LPM 222: Diversified poultry production and current concepts in poultry management and marketing [Livestock Production Management (Regional Interest)] (1+1)

Transport vehicle specifications

TRANSPORT VEHICLES

Optimum conditions during transport from the growing shed to the processing plant are of vital importance in ensuring that birds arrive at the processing plant in good shape. Birds are grown commercially in all climates and in extremes of heat and cold. Transport module and vehicle design must allow good ventilation and therefore dissipation of heat from the birds during transport. Care must also be taken to protect birds during inclement weather. In this context transport vehicles must be provided with suitable curtains or even solid panels. Vehicle design must also ensure that transport modules can be loaded quickly and stowed safely.

Fig.11.9. Broiler transport vehicle

Containers and crates

• Birds can be caught and loaded into a number of different transport units.
• Most common are:
• plastic crates
• modular steel frames with removable open-top plastic drawers
• modular multi-tier steel containers.

Fig.11.10. Plastic transport cage

Fig.11.11. Modular steel frames with removable open-top plastic drawers

• Plastic crates have either solid or perforated floors. While crates with solid floors are cheaper to buy and prevent droppings from one layer of birds from contaminating birds in the layer below. However, there are several reasons for using crates with perforated floors are as follow.
• There is better ventilation of the birds
• Temperature conditions are more favourable, especially in summer, and
• Respiratory moisture from the birds is discharged, so that the birds can remain dry though out the journey.
• These feature help to maintain bird quality and reduce the incidence of dead on arrival at the processing plant.
• Plastic crates are mostly, but not always, used in lower capacity plants. These are filled manually and loaded individually on to the transport vehicle. Modular transport units such as steel frames with removable open top plastic drawers and multi-tier steel containers can be filled either manually or automatically and are loaded by forklift truck on to the transport vehicle. Although plastic crates are still widely used in many countries, modular systems are becoming increasingly prominent. They save labour, improve animal welfare by reducing the risk of damage to birds during catching, improve working conditions for catching personnel and, because the job is done more quickly, ensure that birds reach the processing plant as speedily as possible. Modular systems give fewer dead on arrival and fewer costly downgrades.