A colony basket and method of using the same for handling poultry from DOC through the growing process and on to a production facility comprising a harvesting system, a loading system, a transport system, an unloading and storing system, hanging system and cleaning system. The system and method performs the steps of harvesting and colonizing live poultry into a singly stackable and transportable colony basket, stacking and loading the trays on a transport, unloading and temporarily storing the poultry for subsequent processing. The system and method further includes the use of a modular colony basket for interchangeable use with the described system.

A system for chicken farming, comprising: a coop floor; at least one slat elevated from the coop floor; and a nesting cabin. The at least one slat is at least partially made of a natural fiber plastic composite (NFPC), such as a wood-plastic composite (WPC). In addition, a method for chicken farming using the system, and a wood-plastic composite for use in improving egg production performance in hens.

A laying nest provided with an ejection system with a particularly simple structure and operation comprises a nest floor that can rotate in two opposite directions, to get more inclined towards a collection area or towards a coop arranged on the nest side opposite to the collection area. The floor is rotatable about a pair of pivot pins arranged aligned to each other and adjacent to the coop, and each of the pivot pins is mounted slidably in a respective slot. The rotation to incline the floor towards the collection area is thus obtained by translating the pivot pins along the respective slots. The driving arrangement of the ejection system comprises traction cables guided along return pulleys arranged above the floor, whereby the ejection system has a limited footprint and is not prone to jams and malfunctions due to droppings and dirt.