[Marches Farmer]

Big commercial sheds in the US are often heated so all the feed goes into growing, not into keeping warm.  With the ammonia from muck and moisture from breathing from permanently housed birds going into a heated shed you can see why any disease would run through like wildfire.

[shetlandpaul]

me thinks mr i want to be a big chicken farmer needs to do a lot of thinking. we are doing 18 turkeys for christmas. we know to the penny the cost of feed cost of buying eggs. cost of [preparing. to ask a total stranger for a basic costing is dumb. 40 x 50 houses totally uneconomic. imagine building costs [stocking costs and every other cost. and planning consent. feed contract waste removal killing prepping and storing. imagine the number of bits of paper you would need. then free range or not all adds to cost. with out experience your doomed  i wont even charge you for saving you 4 million.

[Victorian Farmer]

I can remember when we had 52 breeds qual phesents and geese in 2009 winter it came on the 22nd of november by christmas it was over a £1000 in food 4 times a day water then in januarey minus 22 .It was still there in late april no young stock no money for 5 months and a cost of £6000 in feed .The stock wasent worth half that . I think the more you have the harder it is .we have done well 2015 onley becouse iv been selling chicks and eggs .The sheep have Avaraged 2 out of each ewe .

[Stereo]

You have to spread your risk. Those big chicken or pig sheds are death or glory and the line is so fine. I don't want that. I want to find my market and supply it in a way that they and I are happy with. Always open, honest and transparent. I want to be so good that my customer comes to me. I'm not there yet but can see it.

[Kimbo]

Mr Powell ( OP) is very quiet don't you think? 

[Dan]

Mr Powell ( OP) is very quiet don't you think? 

OP is no longer with us (in the sense of access to the forum).

[devonlady]

Oh dear! Was it something we said?

[Clansman]

Apparently they restrict light for the first two weeks, so the bird doesn't grow so fast its' frame fails before it can be slaughtered ... at five weeks old.  Feed is presented on a moving conveyor belt to keep up its' interest in feeding and the sheds are heated so it doesn't waste energy in keeping warm but puts it all into growing.

Don't understand restricting the lighting, that wouldn't slow their growth.

Feeding with mechanical systems is a must on large scale farms, it's what we do here in the UK too.

Would you not heat a shed  if you were keeping chicks under 5 weeks old in it?