The Rural Voice, 1980-02, Page 12Kase Vanden 1-feuvel has been building
all types of farm and commercial buildings
in this area since 1962. When he started,
75 per cent of his work was for poultry
housing. In 1978, when extra broiler quota
was given, farmers were "itching to
build," so more than half his work was for
the poultry industry. For the last six years,
he has averaged 12 poultry barns yearly.
Kase said he learned his trade "through
time."
"I had to learn to listen to what the
customer had in mind," he says, "He has
to operate it, not me. So I listen very
closely to what he has to say."
Broiler barns, he says, are more or less
standard - 40-42 ft. wide, but caged layer
barns really have no standard width. It
used to be 40-42 ft., but now new
equipment decides the width. As the cages
go from two to three or four decks, the
width of the building often becomes more
narrow. Ventilation becomes more dif-
ficult. Three deck cages are much more
expensive but less building is required so
farmers can save there.
"We used to be completely dependent
on advice from engineers," he says.. "We
obtain snow load information maps - not so
much for this area - Listowel and
Walkerton have high snow loads, less
down Exeter way. It's not always a case of
putting trusses closer together to counter-
act this, but tTie components in each truss
become heavier, gussets become larger
with more nails in them. There is real
competition in truss building and we
seldom build our own trusses; we have
competent people who do it for us."
"Wind bracing is something that has
been worked out by engineers at one time
and we have taken it over; it's automatic
now."
"The engineers used to preach to us,"
Kase says, "The sermons have taken
hold."
"Farmers are going to the metal clad
building, both inside and out. The price is
more or less the same; it looks flashier, but
I don't feel it's as strong or :will last as
long. Plywood makes a permanent
building. Of course, prepainted steel will
last longer, but the initial outlay is costly."
"Farmers have come to realize that the
environment in the poultry barn is very
important", Kase says.
INSULATION AND VENTILATION
Ceiling insulationg has changed from 6
inches to 8, 10 and 12 inches. Insulation in
the sides of the building is limited to the
width of the studding; it used to be about
3% inches, but now it's filled to capacity,
he says.
Kase uses fibreglass, but the kind that
doesn't have a paper backing.
"Friction fit is best", he says. "You can
see there are no breaks in the insulating
job, paper backed insulation could
hide that fact." Then he uses a plastic
vapour barrier.
As for foam plastic insulation, Kase says
it's good for cold storage like turnips and
potatoes. He doesn't recall using plastic
foam in a chicken barn, and feels he
wouuld discourage it because of its high
cost.
Rodent control is another real problem,
Kase says, since the insulated pole type
Constructing
a
Poultry
barn
We ask
Kase Vanden Heuvel
construction
and Norman Bird,
Poultry specialist
for a few ideas.
by SHEILA GUNBY
building attracts rodents. He says, "rats
have conventions in them."
"When it comes to ventilaton, there are
as many answers as there are questions."
Kase says, "A farmer can decide on an
automatic feeding system in less than half
an hour. It takes a couple of weeks to
decide the type of ventilation. One works
real well but then not for the next farmer.
There is a danger that manufactured
systems try to put too much in one unit."
Generally speaking, cross ventilation with
necessary management, is the least costly.
Management of the ventilation system
accounts for 90 per cent of its' efficiency.
Kase has never worked with "heat
exchangers" but he feels you have to find
PG. 10 THE RURAL VOICE/ FEBRUARY 1980
ways and means of using less energy.
"You are actually working with "dirty
air", he says. "The problem would be
taking the dirt and moisture out of the air.
Heat isn't the biggest factor. Clearing the
air is the problem."
Kase says a system of blending the
warm air with cold so the air would not
have such a drastic cooling effect on the
barn would be good.
There are many types of cages in the
layer barn. Kase says the type that stands
on the floor rather than being suspended
from the ceiling, with a cable system for
cleaning, is as dependable as any system
he knows.
RAPID CHANGES IN POULTRY
HOUSING
Norman Bird, OMAF Poultry Specialist,
Stratford, has written a report outlining the
rapid changes in the housing of poultry.
Before 1950-5, every farm had a small flock
but shortly after that specialization began -
old barns were being decked and double
deck frame laying houses were introduced.
By 1960, single storey poultry barns
being built for laying flocks and broilers
and many were poorly insulated. Pole type
construction was common. About this time,
laying hen cages were introduced.
Improvements in insulation, introduction
or roof trusses, perimeter slot air intake
and controlled lighting became effective
around 1965 along with 32 foot wide cage
houses with four rows of modified stair
step cages or three rows of full stair step
cages. These cage houses with their higher
density brought to an end the problem with
temperature and moisture control common
in low density partial -litter laying houses.
Laying flock sizes were increased at this
time and two storey broiler barns were
prevalent.
Since that time, many cage systems were
introduced and the "high rise" house,that
is cages in layers, 2, 3 or 4 high became the
answer for the manure storage problem.
There has been little change in broiler
barns or their basic building construction
since 1975. he says.
"Reverse cages" have recently been
introduced on the market. These cages
provide four inches of feeding space per
bird without providing more cage space per
bird. Instead of being 12 inches across the
front and 18 inches back, they are reversed
sckthe 18 inches is across the trough area.
There has been a lot of discussion on the
pros and cons of this type of cage.
"The problem is that the equipment
companies are designing for the U.S.
market," Norm Bird says, "where there
are no bird quotas. Here we want to get the
most out of every bird because we can only
keep so many." Dr. Hill suggests 27