The Rise of Automated Chain-Based Broiler Harvesting Systems: A Farming Revolution Shifting from Manual Catching to "Birds Stay Put, Birds Get Harvested"

In traditional broiler farming, the "market-ready" phase—specifically the process of removing birds from the coop—has long been a major headache for farmers. Manual catching is not only inefficient but also prone to causing issues such as bruising, broken wings, and stress reactions due to improper handling, all of which directly impact slaughter quality and market price. Today, the widespread adoption of chain-based automatic chicken removal systems is completely transforming this landscape.

**Technological Breakthrough: Birds Removed Without Being Manually Handled**

The core principle of the chain-based automatic chicken removal system is to complete the removal process by moving the entire bottom mesh of the cage, allowing the birds to remain stationary throughout. Taking the chain-mesh automatic removal cage as an example, the equipment utilizes a chain-drive mechanism—powered by a combination of chains, removal mesh, and connecting pins—to ensure smooth and reliable operation. The removal mesh is made from polypropylene (PP), offering excellent strength and toughness; the 14×14mm mesh design prevents chicken claws from slipping through while facilitating manure drop-through. The manganese steel chain boasts a breaking strength of ≥60kN per strand, ensuring a high safety factor.

Compared to traditional methods involving sliding out the bottom mesh, the chain system moves the entire mesh to remove the birds. This significantly reduces injury rates during the removal process and extends the equipment's service life. Personnel simply need to load the birds into crates outside the coop, drastically reducing labor intensity.

**Simultaneous Gains in Efficiency and Profitability**

Real-world data highlights the impressive efficiency of chain-based automatic chicken removal systems. For instance, the ZR1600 chain-plate automatic removal cage achieves a removal speed of 2,400 birds per hour for a single-row, single-tier unit. At the same farming scale, coops using this chain system can keep the bird injury/disability rate at or below 1%, whereas traditional manual catching methods result in rates ranging from 1% to 5%. Regarding costs, the automated system requires only about 0.06 RMB per bird, compared to approximately 0.2 RMB per bird for manual catching.

The benefits are even more pronounced in large-scale operations. Traditional manual catching faces significant efficiency bottlenecks; as farming scales up, the speed of manual catching struggles to keep pace with slaughtering rates. This causes broilers to remain in the coop for extended periods, thereby disrupting the production schedule for subsequent batches. The chain-based automatic chicken harvesting system enables fully automated operation without the need for manual intervention, making it particularly well-suited for the requirements of large-scale poultry farms.

**Accelerated Industrial Adoption**

Chain-based automatic chicken harvesting technology is transitioning from concept to large-scale application. According to industry media reports, several domestic Poultry Equipment manufacturers have launched mature solutions in this field. Companies such as Qingdao Big Herdsman, Zhucheng Zhongyu, and Qingdao EJOY have all established a presence in this sector.

The system has also garnered significant attention in international markets. At the 2025 Livestock Philippines exhibition, the "Broiler Cage Chain Harvesting System" showcased by Qingdao EJOY became a highlight of the event, attracting numerous industry professionals and potential clients. By utilizing a chain-driven plastic conveyor floor to replace manual sliding boards, the system achieves fully automated harvesting, effectively prevents injury to the birds, and significantly boosts harvesting efficiency.

In the Southeast Asian market, Sifang Xinyu has partnered with Malaysia’s QL Resources to implement an automated broiler project in East Malaysia. The project fully adopts a proprietary chain-based automatic chicken harvesting system and comprises five modern broiler houses, each designed with a capacity of 41,600 birds.

**Industry Trend: Smart Farming Becomes the Norm**

Nationwide, the intelligent transformation of broiler farming is accelerating. Chengwu County in Shandong Province has leveraged digitalization to achieve smart operations across the entire value chain—from production and transport to cold-chain warehousing. Changyi City in Weifang, known as the "premier broiler farming county in Qilu (Shandong)," has achieved a "three-step leap" in farming methods—transitioning from ground-based rearing to raised-platform rearing, and finally to cage-based rearing—resulting in a reduction of labor requirements by over 90%.

However, industry experts point out that while mechanization levels in areas such as incubation, feeding, environmental control, and manure removal have steadily improved, there is still a need to address shortcomings in automated harvesting and intelligent inspection. The promotion of chain-based automatic chicken harvesting systems represents a crucial step in bridging this gap.

Driven by rising labor costs and the increasing scale of farming operations, chain-based automatic chicken harvesting systems are becoming a standard feature of Modern Broiler Farming. As industry insiders have noted, this technology not only makes the process of harvesting broiler chickens more efficient and humane but also unlocks greater profit margins for farmers. Moving from manual catching to a system where the birds remain stationary during harvest, the industry is undergoing a profound revolution in efficiency at the final stage of production.