Broiler feeding system specifications: pans, lines, spacing and power.
A buyer-side sizing reference built from published manufacturer ranges — birds per pan, trough space per metre, drop spacing, maximum line length per drive, motor power draw and layout clearances, with a worked example for a 120 m house.
- Birds per pan & per chain metre
- Drop spacing & line lengths
- Connected power per house
- Layout clearances
- Worked sizing example
How is a broiler feeding system sized?
Size a broiler feeding system from bird count, not house length. Divide total birds by 50–70 birds per grow-out pan (45–55 for heavy birds or hot climates) to get pan count, space pans at 75–100 cm on the line, and cap each auger drive at 90–120 m of line. Allow 0.55–1.1 kW per line drive plus 1.1–2.2 kW for the silo fill auger, and keep 2.5–3.5 m between feed and drinker lines with 1.5–2.0 m to the side wall.
Planning ranges from published manufacturer literature. Confirm final counts against the supplier drawing for your house.
Birds per pan, and why the band is wide
The 50–70 birds-per-pan range is not vagueness — it tracks final weight, stocking density and climate. Standard grow-out to 2.4–2.8 kg with good air distribution sits at the upper end. Heavy birds above 3.0 kg, densities over 34 kg/m², or hot climates where intake compresses into a few cooler hours push the design toward 45–55 birds per pan, because peak simultaneous access matters more than daily average access. Breeder females, on restricted feeding, need 12–15 birds per pan for uniformity.
Chain lines are specified per metre, not per pan
Where chain replaces pans, sizing moves to trough space per bird: 4–5 cm for grow-out broilers, 15–18 cm for breeder females, 20–22 cm for males and 10–12 cm for floor layers. Multiply bird count by that figure and halve it for double-sided access. One metre of double-sided trough serves roughly 40 grow-out broilers or 11–13 breeder females.
Line length, drop spacing and drive splits
Pan spacing is normally 75–100 cm centre to centre, with 90 cm the usual factory default. A 45–55 mm flex auger drive comfortably serves 90–120 m of line; beyond that, fill time at the far end and particle separation both degrade, so long houses are split into two drives from a central or dual hopper. Suspension points sit every 3–4 m, hopper drops every 25–30 m, and the line stops 1.0–1.5 m short of the end wall.
Power draw and connected load
Line drives are typically 0.55–1.1 kW each, silo-to-hopper fill augers 1.1–2.2 kW and winch motors 0.25–0.55 kW. A four-line 120 m house therefore carries roughly 4–7 kW of connected feeding load, running intermittently — normally well under 1 kWh per 1,000 birds per day. This matters most for generator sizing: feeding load is small next to ventilation, but it must be on the standby circuit.
Floor-space and layout ratios
Feed lines are suspended and consume no floor area, but clearances govern the layout: 2.5–3.5 m between feed and drinker lines, 1.5–2.0 m from any line to the side wall, and 1.0–1.5 m clear at each end. A 15 m wide house typically carries three to four feed lines and four to five drinker lines within those limits. Tighter spacing produces wet litter under drinkers; wider spacing increases bird travel and depresses intake at the extremes.
How to use these ranges in an RFQ
Fix the bird count, target weight, house dimensions, pan spacing and maximum line length in writing, then ask every bidder to quote against that geometry rather than their catalogue default. Ask for pan count, drive count, connected kW and a two-year spares list on each offer. HatchMatch issues that RFQ across vetted manufacturers at no cost to the buyer and returns the offers on a single comparison sheet within 2 business days of a complete brief.
Specification reference table
Published planning ranges for commercial broiler feeding systems. Confirm against the manufacturer drawing before ordering.
| Parameter | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Birds per pan — standard broiler (2.4–2.8 kg) | 50–70 | 330–380 mm grow-out pan, ad-lib feeding |
| Birds per pan — heavy broiler (>3.0 kg) / hot climate | 45–55 | Intake concentrated in cooler hours |
| Birds per pan — breeder female | 12–15 | Restricted feeding, uniformity critical |
| Trough space — grow-out broiler (chain) | 4–5 cm/bird | ≈40 birds per m of double-sided trough |
| Trough space — breeder female / male (chain) | 15–18 / 20–22 cm/bird | ≈11–13 females per m double-sided |
| Pan drop spacing on line | 75–100 cm | 90 cm is the common factory default |
| Line length per auger drive | 90–120 m | 45–55 mm flex auger; split beyond 120 m |
| Suspension / winch points | every 3–4 m | Level tolerance ±10 mm along the line |
| Hopper drops per line | every 25–30 m | Or one central hopper on split drives |
| Line drive motor | 0.55–1.1 kW | Per line, by length and auger diameter |
| Silo-to-hopper fill auger | 1.1–2.2 kW | Sized on required fill rate, not line length |
| Winch motor | 0.25–0.55 kW | One per line or one per house group |
| Feed line to drinker line spacing | 2.5–3.5 m | Keeps litter dry, limits travel distance |
| Line to side wall clearance | 1.5–2.0 m | Avoids cold-edge feeding under inlets |
| End of line to end wall | 1.0–1.5 m | Prevents crowding in dead corners |
Worked example — 30,000 broilers, 120 × 15 m house
- Pan count. 30,000 birds at 60 birds per pan (2.6 kg target, 33 kg/m²) = 500 pans.
- Line count. At 90 cm pan spacing, a 118 m usable run holds about 131 pans. 500 ÷ 131 ≈ 3.8, so specify 4 feed lines (125 pans each) rather than stretching three.
- Drive split. 118 m per line is inside the 90–120 m single-drive limit, so 4 drives — one per line — with a shared hopper row. A 140 m house would need 8 drives or a central-fill layout.
- Connected load. 4 × 0.9 kW line drives + 1 × 1.5 kW fill auger + 2 × 0.37 kW winches ≈ 5.8 kW connected, all on the standby generator circuit.
- Layout check. 4 feed lines across 15 m width = 3.0 m between lines when the outer lines sit 1.8 m from each wall — inside the 2.5–3.5 m target with drinker lines interleaved.
- Quote the geometry. Issue the RFQ as "4 lines × 125 pans at 900 mm, 118 m usable, 4 drives, connected load stated" so every bid is comparable on pan count and drive count, not on house area.
Figures are planning ranges for budgeting and bid comparison, not a manufacturer specification. Equipment supply, financing and delivery terms remain subject to third-party approval.
Run the numbers for broiler feeding system sizing
Free engineering calculators built for commercial projects. Get a defensible CAPEX, feed and payback estimate first, then request quotes with figures suppliers can price against.