Why do broilers fall to their feet and what to do about it?

Breeding of meat breeds of chickens considered quite profitable and low-cost business, which is used by both farmers on small subsidiary plots and owners of large poultry factories. Most meat crosses, the most popular for breeding, gain weight suitable for slaughter in the first two to four months of age, which is why feed costs are not very long. In addition, broilers are more resilient and have a higher level of disease resistance than other types of chickens. However, it often happens that broilers start to fall to their feet... Why is this happening and what to do in such situations?

Why broiler chickens and chickens fall to their feet, possible causes

Most often chickens fall to their feet solely through the fault of the owner, and only in rare cases can a disease be the cause. The most common factors in this phenomenon are associated with violations in the process of keeping poultry. Keeping chicks is not only profitable, but also requires a responsible approach from the very beginning, from the moment the chicks are purchased. The main mistakes that breeders make when breeding young animals:

• Unsuitable conditions of detention... When an increased number of heads are found in a confined area, chicks very often begin to fall to their feet. Of course, chickens are also kept in cages, but no one has canceled the stocking density, and the recommended density of the number of heads per square meter at the age from birth to one month should not exceed 30. At an older age, chickens are placed at the rate of no more than 10 heads per square meter ...

• Vitamin deficiency or lack of minerals... If the rules of feeding are not followed, if the feed is not balanced, the chickens will not receive the nutrients necessary for the growing body. As a result, the paws move apart and are taken away.
• Rickets... Rickets develops due to a lack of vitamin D. Simply put, chickens simply do not have enough sunlight, in which this vitamin is synthesized.
• Diseases... Many diseases that chickens can be exposed to, one of the main symptoms is the fall of the bird on its feet. In this case, only a qualified veterinarian can determine the cause.

In the event that, from a medical point of view, the reasons for this condition are not found, you can help the bird yourself.

Options for self-solving the problem, what to do and how to treat

In order to find a way out of the situation, you should analyze the situation. For example, if it is clear that the degree of planting density is greater than the permissible, then most likely the reason lies precisely in this. If in order to save money, chicks were given cheap feed without vitamin supplements, the behavior of the bird can be attributed to a lack of nutrients in the body. Finally, if livestock are kept in a dark room without access to the sun, perhaps, rickets are to blame. Measures to be taken in such cases:

• Add crushed shells to the feed, egg shells, chalk, thus enriching the diet with calcium.
• Add greens to food... The grasses have a high content of vitamins required by broilers for active growth and maintenance of immunity. Chicks are given finely chopped greens already three days after birth. Initially the amount of greens should not exceed a tenth of the total amount of feed consumed, gradually the amount of grass is brought to ½. Finely chopped nettles are great for chickens.
• Desirable transfer birds to compound feed... Specialized combined feeds are optimal in their composition and are well absorbed by poultry.

Youngsters sit on their feet, paws disperse: disease prevention

A condition when young broilers cannot keep on their own paws is easier to prevent than to look for reasons and urgently take action. A number of factors are important for the normal development of chicks:

1. Compliance population density.
2. Compliance temperature regimes.
3. Security fresh water and a balanced diet.
4. Compliance cleanliness in the poultry house.
5. Security ventilation and lighting in the poultry house.

It is very important that the chicken coop is not only moderately clean, but also has the necessary amount of light, there is no mold, the room is well ventilated. In this case, it follows avoid drafts... Newly hatched babies at first need additional heating in the region of 27-32 degrees. Due to the low temperature, the chicks sit on their feet and die.

It is advisable to feed young animals with compound feed from the first days. This will avoid the problems associated with vitamin deficiency and, as a consequence, the fall of the bird on its paws. If it is impossible to feed broilers with ready-made combined feeds, it is necessary to independently enrich the diet with vitamins and minerals. For this already day old chicks fish oil is added to the mash, chopped greens are mixed on the third day, on the fifth day of life add vegetables to the diet, then enrich the feed with calcium using chalk, bone meal and small shells.

Emergency help for chicks aged 10-15 days

Experienced farmers claim that vodka is a great way to get babies under one month old. The method has been widespread for a long time, has been widely used by the people since time immemorial. If the chick has fallen on its paws and does not want to get up in any way, it simply bury a few drops of vodka in the beak, after which the baby soon rises, his appetite wakes up. The method is controversial, raising a number of questions, but, according to those who used this technique, it is very effective.

Treatment of monthly broilers

At the age of one month, the condition of broiler chickens, when they cannot stay on their feet, is most often caused by rickets, unless there is a serious infectious disease behind it. Young animals are treated with the addition of tricalcium phosphate to food, as well as fish oil or synthetic vitamin D3. In the absence of serious reasons that caused the inability of birds to stay on their own paws, tricalcium phosphate, due to the content of phosphorus and calcium, in a short time has a beneficial effect on the body of birds. Tricalcium phosphate is added at a dosage of 2% of the total daily feed mass.

Treatment of adults

In older birds, arthritis in the joints is a common cause of chickens unable to stay on their feet. For treatment, ampicillin is used at the rate of 15-20 mg / 1 kg of body weight... You can add the drug to food or water for 5 days. Treatment is carried out only if it is reliably known that the condition of broilers is due precisely to arthritis.Only a veterinarian can make an accurate diagnosis, establish the causes and recommend treatment.

Preventive measures to prevent chickens from dying

The main factor to avoid settling chicks on their feet is competent approach to growing broilers, taking into account all the details. Proper care, good nutrition, adherence to housing standards and timely preventive measures can prevent mortality, ensuring a high profitability of breeding poultry.