20 POULTRY HOUSING
THE VARIOUS VENTILATION OPTIONS FOR POULTRY HOUSES B
asically, you have the choice between two ventilation principles in poultry farming: natural and mechanical. Natural ventilation One advantage of natural ventilation is the low investment due to the use of natural resources and simple installation. Natural ventilation is based on the chimney effect. Warm air rises and disappears through an opening in the roof ("chimney"). This creates a slight negative
LIVESTOCK & POULTRY ME
pressure in the stable and fresh air is sucked in through inlet openings on the side (those with flaps or curtains opened or closed). Systems based on natural ventilation have, however, become less popular due to the disadvantages of manual control and limited capacity. Mechanical ventilation The required air exchange or temperature change is not always sufficient with natural ventilation. This can be regulated
much more accurately and easily with the help of mechanical ventilation. Fans provide much more certainty about the amount of displaced air. With mechanical ventilation, the air can be extracted by fans, blown in, or a combination of both. In those cases, we speak of ventilation on negative pressure, positive pressure or equal pressure. Ventilation based on negative pressure is by far the most common. But with all sorts of alternative housing systems, in
JANUARY-MARCH 2022
