The advantages of large-scale tiered layer chicken cage systems include: multi-tiered cages that promote the healthy growth of laying hens and increase egg production; an intelligent water supply system that enables centralized management, saves labor, facilitates immunization, and helps control the spread of diseases; as well as automatic egg collection and conveying systems. The specific advantages are as follows:

1. Multi-tier chicken cages can promote the healthy growth of laying hens.

The parameters for the multi-tiered layer chicken cage equipment are as follows: 1.2 meters in length, 1.25 meters in width (back-to-back width), and 62.5 centimeters in cage depth. Each tier features four nests, and a typical recommended height is four tiers. Each nest can accommodate eight laying hens, meaning one set can house up to 128 hens. As a result, this design offers superior space utilization and performance compared to conventional layer chicken cages. The standard layer chicken cage equipment has the following dimensions: 1.88 meters in length, 0.35 meters in width, and 0.37 meters in height; each row contains four cage units, and four tiers can hold a total of 128 hens. Multi-tiered, high-capacity layer chicken cages provide significantly more space than conventional cages, thereby promoting healthier growth and development of the hens. A high-quality multi-tiered chicken cage is not merely a cage with a metal mesh floor and essential heating equipment. Rather, it is equipped with a feeding system that effectively removes manure from around the flock, reducing the risk of disease transmission via feces and ensuring the hens remain healthy. This, in turn, safeguards the interests of poultry farmers.

2. Increase egg production

In caged laying hens, the source of nutrients is provided through artificially administered formulated feed that is high in protein, energy, and essential nutrients. These nutrients precisely meet the needs of normal growth and development in laying hens and are rich in vitamins and minerals that are crucial for their healthy growth and development. Moreover, the feed contains substances that help prevent and treat diseases. Laying hens kept in cages have very limited physical activity and consume very little energy. As a result, all the nutrients absorbed from their feed—beyond what they need for basic physiological functions—are efficiently converted into egg production. Consequently, in caged hens, nutrient losses are minimal, and the daily intake of nutrients exactly matches their requirements for growth, development, and egg production, achieving a nutritional-physiological balance. Thus, unlike free-range hens, caged hens do not need periods of rest or supplemental nutrition midway through their laying cycle. As a result, caged hens exhibit exceptionally high egg production rates.

The egg-laying performance of free-range laying hens differs from that of caged or confined laying hens. The reason is that free-range hens obtain their food from two sources: first, artificially formulated feed that is specifically tailored to meet the nutritional needs of hens during egg-laying and is rich in nutrients; second, natural foods they forage for themselves by roaming freely in the wild. During free-range rearing, hens engage in extensive physical activity, which requires them to consume large amounts of nutrients as energy for both movement and foraging. Consequently, a significant portion of the hens’ body’s nutrient reserves is depleted during this period. To continue laying eggs effectively, free-range hens must periodically pause their egg-laying cycle for one or several rest periods to recuperate and restore their physical strength. As a result, during a typical egg-laying cycle, free-range hens produce roughly half or one-third the number of eggs laid by caged hens. Typically, a healthy free-range hen can lay only about 250 to 300 eggs over a period of 550 days.

In caged laying hens, during the peak egg-laying period, the henhouse is normally illuminated every night, and the hens are fed a nutritionally rich, artificially formulated diet around the clock. Typically, these hens can lay two eggs per day, effectively boosting egg production. As long as the hens remain in good physical condition and receive an adequate supply of nutrients—including water and feed—caged laying hens will not stop laying eggs throughout their entire laying cycle. On average, a normal laying cycle lasts up to 430 days, though in most cases it exceeds 400 days. Generally, when free-range laying hens reach 500 days of age, their egg production gradually declines. After exceeding 550 days, it’s time to start culling older hens and replacing them with newly hatched ones.

Healthy chickens raised in a healthy environment are more productive, and the Chunyi multi-tiered layer chicken cages enhance the hens' egg-laying potential.

3. Intelligent water supply system

The water supply lines for the tiered battery cage system are installed in the middle of the top of each cage level. Each cage is equipped with two nipple drinkers, providing water for the chickens on both the left and right sides of the cage. Below each nipple drinker, a V-shaped drip tray is positioned to collect any splashes of water that occur when the chickens drink. The collected water then evaporates naturally. In this way, splashed water does not fall onto the chicken manure, keeping the manure drier.

Filters, smart water meters, dosing devices, and pressure-reducing regulators are installed at the upstream end of each water line. By analyzing the digital data from the smart water meters, we can gain insight into the daily drinking habits of the flock and also assess their overall health status.

4. Centralized management, labor savings, convenient immunization, and control of disease transmission.

The manure removal system of the tiered layer chicken cage equipment features a unique structural design. Under each tier of chicken cages, there is a longitudinal manure removal belt. As a result, chicken droppings from each flock fall scattered onto these belts. Driven by longitudinally flowing air, most of the moisture in the droppings is carried out of the poultry house, significantly reducing their moisture content. Since the chicken droppings are dried in layers within the poultry house without undergoing fermentation, and given that they are thoroughly cleaned each time, the ammonia concentration inside the house remains extremely low, ensuring fresh air quality and creating ideal conditions for the chickens’ growth while minimizing disease incidence.

5. Automatic egg collection and conveying system

The automatic egg-collection and conveying system is an essential component of tiered poultry housing equipment for laying hens. During the collection and conveyance of eggs, any single stage in the process can affect the rate of broken eggs. To ensure that the entire egg-collection and conveying process achieves optimal performance, the design of the egg-collection system takes into account the following two key issues:

(1) Issue with the soft and broken egg removal device: During the collection and conveyance of eggs, eggs typically move and roll in a parallel manner. However, soft eggs, due to their delicate shells, cannot roll smoothly. As a result, at the transition point between the egg-collection machine’s outlet and the central egg-conveying line, soft eggs tend to accumulate, thereby obstructing the smooth passage of other eggs. To address this issue, a soft-egg removal device is installed prior to the eggs entering the egg-collection machine. Eggs conveyed from the chicken coop’s nest trays are screened for soft and broken eggs before they enter the egg-collection machine, thus preventing the aforementioned problem from occurring.

(2) A egg-diverting device is installed at the connection point between the egg-collecting machine’s egg outlet and the central egg-conveying line. After eggs exit the egg-collecting machine, they roll directly onto the central egg-conveying line. However, since the egg-discharge claws are positioned at a certain angle, the eggs collide with each other during their rolling motion under the influence of momentum, leading to shell breakage. To address this issue, a diverting device is installed to gently guide the eggs exiting the egg-collecting machine onto the central egg-conveying line in an orderly manner, ensuring that the eggs do not collide with one another. This allows for a smooth transition from the egg-collecting machine to the central egg-conveying line, from where the eggs are transported via the central line to the egg storage facility for grading and sorting. The implementation of an automated egg-collecting and central egg-conveying system in egg production significantly reduces labor requirements and lowers the rate of egg breakage.