Lvlon designs and manufactures automated poultry cage systems in Henan, China. Systems are shipped to commercial egg farms across Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. Factory-direct pricing. Full OEM and ODM: structure type, tier count, cage dimensions and automation equipment specification are all customized per order.
The Metal That Lasts 20 Years Inside a Chicken House
Chicken houses are a corrosion nightmare. Relative humidity runs high from bird respiration and manure moisture. Ammonia from decomposing waste attacks most metals. Add periodic fogging with chlorine-based disinfectants and the environment inside a layer house eats ordinary steel in two to three years.
Hot-dip galvanizing works differently from electroplating. The cage mesh-woven from Q235 carbon steel wire-is immersed in a bath of molten zinc at roughly 450°C. At that temperature, the zinc and iron react at the surface to form intermetallic alloy layers topped with a pure zinc outer layer. The zinc coating weight is 275 grams per square meter, which is the standard for transmission towers and highway guardrails-not for something that sits in a garden shed.
The practical result: cage wire that outlasts the birds, the belts, the motors, and possibly the building it sits in. A farmer who buys cheap electroplated cages replaces them in three to five years. The downtime alone-birds out, old cages stripped, new cages installed, birds back in-costs more than the price difference between cheap cages and hot-dip galvanized ones.
A-Type vs H-Type: Same Birds, Different Buildings
A-type cages stack in a stepped A-frame profile. Each tier juts out slightly further than the one above it. Manure from the upper tier drops onto a shared belt or collection board rather than onto the birds below. The design works up to about four tiers and fits inside existing barns with 2.5–3.5 meter ceiling heights. A farmer converting a former warehouse or shed into a poultry house starts with A-type.
H-type cages stack vertically. Each tier is an independent level supported by a steel frame, with its own feeding trough, drinking line, egg collection belt and manure belt. No manure falls between tiers because every tier has its own belt. H-type scales from four to ten tiers and needs a purpose-built house with 4–8 meter ceilings. The capital cost is higher, but the bird density per square meter is 1.5 to 2.5 times that of A-type. On expensive land-peri-urban Southeast Asia, South Asia, parts of West Africa near population centers-H-type pays for the building premium with density.
Both types share the same automation equipment. Feeders, drinkers, egg belts and manure belts are the same components. A farm that starts with A-type and later expands to H-type uses the same spare parts inventory and the same maintenance knowledge. The cage structure changes. Everything else stays familiar.
The Four Lines That Replace Four Workers
Feeding. A feed silo outside the house holds bulk feed. A screw conveyor or chain drag moves feed from the silo to a hopper on the travelling feeder cart. The cart runs on a rail along the front of every cage row, dropping a measured feed ration into the trough as it passes. Troughs are 1 mm steel with side guards that prevent feed spillage from knocking eggs off the collection belt below. One feeder cart serves an entire row of cages. The operator checks the silo level and the cart motor. That is the daily feeding labor.
Drinking. Nipple drinkers are spaced along the front of each cage. A bird pecks the nipple pin, the internal valve opens, water flows. The bird stops pecking, the valve closes. No open water troughs means no wet litter, no algae growth, and dramatically lower waterborne disease transmission. A pressure regulator at the end of each line maintains consistent flow. A filter at the water inlet catches sediment before it clogs the nipples. The operator walks the line once a day-any nipple that drips or does not flow gets swapped in under a minute.
Egg collection. The cage floor wire is pitched at 8 degrees from front to back. An egg rolls by gravity to a collection channel at the rear of each cage tier. An egg conveyor belt with flexible plastic finger-grips lifts each egg individually and carries it to a collection table at the end of the row. The fingers are foam-lined-eggs travel without rolling, bouncing or cracking against one another. One operator at the collection table trays the eggs as they arrive. An entire row of 5,000 birds delivers its eggs to a single collection point.
Manure removal. A 1.2 mm thick polypropylene belt runs the full length under each cage tier. The belt advances slowly-roughly 1–2 meters per minute-carrying accumulated droppings to the end of the row. A scraper blade at the discharge end cleans the belt surface. The manure drops into a transverse collection gutter and is conveyed out of the house. Belt frequency is adjustable. Summer with wet manure and evaporative cooling pads running: 3–4 times daily. Winter with dry droppings: once daily is often enough.
One person manages all four lines for 30,000–50,000 birds. In a floor-housed flock, the same bird count needs four to six workers for feeding, egg collection and manure handling. The labor savings usually recover the cost of the automation equipment within 18–24 months.
Specifications
| Parameter | Spec |
|---|---|
| System type | A-type (stepped) / H-type (vertical stacked) |
| Tiers | 3–10 (custom) |
| Cage wire | Q235 carbon steel, hot-dip galvanized, 275 g/m² Zn |
| Frame | Hot-dip galvanized steel plate, U-channel |
| Floor slope | 8° (egg roll-out) |
| Bird space | ~450 cm² per bird |
| Cage height | 700 mm between tiers |
| Unit weight | 150 kg |
| Unit capacity | 48–256 birds |
| System scale | 10,000–50,000+ birds (multi-unit) |
| Automation | Feeding, drinking, egg collection, manure removal |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Customization | OEM/ODM (structure, tiers, cage dimensions, equipment spec) |
What Happens During a Power Cut
The automation lines draw roughly 3–5 kW total. A small diesel generator keeps them running during grid outages. The critical line is manure removal-not feeding. Birds can go several hours without fresh feed without measurable production loss. Manure that sits for more than 24 hours on a stationary belt begins to ferment and release ammonia. Above 25 parts per million, ammonia stresses the birds' respiratory systems and increases susceptibility to Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis. A handheld ammonia meter costs about US$50 and prevents guessing.
Maintenance
Daily. Walk the drinking line. A blocked nipple means a bird without water-and a bird without water for more than a few hours stops laying for days. A dripping nipple wets the manure belt, which then cakes and slips on the drive roller. Fix either problem immediately. Check the egg belt for broken fingers-one broken finger is one egg crushed and smeared across the belt.
Weekly. Check manure belt drive motor oil level and listen for bearing noise. Inspect feeder cart rail and chain tension. Remove and clean the drinking line inlet filter.
Monthly. Walk every cage row and inspect wire mesh for broken welds or snapped wires. A chicken that finds an opening will push through it. One escape leads to several. A bird loose in the aisle knocks into feed troughs, startles other birds, and stresses the flock.
Wear parts: nipple drinkers (2–3 years, replace on drip or blockage), manure belt (3–5 years), egg belt fingers (1–2 years), feeder chain (2–3 years), cage wire (20+ years with hot-dip galvanizing).
All stocked at the factory. Order spare nipples (5% of total installed), a set of egg belt fingers, and an extra roll of manure belt with the system.
FAQ
Q: A-type or H-type-I am building a new farm from scratch.
Build for H-type if your land cost is high and you want maximum bird density per square meter. A 10,000-bird H-type 8-tier system occupies roughly half the floor area of the same bird count in A-type 4-tier. Build for A-type if you are converting an existing barn or warehouse where ceiling height is fixed at 3–4 meters. A-type also costs less upfront, which matters if you are phasing capital investment across several years.
Q: How do I explain hot-dip galvanized cages to a buyer comparing prices with cheaper cages?
Put a two-year-old electroplated cage panel next to a two-year-old hot-dip galvanized panel. The electroplated panel will show rust spots, flaking coating and wire thinning. The hot-dip panel will look nearly new. Ask the buyer how much it costs to strip out 10,000 birds' worth of rusted cages, bring in new ones, reinstall all four automation lines, and lose two to three weeks of egg production during the changeover. That number dwarfs the price difference between cheap cages and galvanized ones every time.
Q: What happens with the four automation lines if the power goes out?
A small diesel generator running the manure belts is the priority. Feeding and egg collection can pause for a few hours without serious impact. Manure belts that stop for more than a day in warm weather create an ammonia spike. We recommend a backup generator for any installation above 10,000 birds. It does not need to be large-5 kW covers the belts and the feed cart.
Q: How long does installation take, and who does it?
The system is modular-no welding on site, everything bolts together. A 10,000-bird A-type 4-tier system takes a crew of 4–5 workers roughly 7–10 days to assemble and dry-test. Detailed installation drawings and video guidance are provided. For orders over 50,000 birds, an engineer can travel to the site-cost quoted per order.
Q: What is the minimum order and what can I customize?
No minimum bird count-one complete system, from one end of the house to the other, with all production lines. Customization covers: structure type, tier count, cage dimensions, wire mesh aperture, feed trough width, drinking nipple spacing, egg belt configuration and manure belt length. Standard systems ship 15–20 working days after order confirmation.
Contact Lvlon for factory pricing, poultry house layout design and container quotation.
