Care and feeding of broiler chickens
 broiler chickens

Growing broiler chickens of highly productive meat breeds continues to gain popularity. Proper care, balanced feeding, compliance with all veterinary rules allows you to get high-quality dietary products in a personal compound in just 30-40 days.

How to choose broiler chickens

When choosing broiler chickens take into account several factors: cross (breed), producer and price, age and viability.

Breeds (crosses)

Broilers - the result of purposeful breeding work on the removal of a hybrid for the rapid production of high-quality dietary meat products.

 Chickens broilers cross COBB-500
Chickens broilers KOBB-500

Most popular in Russian poultry farmers, broilers of the KOBB-500, ROSSy-38, 708, Gibro-6, Broiler-61, M. Cross Smena and Hubbard F 15 crosses.

Manufacturers

It is safer to buy broiler chickens in reputable private farms and specialized incubator stations. As a rule, chickens purchased from such producers are viable, active and already vaccinated against major diseases.

Price of broilers offered by large poultry farms below, but there is a vicious practice in the sale by factories of culled weak stock.

The cost of chickens varies depending on age, breed, region, time of year from 35 to 95 rubles Per head.

Age

Experienced poultry farmers who know the finer points of housing and have equipped growing areas prefer to buy cheaper daily chickens.

 Broiler chickens with plumage
Broiler chickens with plumage

For beginners It is recommended to acquire young animals at the age of 5-10 days, since it is easier to care for them.

Viability

Healthy, viable broiler chickens are selected by following features:

  1. Chickens are active, mobile, react to sounds, with good appetite.
  2. Clear eyes with glitter.
  3. Soft tummies.
  4. Little wings tightly pressed to the calf.
  5. Feathers on cockerel wings of the same length.
  6. The absence of kala on plumage.
  7. Smooth downiness, without "shreds".
Important! In crosses ROSS 308, COBB 500, the tummies are slightly enlarged, rounded. Beak and legs may have a bluish tint.

Feeding

On average, about 4 kg of feed is used to produce commercial birds. In the first two weeks the chicken gets 35-38 g of feed per day, the daily rate from two to four weeks will be 100 g, then 150 g.

 Feed
Feed

The most effective for growing in home or farm content recognized combined feeding. With the constant availability of feed in the feeders twice a day, the birds are given wet food, the grain is poured overnight.

All for combined feeding

  • Dry industrial feed. When selecting ready-made feeds recommended carefullystudy the composition, quality. Most of the feed produced in Russia and the near abroad do not meet the accepted state standards.
  • Dry food from grains of wheat, corn, barley, legumes, mill grains and legumes.
  • To reduce the cost of production at private farmsteads successfully use food waste - milk (reverse, whey, yogurt, cottage cheese), fish, meat, fruit (apple, pear, banana and others), garden products (small root vegetables, frozen potatoes). Feed harmful insects and their larvae (May and Colorado beetles).
  • Zelenka - nettle, alfalfa, clover, dandelions in the crushed form, tops of the peel, carrot pulp, beets, zucchini, pumpkin, cabbage leaves.
  • Supplements - vitamin complex supplements, meat and bone and fish meal, eggshell, shell rock, table salt.
  • Wet mash.
 Broiler Chicken Drinker
Broiler Chicken Drinker

In the drinkers should always be clean, fresh water. Should be respected temperature condition:

  1. Chickens 1-3 days life is watered with water t +33 С °.
  2. On 4-7 days t +30 С °.
  3. From the 8th day life weekly reduce the temperature of the water by 2 °.
  4. Stop on t +20 С °
Important! Too cold water leads to slower growth, development, reduction in the rate of weight gain. The lack of water causes in young calves uric acid diathesis, loss of appetite. In the grown bird - peritonitis, intoxication, wrinkling, cyanosis of the comb.

Age ration

It differs in periods of physiological development of broilers.

There are:

  1. Starting, primary diet (up to 2 weeks of age).
  2. Fattening (in the period of active development and growth).
  3. Finishing with a lower percentage of protein (grown young, adult bird before slaughter).

Daily chickens

At the age of up to 5 days Chickens receive either growth ready-made feed, or feed containing up to 50% saturated with carbohydrates and proteins. These include cereal mixtures (crushed grain of wheat and corn, boiled millet, barley and oats without films), wet mash.

 Broiler Chickens
Broiler Chickens

From the 2nd day finely chopped chicken eggs are introduced into the diet of chicks. Two boiled eggs for 50 chickens are enough. They give quail eggs, cottage cheese, vitamins A, E, D3 in the form of a preparation of the type Trivitamin.

Feeding frequency during this period, every two hours, at least 5, preferably 8 times per day.

With dry feeding enough 3-4 times. Morning feeding is carried out as early as possible, evening as late as possible.

Weekly chicks

At the week of age ration enrich. As an anti-silver agent for 5-7 days in the flour mixture, wet mash is added at 0.1-0.2 grams per chicken fish oil. Gradually, carrot, a gruel of nettle leaves, dandelions, chalk flour, shell rock or hardened egg shells, fish waste, utilization meat are gradually introduced into the diet.

 Weekly Broiler Chickens
Weekly Broiler Chickens

Poultry farmers with experience recommend breeding mash milk derivatives, give chickens a small amount of boiled potatoes, sunflower seeds, soy cakes, corn, wheat flour (mill grains without special cleaning).

Feeding frequency - 6 times a day. With a balanced diet to the monthly age of broiler chickens gaining weight 500-700 g

Important! For the prevention of putrefactive processes in the gastric tract of chicks, it is possible to add 50 mg of ascorbic acid per kilogram of the food mixture or water with a very weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Weakened chickens support raw yolk stirred in milk.The yolk is introduced into the beak with a pipette 8 times per day. On day 11 Chicks should feed on their own.

Monthly Chicks

At the age of one month, broiler chickens are transferred to protein-rich food.

Mixes from a mixture of equal parts of crushed corn, wheat, peas, barley, diluted with meat broth, add more fish and meat waste, meat and bone, fish, herbal flour, dairy products, green mass. Welcome peanut and sunflower oilcakes, germinated grain.

 Monthly Broilers
Monthly Broilers

In the diet of monthly young animals, the presence of baker's yeast - at least 2 g daily per head, fish oil, ready-made dry vitamin mixtures. In the winter they also give vitamin D.

Feed needs to be updated every 2 hours; it must be fresh, not weathered.

In the summer, provide the opportunity to receive 50 percent or more of the daily rate. grass feed. This not only reduces the cost of maintenance, but also increases the immunity of the young, nutritional and taste value of meat.

Feeding frequency 7-8 times.

Immediately before slaughter, broilers are transferred to finish food.

The transition to a whole grain.How supplements offer brilliant green. Mushrooms diluted with broth, add to them boiled potatoes.

Important! Dry mixes, grain need to be protected from rodents, which not only destroy stocks, but also enter into the feed of parasites and viral diseases.

Food stored in tightly closed metal, plastic containers.

When buying ready-made mixtures, feed carefully observed shelf life.

Maintenance and care at home

In the conditions of home, farmer cultivation of broiler chickens, proper maintenance and care. It is necessary to properly equip the premises, to comply with veterinary and zootechnical standards, to show constant care and attention to the young chicks.

 Broilers in a grid on a personal plot
Broilers in a grid on a personal plot

Coop, cages, bedding, street

There are two breeding routes broiler chickens: intensive and extensive.

  • Intense (production) maintenance consists in restricting the movement of broiler chickens from the moment they hatch with a cage or deep bedding and feeding the chickens with full-value dry feed.
  • At extensive method cultivation, the most appropriate for the peasant or farm, the bird is contained in equipped chicken coops, cages, moves freely along the range, receives a variety of types and composition of food.

At "Free" poultry houses are equipped with poultry. Daily Chicks and Marketable Poultry Required square at the rate of 12-15 heads on 1 m ².

At cellular Up to 18 broilers are placed per 1 m², but the meat of such birds will be denser and harder. There are several options for cells that are manufactured independently or purchased in finished form. Cells are assembled in the design of the type of cassettes or batteries.

 Broiler chickens in a cage
Cell culture

Most poultry farmers prefer floor method growing in a chicken coop on a litter. For this, the floors are covered with sawdust, straw, shavings, fiber peat. To comply with sanitary and hygienic standards regularly remove raw lumps, mix and add filler.

AT summer period growing broiler chicks and adult chickens are released outside into the fenced range. If walking is well protected from drafts, for example, previously used window, greenhouse frames,chicks are “released” from a month of age.

Temperature conditions

Broiler chickens require strict compliance. temperatures and humidity in places of detention. Humidity throughout the growing period should be in the range of 60-70%.

For heating Household and industrial heaters, infrared lamps are used.

 Heating broiler chickens
Heating broiler chickens

Daily chicks enclose, limiting their removal from the heat source, maintaining t + 32 ° -35 ° C. From the second week begin a gradual decrease in temperature. 6-10 day old chicks t + 32 ° -30 ° С is required. 11-20 days - t + 28 ° -26 ° С. Beginning from the third week t + 24-20 ° C is required.

Important! Chicks up to 2-3 weeks of age have an underdeveloped digestive system, they are not able to maintain optimal body temperature on their own. In order to prevent overcooling of the abdomen, catarrhal diseases need not only to comply with the temperature regime, but also to warm up the litter.

Lighting

Till 5th day in the chicken coop is lit 20-24 hours. AT weekly agewhen the chickens begin to distinguish between day and night, they begin to interrupt the lighting for 10-15 minutes every 2 hours, gradually bringing the light day to 16-17 hours.

Ventilation

In the house should be equipped ventilationexhaust hood. Broilers need a constant supply of clean air.

Feeders and drinkers

Until reaching week old the feeder is filled to the brim. As soon as the chicks acquire self-feeding skills, feeders and drinkers fill up with ¼ and raise above the floor level to avoid contamination of the food by litter.

Grow broiler chickens profitable. Observing simple requirements it is possible not only to provide the family with an ecologically clean, dietary chicken meat, but also to achieve a small benefit when selling broiler meat.