, on each side of the house. Nowadays we can use automated male feeders that are mounted against the wall. These feeders can only be accessed from one side, so to get 2 meter of feeder space for the males the male feeders has to be covering the whole length of the house, on both sides.

Females are smaller than males and measure approximately 15 cm over the shoulders. That means that we need to install 15 cm of feeder space per female to make everybody eat comfortably. If we have 100 birds per m1 of length of house, it means that we need 100 x 0.15 is 15 meter of feeder space per m1 of house. When we use chain feeders, they are accessible from both sides if we allow enough space between them. And as they come in circuits, it needs to be an even number of lines (one line going from front to back, the other line returning, so always two lines in one circuit). That means we should have 4 circuits which means 8 lines accessible from both sides so 16 meters of feeder line per m1 of house. But to place those 4 circuits, we need a certain width of the house. So the first question must be, how much space do we need between two feeder lines. As a bird is 15 cm wide and 30 cm long, we need a distance of 90 cm between 2 lines: 2 x 30 cm for birds to eat on both lines, 2 x 15 cm to pass each other between the eating birds, to find a position to eat. The female feeder lines must be placed between the male feeder on the outside wall and the drinker line in front of the nest. But in front of the nest we also need a slat, to place the drinker line on. The distance from a feeder or drinker to the edge of the slat should be 60 cm, 30 cm for a bird to drink or eat, 2 x 15 cm for two birds to pass each other between the drinking or eating bird and the edge of the slat. And last but not least, we need 60 cm between the drinker and the nest for one bird to drink and two birds to pass each other in front of the nest.

With this we have all the dimensions that we need to position the feeder lines.

• Male line against the wall
• Distance between male line and first female feeder line 90 cm
• Distance between two female feeder lines 90 cm
• Distance between female feeder line and slat 60 cm
• Distance between slat edge and nipple line 60 cm
• Distance between nipple line and nest 60 cm.

These dimensions are the absolute minimum that we need for an effective placement of our equipment.

If we calculate half a house, we need to place 4 feeder lines between the male feeder line against the wall and the nipple line in front of the nest.

• From male line to first female feeder: 90 cm
• From first female feeder line to second female feeder line: + 90 cm = 180 cm
• From second female feeder line to third female feeder line: + 90 cm = 270 cm
• From third female feeder line to last female feeder line: + 90 cm = 360 cm
• From last female feeder line to slat: + 60 cm = 420 cm
• From slat edge to nipple line: + 60 cm = 480 cm
• From nipple line to nest: + 60 cm = 540 cm

So from wall to nest we need minimum 540 cm on both side of the nests to host 100 birds per m¹ of house. As the nest is approximately 1.50 wide, the total width of the house that we need is 2 x 540 + 150 = 1230 cm. That means that the minimum width of the house should be 12.30 m wide for 100 birds. That gives us a density of 100 birds per 12.3 m² = 8.1 females per m² as the maximum density we can create, based on 100 females per m¹ of nest.

Usually we go in breeder houses not higher than 6.5 birds per m² , with a house width of 15 meters, but we can actually go up to 8.1 birds per m²  when the houses are just over 12 meters wide. This is very dense and it might be that we start losing production, but in theory it is possible.