In House Egg Collection System for Poultry Farms

Egg collection is a daily job on every layer poultry farm, but it does not have to be slow, labor-intensive, or risky for egg quality. With a well-designed in house egg collection system, you can move eggs gently and automatically from the cage to a central point, reduce breakage, and free workers for higher-value tasks.

An in house egg collection system is an automatic egg collection line installed inside the poultry house. It uses egg belts, egg conveyors and auto egg collectors to move eggs from each row of cages to a central table or packing area, reducing manual handling, improving hygiene and protecting eggshell quality in commercial egg production.

What Does In House Egg Collection Mean in Poultry Farming?

In simple words, in house egg collection means that all eggs are collected automatically inside the chicken house by machines instead of being picked by hand from each cage.

On a traditional farm, workers walk up and down every row, take eggs from the layer chicken cage, put them in trays, and carry them to the packing room. This is slow, tiring, and easy to cause broken eggs.

With an in house egg collection system:

• Eggs gently roll from the cage onto an egg collection belt
• The belt brings eggs to a longitudinal egg conveyor
• The egg collector or cross conveyor carries them to the central collection table or egg room

So the chicken egg collection system turns hundreds or thousands of individual laying points into one smooth, continuous egg flow.

Why Do Modern Layer Farms Need an In House Egg Collection System?

For small backyard farms, manual collection may still be possible. But for a commercial poultry farm with tens of thousands of layers, a manual egg collection system quickly becomes a bottleneck.

Modern poultry producers are facing:

• Rising labor costs and difficulty in hiring experienced workers
• Higher standards for food safety and shell egg quality
• The need for consistent, predictable egg production and packing time
• Competition from industrial farms using fully automatic poultry equipment

An in house egg collection system helps answer these challenges:

1. Save labor and time
   • One operator can manage the egg collection machine for several houses
   • No more long walks along every row of cages to collect eggs
2. Protect egg quality
   • Less handling means fewer micro-cracks and less dirt on the shell
   • Eggs are carried by belts and egg conveyor systems, not dropped by hand
3. Improve farm management
   • Egg flow is more stable and easier to count
   • You can plan grading, packing and truck loading more precisely

As a livestock breeding equipment manufacturing plant, we see that almost every new layer cage system project above a certain scale now includes an in house egg collection solution as standard—especially for poultry battery cage systems and H-type layer chicken cage housing.

Main Components of an In House Egg Collection Line

A typical in house egg collection system is made of several coordinated parts. The exact layout may change from farm to farm, but the core idea stays the same.

1. Egg Belt on the Chicken Cage

Each row of layer chicken cage has a cage egg belt in front or behind the hens.

• Eggs roll gently out of the cage onto this belt
• The belt is usually made from special material with enough grip and softness
• It must be strong, easy to clean, and suitable for food-related use

When the egg collection system is running, all belts move at the same time and transport the eggs towards the house end.

2. Longitudinal Conveyor and Auto Egg Collector

At the end of each row, eggs transfer onto a longitudinal egg conveyor. This is where in house egg collection really starts to feel like a production line.

Key parts include:

• Egg conveyor belt or egg conveyor chain
• Side rails that keep eggs on the belt
• Guiding plates to change the direction of eggs
• A drive motor with speed control

The auto egg collector will then bring eggs from multiple conveyor lines together and deliver them to a central collecting platform or directly to a grading and packing system.

big herdsman In house egg collection

3. Cross Conveyor and Central Egg Collection Point

For large houses, several cage rows connect to a cross egg conveyor:

• This egg conveyor system runs across the width of the poultry house
• It combines eggs from different rows and tiers
• Finally, it delivers them to the central egg table or egg room

Here, workers (or automatic grading machines) can:

• Count eggs using an egg counter
• Do basic sorting or quality check
• Place eggs into trays, racks or onto a separate egg processing line

How Does an In House Egg Collection System Work Step by Step?

To understand the value of an automatic egg collector, it helps to see the daily working cycle.

1. Hens lay eggs in the cages
   Eggs gently roll onto the cage belt of each poultry layer cage. The belt position and slope are carefully designed so that the health of the chicken and egg safety both are protected.
2. Start the egg belts
   When the operator presses start on the control system, all egg belts in that house begin moving.
3. Eggs move to the house end
   Eggs travel slowly along the belts. The speed is set so eggs do not bump against each other too hard.
4. Transfer to the longitudinal conveyor
   Eggs slide from the cage belt onto the egg conveyor belt at the end of each row, guided by smooth plates.
5. Eggs join the cross conveyor
   Longitudinal conveyors discharge eggs onto a cross egg conveyor system, which may run inside the house or bring eggs to a separate packing room.
6. Central egg collection and packing
   Workers at the collection station collect eggs, perform quick visual inspection, and pack them into trays or load them into an egg grading and packing system.

The whole egg collection process is easy to control, and the egg collection system is designed so one person can oversee multiple rows, instead of many people walking inside the house.

Design Options for Different Cage Systems and Poultry Houses

Every poultry farm is different, so an experienced poultry equipment manufacturer must design the egg collection systems according to:

• House length, width and height
• Type of layer cage system (A-type, multi-tier or single tier)
• Number of birds, daily egg production and farm expansion plan
• Whether eggs go to an in-house packing room or a separate egg center

Typical design options include:

A-Type Layer Cage with Short House

• Shorter egg conveyor distances
• Simple cross conveyor inside the house
• Economic choice for medium-scale farms

Turnkey Poultry House with Central Egg Room

• Eggs from several houses are brought to one central egg collection area
• Higher level of automation and integration
• Often chosen by large farms and contractors building turnkey poultry farm projects

As a livestock equipment manufacturer, we usually design the poultry cage system, egg collection, manure cleaning, ventilation system and drinking system together, so everything matches from the beginning.

Benefits for Egg Quality, Breakage Rate and Hygiene

For B2B buyers, it is not enough to say “automatic is better.” You want to know what exactly improves on your farm.

1. Fewer Broken Eggs

• Gentle belt speed, smooth transfer and radiant low-impact turns help reduce cracks
• No stacking of eggs in buckets or trays during manual collection
• On many farms, moving from manual to an automatic egg collection system has reduced breakage by several percentage points

Even a small reduction in broken eggs brings clear profit when you are handling hundreds of thousands of eggs per day.

2. Cleaner Shell Eggs

Because eggs move on belts instead of staying long inside the cage front:

• Less chance of contact with chicken manure or dirty cage surfaces
• Shorter time between laying and collection, which improves egg quality
• Easier to keep the poultry house hygiene under control

Cleaner eggs are easier to sell at a higher grade, and they meet the stricter requirements of egg processing equipment and supermarkets.

3. Better Biosecurity and Worker Safety

• Workers no longer need to walk through every row and tier
• Less dust inhalation, better ergonomic conditions
• In houses with poultry manure removal system and automatic poultry farm equipment, the overall risk of disease spread decreases, because less movement is needed inside the flock

big herdsman In house egg collection

How In House Egg Collection Reduces Labor and Operating Costs

One of the biggest reasons that large poultry farmers and engineering contractors choose in house egg collection is labor.

On a manual farm:

• You may need a team of workers during peak egg collecting time
• If someone is sick or absent, egg collection becomes slower
• Labor cost continues to rise in many countries

With an automatic egg collection system:

• One or two operators can manage egg collection in several houses
• The system runs at the same speed every day
• Overtime and peak-season labor pressure are lower

When you calculate payback time, you can consider:

• Reduction of labor costs (workers per house × working hours)
• Increase egg saleable rate (fewer broken eggs)
• More predictable poultry farming operations and easier management

For many of our customers, the investment into in house egg collection is recovered within a few years, especially when integrated into a new layer house or automatic poultry farming equipment project.

Integration with Other Poultry Farming Equipment

A modern poultry farming solutions package is rarely just one machine. In house egg collection is most powerful when combined with other systems.

Typical integrated package:

• Poultry cage system (A-type or H-type)
• Automatic feeding systems (feed trough or chain feeding)
• Nipple drinking system
• Manure removal system with belts and manure conveyor
• Ventilation and climate control for a good indoor environment
• In house egg collection system with belts and conveyors

Because we are a livestock equipment and poultry equipment manufacturer, we can match all these systems from the design stage. That means:

• All motors, shafts, belts and control boxes work together
• The automatic poultry solutions share a unified control system
• It is easier to expand the farm or upgrade from semi-automatic to fully automatic equipment later

Key Technical Points to Consider Before Purchasing

When a poultry equipment supplier or farm owner is planning to buy an egg collection system, several technical questions should be checked:

1. Capacity and speed
   • How many eggs per hour must the egg collection machine handle?
   • Can the conveyor speed be adjusted?
2. Compatibility with cage type
   • Is the cage system in poultry A-type or H-type?
   • How many tiers and how long is each row?
3. House design
   • House length, width and height
   • Position of the chicken house doors and egg room
   • Whether eggs need to cross roads or go to another building
4. Automation level
   • Will eggs go only to a manual egg collecting table?
   • Or must the system connect to automatic egg collection equipment, egg grader or a full egg production line?
5. Materials and durability
   • Use of galvanized or stainless parts in high-wear areas
   • Quality of belts and chains for long life in dusty environments

An experienced poultry equipment manufacturer can propose several layout options and show drawings, so the poultry producer can choose the best balance between investment and performance.

Our Role as a Livestock Breeding Equipment Manufacturer

As a livestock breeding equipment manufacturing plant, our focus is on:

• Designing poultry farm equipment that fits real farm conditions, not just catalog drawings
• Providing complete systems: poultry cage, egg collection, manure removal, ventilation, feeding and drinking systems
• Supporting poultry production, egg production projects, and turnkey poultry farm construction in different climates and markets

We work mainly with:

• Large and medium-scale poultry farms
• Egg production companies
• Engineering contractors and agricultural technology service companies
• Investors who need a reliable partner for full poultry farming business development

Because we design and produce equipment ourselves, and not only trade it, we can:

• Adjust the cage, egg collection system, manure removal system and ventilation system according to local feed, climate and building materials
• Offer products and services tailored to the specific needs of poultry farmers in each country
• Provide after-sales support, spare parts, and training for operators and technicians

Maintenance, Cleaning and Daily Management Tips

Even the best battery cage system for poultry or egg collection line needs basic daily care to keep running smoothly.

Here are some practical tips:

1. Daily checks
   • Walk along the ends of the belts and conveyors
   • Look for eggs stuck at transfer points
   • Listen for strange noises from motors or chains
2. Weekly cleaning
   • Remove dust from motor covers and control equipment
   • Clean egg guides and rails where chicken droppings or dust may accumulate
   • Check tension of egg belts and conveyor chains
3. Preventive maintenance
   • Lubricate moving parts (according to the manufacturer’s manual)
   • Replace worn-out parts before they fail during peak production
   • Keep a small stock of key spares on the farm
4. Training for workers
   • Train staff how to start and stop the automated system correctly
   • Show them how to respond if an egg jam occurs
   • Make basic cleaning and inspection part of the daily routine

Good management keeps the egg collection system reliable, protects eggs, and ensures the return on investment stays strong for many years.

Frequently Asked Questions About In House Egg Collection

Can an in house egg collection system be added to an existing poultry farm?

Yes. Many farms upgrade from manual to automatic egg collection. We evaluate the existing poultry cage system, chicken coop size, and egg room layout to design a suitable egg conveyor and egg collector solution that can be installed with minimum interruption.

Is an automatic egg collector suitable for small farms?

It depends on the scale. For very small farms, manual egg collection may still be enough. But once you manage several thousand layers, an automatic egg collector and simple egg collection system can already save time and labor. We can design systems for both medium and large farms.

Will the egg belts hurt the hens or cause stress?

No. The egg collection belts do not disturb the birds. Eggs roll gently from the front of the layer chicken cage, while hens stay comfortably inside the cage. The cage is designed so that egg movement and bird welfare are both taken care of.

Can the system handle different egg sizes?

Yes. The design of the egg conveyor belt systems and guides allows the collection of standard commercial egg sizes. Very small or misshaped eggs may require careful grading later, but the egg collection machine can transport them safely.

How long does an in house egg collection system last?

With correct installation, regular cleaning and simple maintenance, the system can serve for many years. Belts and some wearing parts may need replacement over time, but the main frames, drives and poultry cage system will stay in service across several production cycles.

Key Takeaways

• In house egg collection is an automatic system that collects eggs inside the poultry house using belts and conveyors.
• It replaces manual egg picking, reduces labor costs, and improves egg hygiene and quality.
• The system includes cage egg belts, longitudinal conveyors, cross conveyors and a central egg collection station.
• It is ideal for layer cage systems, poultry battery cage systems, and modern high-density poultry houses.
• As a livestock breeding equipment manufacturer, we design complete solutions: cage, egg collection, feeding, drinking, manure removal and ventilation.
• With correct design and maintenance, an in house egg collection system delivers fast payback, stable operation and better control of your egg production business.