How to raise laying hens at home?

Foreword

Growing laying hens at home is quite different from the process of breeding broilers for meat, since the main thing here is to ensure the maximum egg production of the bird, to create comfortable conditions for it. It is especially important to pay attention to the prevention of diseases, the creation of the correct nests and their placement, chicken nutrition, vitaminization and saturation of the body with calcium. How to equip a chicken coop, what, when and how much to feed hens, how to make nests and much more, you can find out later in the article!

Choosing the best egg breeds

If you want to get a lot of eggs and make an extremely profitable production, then you need to choose the right chicken breed. It is not always worth choosing only from foreign options, since domestic poultry farmers also grow decent breeds of chickens, which in egg production are in no way inferior to the best "Europeans". Let's consider the most acceptable options for our climatic zone:

1. Layers Loman Brown. One of the most popular breeds in Russia and neighboring countries. They have not given the top positions in the rating for decades and amaze every poultry farmer with their egg production - about 315 eggs per year. Sexual maturity of an individual arrives in 4-5 months, after which the chicken is productive for 2-3 years, and the number of eggs laid will increase every month. They are resistant to diseases and have a very high vitality - almost all chickens survive (98% safety of young animals). The egg is large - up to 80 grams, moreover, one chicken consumes no more than 130 grams / day.
2. Dutch laying hens Hisex - small individuals weighing only up to 1.5-2 kg, come to puberty after 120-130 days, after which they rapidly increase egg production for 1 year. Egg production of white hens - 290 eggs per year, gray and brown - 320 eggs.This difference is due to the fact that the former have a large expenditure of energy for heating the body in a cold season, so they rush a little worse. The testicle is relatively large - up to 65-80 grams, has a hard shell, which significantly increases its transportability.
3. Motley Pushkin. One of the "brightest" hens, which not only rushes remarkably, but also pleases the eye of the owner. Many of them are kept only for decoration and variety of the household yard (especially since such decoration still brings good profit). The egg production of this species is 315 eggs per year, the weight of one egg is 75 grams. Chickens have a Nordic, restrained character - they are strong, stand firmly on their feet, walk importantly around the yard and do not fuss at the slightest noise. Survival of young animals - 99%, adults - 95%. It is not recommended to combine this breed with another in the same area - the bird is proud, does not like companies and can conflict.
4. Kuchinskaya Jubilee. A universal chicken - you can keep it for an omelet, and chop it into the soup if necessary. One of the best meat-eating chicken, which lays up to 240 eggs per year and is rapidly gaining live weight. The chicken already begins to delight the owner with eggs at the age of 5-6 months (or immediately turns into a beef breed), begins to carry small ones - weighing 60 grams. With proper nutrition and care, the survival of young animals is 99%, the variety is well acclimatized, it feels great in any conditions of detention.

You must immediately decide for what purposes you will keep the chicken coop, since the difference between egg-bearing breeds and meat breeds is very large (up to 100 eggs per year). If you are interested in obtaining only a secondary product, then it is better to give preference to foreign breeds. If you still prefer to consume or sell chicken meat, then it would be better to give preference to meat-and-meat breeds, which have an optimal ratio of weight and egg production.

Caring for chicks up to 1 month of age

Caring for chickens is quite difficult, but buying a mature, rushing individual is very expensive and will cost you about 400-500 rubles for 1 piece. That is why it is much more profitable and easier to take chickens from the incubator and feed them 3-4 months until adulthood. Moreover, if the chicks grow constantly in the same environment and become accustomed to the chicken coop, they will begin to rush much faster than if they were placed in a new habitat.

You need to choose the most active and purest individuals - then your chances of buying healthy chickens will greatly increase. Each chick should be noisy, active, react to any sound and move towards it. If you knock on the box, Chickens should quickly run up to you and show extreme interest. The buttocks must be dry, and the down on the tummy must be light and fluffy.

The first step is to bring the bird home. To do this, you need a cardboard box with holes in the sides and on the lid to ensure good ventilation. Chickens love high temperatures, but oxygen should be maximized, otherwise they may suffocate. During transportation, you will need to make a stop every 15-20 minutes, open the box in the fresh air and let the chicks breathe a little (5-10 minutes).

From the first days of growing chickens, it is necessary to provide maximum comfort and favorable conditions for growth and development, namely:

1. For the first 15 days, set the temperature to + 28 ° C, while monitoring the behavior of the chickens in the box, room or other room where you put them. If the bird strays into large groups and gathers all in one place - it is cold, you need to raise the temperature a little. If the kids are sitting separately, have a lethargic appearance and are inactive - they are hot, lower the temperature. They must be active, running and squeaking.
2. It is best to feed the first few days with egg yolk, then switch to millet, and when the chicks grow up a little - with cereals or grain waste.It is best to add corn grits to the diet, which is healthy and contains all the vitamins necessary for the normal development of the chicken.
3. A hedge, large box, room or box (depending on where you keep it) should be draft-free and with a warm bottom. Babies can catch a cold if they sit in a cold place or are in a draft - watch out for the absence of cold and do not allow hypothermia of young individuals.

It is necessary to control that the room is dry, the chickens are always full (the easiest way is to put a feeder) and have constant access to water - they often want to drink at first and cannot be denied such pleasure.

Choosing the right diet for adults

After the chickens have lived with you for 3-4 months, they will begin to mature and lay. Gradually, all chickens will become layers, and they require a special diet. Unlike broilers that are raised for meat, layers require a balanced feed that contains not only nutrients, but also macronutrients necessary for the proper development of the chicken. Eggshells consist almost entirely of calcium, which is taken from the chicken's body - it must be constantly replenished and the bird must be given a lot of vitamins.

If the shell becomes soft, this is the first of the reasons indicating a lack of vitamins, more precisely, calcium. We need to get the chicken drunk with Rotstar or Foros. The traditional diet of each layer is quite diverse, it should contain: fishmeal, phosphates, sunflower cake, rapeseed and soybean meal, a grain mixture of barley, wheat and rye. It is best if you also add 200-300 grams per month of feed chalk - this is one of the most beneficial minerals for the formation of eggshells.

You can also buy nutritional mixtures that have already been developed specifically for layers - they contain the optimal amount of the most essential feed. Such food is just ideal for them, but it is quite expensive - 450-500 rubles per 50 kg bag. When buying a large batch (from 1 ton), you can save up to 50% of your money. If you make simple arithmetic calculations, you can determine that, on average, 3 rubles a day will go to the maintenance of 1 chicken per year. Whether it is worth using full-fledged combined feeds or trying to feed with cheaper mixtures that can be assembled on their own - every poultry breeder decides for himself. But, in any case, just feeding with grain will not work - the addition of bone meal, fish, chalk, minerals is necessary, otherwise the chicken will lay much less, and the size of the egg will be smaller than expected.

Features of the design of the chicken coop and nests

You can make absolutely any nests with respect to the shape and place them in a place convenient for you, the main thing is to always follow the following placement rules:

1. Never place nests in a draft - chickens will not lay until the discomfort is eliminated. The chicken should feel warmth and comfort, then it will delight you with a good "harvest".
2. Install each nest separately, it will be better if it is fenced off from the room on all sides. In this case, the bird will fly more often and more.
3. Place the chicken coop away from noise, provide an acceptable temperature for laying eggs at + 23-25 ​​0С. The coop should be compact.
4. The roost should be no more than 40x40 centimeters, or better - 30x30 cm, while the height of the side should be at least 6 cm so that the eggs do not roll out when the chicken climbs and crawls out.

It is important to understand that the bird instinctively rushes to get new offspring, so it will only be productive when it feels the maximum safety, comfort and safety of future chickens.

The floor in a chicken coop is best made of clay, as concrete and other similar materials will be very cold in winter.You can make a wooden floor, pour up to 5-6 centimeters of wood shavings on top of it, so that the chickens have a place to dig and spend "active" rest. To create a "friendly" team in a hen house, you need to organize the nests correctly - they must all be at the same height, otherwise your chickens will begin to divide themselves into different "classes". The higher the chicken is, the more important it feels. They will fight for a place higher, throw out the eggs of their predecessors from the nest.

The chicken coop must contain:

1. Several small windows through which light will come in during the daytime. The bird is much more comfortable if there is a bright area in the room nearby, and its nest is in the shade.
2. Feeder so that you can eat in the chicken coop during bad weather.
3. Heater. It is especially relevant in the cold season - it will significantly increase egg production if it provides a temperature of at least + 15 ° C indoors.
4. A door for hens through which they will go outside. It should be small (25 cm high will be enough) to keep the room as warm as possible. You can hang a tarp or other material on it, which the chicken can move and crawl through - this design protects the room from wind and cold.
5. Drinking bowl. Liters for 5, no more, so that you can constantly fill in fresh water for chickens, especially on a summer day, when they can come to the watering hole 10-12 times.

If you do everything right and take into account the interests of chickens, they will certainly delight you with their productivity.

Disease Prevention and How They Can Affect Poultry Egg Production

On the way to an effective business, you can face big problems - chicken diseases. Unfortunately, no one is immune from this, since viruses are everywhere and the only thing you can do is increase the immunity of layers and eliminate foci of reproduction of harmful bacteria. If, nevertheless, it happened that the bird fell ill, it must be cured as soon as possible and the spread of the virus must be prevented. The main diseases of laying hens:

• Coccidiosis. A very common disease, especially in chickens up to 20 days old, but often occurs even in two-month-old individuals. The main symptoms are: an absolute lack of appetite (even your favorite food does not eat), lethargy, wings drop to the ground and fall off your feet. Diarrhea is one of the main symptoms. For prophylaxis, furazolidol or norsulfazole is added to the feed. If the bird is already sick and does not want to eat, dilute 5-10 grams of the drug per 100 grams of water and pour it into its mouth. Yes, just fill it - open the beak with tweezers or improvised materials and pour the drug from a pipette or pear. The chick will "heal" in a couple of days, if not even from the medicine, then from the fear of such a procedure.
• Pasteurellosis. A very common disease in adult chickens. Chickens survive it well, and the mortality rate is only 30-40%, almost all adults die. Signs: chickens do not walk, sit alone in different places, lethargic, do not eat, often foam appears from the beak. It is treated with the introduction of intramuscular antibiotics and drugs by a veterinarian. The folk method is to pour 20-30 grams of vodka into the bird's beak for disinfection, do this as in the case of coccidiosis. Healing is 50%.
• Helminthiasis. Helminths occur not only in animals and fish, but also in chickens. They parasitize in the intestines and organs of the bird. Sick individuals do not eat well, egg production and activity are significantly reduced. For prevention, you can drink Drontal or Junior.
• A single decrease in productivity. It often happens that the chicken is active, healthy, does not show any signs of concern, but does not rush at all or very rarely.Almost up to 5% have such problems and, as practice shows, they come out with very tasty soup, jellied meat, hot and cold, because you will not wait for eggs from them anyway.

However, if you always feed chickens with fortified supplements (ready-made mixtures are sold), add greens to their diet, and also monitor dryness and good ventilation in the chicken coop, chickens almost never get sick.

The main "commandments" of the poultry farmer

In order for the business to be profitable, you received a lot of eggs throughout the year, you need to remember the basic rules of a successful poultry breeder:

• You can't overfeed your chickens. Well-fed "balls" will not please you with good egg production, on the contrary - they will often get sick, walk sluggish and lazy. Who actually benefited from obesity?
• Provide a "quiet hour" for chickens from 8 am to 4 pm and do not bother them unnecessarily - they are busy with important business. If you make a lot of noise and disturb the intimate atmosphere, the chicken will not lay an egg that day.
• Provide a favorable temperature in the chicken coop of + 20-25 0С. If it is very hot, the bird does not feel well, it will constantly run to drink water and try to escape into the street. If it is very cold, it will wait until an acceptable temperature for laying is reached.

In fact, 80% of the egg production of chickens depends on the conditions that you create for them, and not on a particular breed or other, less important factors. Dutch farmers very often turn on music in their chicken coops, mainly by Mozart, and in practice have proven that individuals give 11-14% more eggs than those who just sit in a soundproofed shed under the same conditions of stay. On the territory of the Russian Federation, such methods of increasing egg production are not yet practiced by factories, but the connection between the comfort of a bird and its productivity has long been proven.

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Raising chickens and chickens in private households can provide their owners with fresh eggs and meat all year round. Egg production and muscle mass of chickens directly depend on the conditions of their keeping and the quality of feed.

It is important to choose the right breed of chickens for breeding and how they are kept.

Where to begin?

A novice poultry farmer first of all needs to decide on the goals of breeding domestic chickens. Breeding purposes for chickens can be:

• Obtaining meat;
• Obtaining eggs;
• Breeding and sale of chickens;
• Decorative purposes.

Not only the choice of the breed will depend on the goals set, but also the way of placing the chickens, as well as the number of their livestock.

It is better to purchase one-day-old chicks for breeding from trusted breeders. When buying adult poultry, inexperienced poultry farmers in the markets often sell elderly individuals whose meat is tough, and egg production is low or absent.

Breed selection

If the main purpose of raising chickens is to obtain eggs, then egg breeds of birds should be chosen for breeding. These breeds include:

• Russian whites;
• Kuchinsky jubilee;
• Red white-tailed;
• Loman Brown;
• Rhodonite;
• Leghorn;
• Orlovsky;
• Minorskie.

Chickens of egg breeds lay, starting at six or seven months of age, bringing up to three hundred eggs a year, but they gain relatively small weight - from two to four kilograms, and their meat is suitable only for broth.

Chickens of the Leghorn breed begin to rush from 4 months. The egg production of the German breed Loman Brown reaches 330 eggs per year, but the content of this breed requires good insulation of the chicken coop in the winter. Chickens of the Minor breed do not differ in high egg production (up to 240 eggs per year), but they lay the largest eggs weighing up to 80 grams.

Meat breeds of chickens lay few eggs (about 100 eggs per year), but quickly gain a lot of weight. The average weight of meat chickens is 3.5 to 7 kg.Among the most popular meat breeds are:

• Cochinhin;
• Brahma;
• Dorking;
• Faverol;
• Cornish;
• Malin;
• Orpington.

The Brama breed is popular in Russia because of its good cold tolerance and the ability to quickly adapt to different conditions of detention. The weight of adults reaches five kilograms by the fourth month of feeding.

To obtain dietary meat, Orpington chickens are suitable, since their meat is the most lean and easily digestible among meat breeds.

A compromise option would be the choice of a meat breed for breeding, since chickens of such breeds gain good weight with a relatively high egg production. Meat breeds include:

• May Day;
• Bress Gallic;
• Kuchinskaya;
• Plymouth Rock;
• Sussex.

The most popular meat-and-meat breed is the Bress Gallic because of its good stamina and productivity. The weight of Bress-Gallic chickens reaches 5 kilograms with an egg production of 190 to 220 large eggs per year.

Room selection

The next step after choosing a breed will be choosing a way of keeping chickens. There are three main ways:

• Free-range;
• In nests with an aviary;
• In special cages.

Free range involves keeping chickens in an open hen house with perches and a large layer of bedding. Chickens are free to go outside and walk in the courtyard. This method is suitable for keeping a small number of chickens (up to 20 individuals) in rural areas.

It is undesirable to keep meat breeds in a free range, since due to high mobility, the bird will lose weight and it will be necessary to significantly increase feed costs.

For chickens of egg breeds, free range is more suitable, since mobility has a beneficial effect on the egg production of birds and the abundance of natural food in the form of greens, insects and small pebbles will provide the layers with vitamins and calcium for the shell.

Chicken nests are floor or hanging covered boxes installed in chicken coops. Usually, a small (3 by 5 meters) open-air cage made of metal mesh is attached to such chicken coops for summer poultry walking.

Keeping in nests with an open-air cage is suitable for chickens of egg and meat breeds, as it provides chickens with comfortable conditions for laying eggs and incubating chicks while ensuring moderate mobility. The density of placement of adults in a hen house with nests is from two to four heads per square meter.

Chicken cages have the highest poultry stocking density - up to 12 birds per square meter. A sedentary lifestyle with caged hens allows meat breeds of chickens to gain weight quickly, but is contraindicated in egg breeds, since, due to limited mobility, laying hens are obese and have difficulty laying eggs.

It is important to remember that keeping poultry in cages requires regular disinfection of the cage grids and good ventilation of the room, since a large overcrowding of birds, coupled with high humidity, can lead to the spread of infection and mass death of the chicken population.

Features of keeping hens

It is preferable to keep eggs of the egg breed outdoors or in nests with a small aviary. There are three options for obtaining chicks for reproduction of poultry:

• Buying young animals;
• Hatching in an incubator;
• Incubation by a brood hen.

Buying one day old chicks is a quick and convenient way to increase the number of poultry, but there is a risk of acquiring sick and outbred chickens from unscrupulous breeders. To avoid this, it is necessary to require veterinary control certificates from the seller and pay attention to the appearance of the chickens - they should not be wet or dirty.

Reproduction of chickens with the help of an incubator allows you to get young growth without taking the hens from laying eggs.In incubators, fertilized eggs are kept at a temperature of about 38 degrees for twenty-one days, after which the chicks hatch from the eggs. It should be remembered that using an incubator requires a responsible approach and experience from the poultry farmer.

The most economical way to get chicks is hatching by their brood hen. To incubate chicks, the hen must be provided with peace by placing it at some distance from other layers.

It is important to remember that in order to fertilize eggs, it is necessary to keep a rooster in the livestock, one individual for 8-12 layers.

Feeding and care

To ensure high egg production in layers, it is necessary to follow a number of important rules for their maintenance:

• Comfortable rooms;
• Balanced complex nutrition;
• Correct lighting and ventilation mode;
• Providing protection;
• Disease prevention.

If the birds are kept year-round, the room should be insulated, since at temperatures below +8 degrees, the egg production of chickens drops sharply. For protection from the cold, it is recommended to place the nests in the coop at a certain height from the floor and not to attach them directly to the walls. Using an entrance lobby and infrared heaters will also help keep warm during the winter.

To feed the hens, you can use:

• Homemade compound feed;
• Factory compound feed;
• Hard food.

Grain feed is suitable mainly for open housing, in which laying hens can receive the missing vitamins and microelements from natural natural feed. Compound feed is a mixture of crushed grain with the addition of vitamins, minerals and fiber. With the nesting method of keeping, compound feed is the optimal solution.

It is important to maintain sufficient calcium-rich minerals in the feed for laying hens, which is necessary for the formation of eggshells in the body of the hen, a lack of calcium in the diet can lead to pecking of eggs by the hens.

Perfect for full-fledged feeding of chickens mash Is a compound feed filled with warm water or milk skim. To prepare it, you need to mix the following ingredients:

• Crushed barley - 500 g;
• Sunflower cake - 200 g;
• Meat and bone or fish flour - 80 g;
• Chopped greens - 50 g;
• Boiled chopped carrots 120 g;
• Crushed shell rock - 50 g.

After stirring, pour water (200-300 ml) until a thick crumbly gruel is formed.

Leftovers of uneaten mash cannot be stored for more than an hour, so it is important to calculate the amount of ingredients in advance based on the number of poultry. An adult needs 70-80 grams of finished feed twice a day.

An adult chicken drinks up to half a liter of liquid a day, so drinkers with fresh drinking water should be installed in the chicken coop. Vacuum or nipple drinkers provide metered water intake and do not require maintenance throughout the day.

The presence of a full daylight hours (12-14 hours) maintains good health and high egg production, therefore, when keeping layers in nests, artificial lighting is required at the rate of 100 W per 4 sq. meter of the room. Installing light-sensitive automatic machines and timers will help maintain the light regime in the winter.

When placing an aviary, it is important to take care of the safety of the chickens. Pieces of metal mesh should not have sharp edges that could injure birds. The presence of a strip or pile foundation will help prevent rodents eating eggs from entering the enclosure and chicken coop.

The correct location of the chicken coop and aviary directly affects the egg production of chickens. The basic requirements for a place for placing chickens are as follows:

• Quiet place;
• Elevation;
• Good illumination.

The location of the chicken coop near roads is unacceptable, since the presence of extraneous noise will reduce the productivity of chickens, and representatives of the egg-laying Leghorn breed tend to fall into noise hysteria.

Placing the chicken coop on a hill will help to avoid dampness due to the accumulation of rain or melt water in the aviary or the wetting of the chicken coop bedding.

It is important to remember that the exit door of the chicken coop and the aviary should be located on the south side, and you should also avoid building the coop in the shade of large buildings.

Disease prevention

To avoid contamination of hens by pathogens and parasites, it is important to keep the house moisture level and ventilate well. Ventilation is achieved due to the location of special windows 0.5 by 0.5 meters on the opposite walls of the chicken coop.

To get rid of chickens from skin parasites and feather eaters, it is necessary to install containers with ash and fine river sand in the aviary. In such containers, chickens bathe and clean feathers from insects.

It is useful to add edible salt to the feed once a week as an anthelmintic. Salt is taken at the rate of 5 grams of salt per kilogram of feed.

Features of broiler keeping

Broilers are called chickens raised by the method of rapid intensive feeding in a period not exceeding forty-five days before reaching a weight of 2 kilograms.

Usually, for broiler breeding, they take chickens obtained from crossing the Cornish meat breed and the Plymouthrock meat breed. Broiler chickens resulting from this cross gain weight faster than each beef breed alone, but this ability is not inherited.

Crossbreeding of chickens of different breeds is not within the power of novice poultry farmers, therefore it is better to buy one-day-old broiler chickens from special breeders.

Feeding and care

Broiler chicks do not need roosting, and their active lifestyle can prevent them from gaining weight quickly, so it is preferable to keep them in chicken cages. To maintain normal health and high meat productivity of broilers, the cages for their maintenance must meet the following requirements:

• The walls, floor and roof of the cage are made of steel mesh with a rod thickness of 1.5-2 mm;
• The minimum area of ​​the cage space per individual should be at least 0.08 sq. m;
• The distance between the front rods should be 5 cm wide and 10 cm high;
• The feeder should be located outside the front wall of the cage at a distance of 15-20 cm from the floor of the cage;
• The drinker should be located 8-12 cm above the trough.

It is important to note that the cage floor bars should be at least 2.5 mm thick to prevent the floor from sagging under the weight of the broiler. Unlike nests, it is not recommended to line the bottom of the cages with litter to prevent it from getting wet and rotting.

The optimum temperature for broilers is 18-20 degrees with an air humidity of no more than 60%.

For quick weight gain, broilers need enhanced nutrition with balanced compound feed 3 times a day, the total weight of feed fed per day should be 120-160 grams, since broiler chickens need about 2.5 kilograms of compound feed to gain one kilogram of weight.

Broiler feed should contain at least 60% crushed and whole grain for fast weight gain. For fortification of homemade compound feed, you can use ready-made vitamin supplements that can be purchased on agricultural markets.

Disease prevention

Compliance with the humidity regime is very important for the cage keeping of broilers, since in conditions of crowding and dampness, mold and pathogenic bacteria may develop. There are characteristic signs indicating that the bird is unhealthy:

• Scallop color change;
• Refusal to feed;
• Great restlessness, twisting in place;
• Fearfulness;
• Aggressive behavior.

At the first sign of illness, sick broiler chicks should be immediately isolated from other birds to avoid spreading the infection.

Food from the cage feeder in which a sick individual has been found should be completely disposed of in order to avoid contamination of other birds through saliva. The water in the drinker must also be replaced.

The outer elements of chicken cages should be disinfected daily with a weak sodium hypochlorite solution, and once a week broilers should be transplanted and the cages should be disinfected internally. Trays that collect droppings and debris must be cleaned daily.

Advantages and disadvantages of home keeping chickens

The main advantages of home breeding of layers and broilers include:

• Obtaining natural meat and eggs;
• Personal control over the process of raising chickens;
• The ability to receive additional products.

The meat of chickens raised in a private backyard significantly differs in taste from the purchased one due to better conditions of detention than in large poultry farms. At home, birds are not overfed with antibiotics and growth hormones, as a result of which the meat of such birds is more suitable for dietary nutrition.

Owners of subsidiary farms can receive additional profit by selling chicken feathers for filling pillows and chicken manure as a valuable organic fertilizer.

It should be understood that keeping chickens at home requires constant monitoring by the poultry farmer, even when using modern automatic equipment, the installation of which is not cheap. Therefore, it makes sense to breed chickens at home if done with the expectation of year-round maintenance in the long term.

Thus, the domestic method of breeding chickens is suitable for persons who permanently live in their house with a land plot and is economically inexpedient for summer residents who spend only summer in their house.

Chicken meat, chicken eggs are healthy foods that everyone has on the table. Therefore, raising chickens is not only a profitable business, but also a payback. However, before deciding to start breeding chickens, it is still worthwhile to study in detail all the nuances of breeding chickens, keeping and growing.

In this article we will talk about raising chickens at home for beginners, learn how to raise chickens, why chickens vilify, what to give broilers for diarrhea and other pressing issues.

How to choose chicks when buying?

Raising chickens from an incubator at home is a profitable business, because in addition to meat and eggs, bird feathers and manure can be successfully used as an organic fertilizer. But in order for this business to be beneficial, it is necessary to choose the right chickens.

The best time to buy chickens is April-May.... It is advisable to purchase day old chicks. It is better to buy chicks at poultry farms, because in these places there are guarantees that the individuals are healthy and strong. However, in order to choose chickens, you need to know the nuances of selection depending on the age of the individuals.

Daily

In order not to be mistaken and to purchase healthy day old chicks during the purchase, you need to pay attention to a number of criteria for the appearance of young individuals:

1. The chick must be dryhealthy and active;
2. The down should not be sticky. In appearance, he must be fluffy, free from dirt and foreign debris;
3. At the day-old calves at the time of sale the umbilical cord must be overgrown;
4. Be sure to carefully examine the umbilical cord. If there are secretions on it, then this young growth is not worth buying. Discharge is the first sign of an infectious disease;
5. The cloaca must be clean, pink in color with a moist texture. There should be no dirt, traces of droppings on it;
6. The chicks should have reaction to sounds;
7. The back should be straight;
8. The head should be straight;
9. Smooth and correct beak with a pigmented structure.

Newly hatched broiler chicks

Weekly

Sometimes poultry farmers buy one week old chicks to save money and time. However, this is not always the correct and correct decision. Young individuals at this age are susceptible to diseases. In addition, their body is weak and weak.

But if you do decide to purchase weekly chickens, you should consider the following selection criteria:

• Individuals must be active and healthy;
• The plumage should be fluffy without dirt, traces of droppings;
• The abdomen should be soft to the touch;
• The head is straight, proportional;
• The beak is straight with a pigmented structure;
• Good response to sounds;
• Should already be worked out pecking reflex;
• The wings should be tightly attached to the body;
• The cloaca should be clean, pink and free from dirt and secretions.

Monthly

Chicks one month old are rarely purchased for divorce. Still, some farmers believe that during this period, individuals survive better and they have developed immunity to infectious diseases... Perhaps this is so, but you should not trust this criterion. Sometimes monthly individuals get sick much more often.

In any case, the criteria for choosing monthly chicks are the same:

1. Activity and mobility;
2. Good response to sounds;
3. Plumage - fluffy, without dirt, droppings, with a smooth structure;
4. The abdomen should have a soft texture to the touch;
5. The head must be level and proportional;
6. The beak should have an even outline with a pigmented structure;
7. The chicks should already have a well-developed pecking reflex;
8. It is worth paying attention to the wings, they should be tightly pressed to the body;
9. The cloaca should be clean, pink, and free from droppings and secretions.

Newly hatched chicks in the pen

Is it better to grow with a hen or in an incubator?

Features of hatching chickens with a hen for beginners

How to grow a chicken from an egg at home without an incubator? Some experienced farmers prefer hatching eggs under a hen because it is a natural process.

It is worth noting that identifying a chicken that is ready to hatch is straightforward. It is advisable to pay attention to the behavior of chickens. If suddenly the chicken does not get out of the nest for a long time or stays there for the night, then this probably indicates that the instinct of incubation has awakened in it.

But do not immediately lay eggs under it, it is advisable to observe the behavior of the individual for some time... It is necessary to let the chicken sit. A ready-made chicken for incubation, when pulled out of the nest, emits bubbling sounds and is torn with all its might back to incubation in the nest. In this case, raising day-old chicks at home will be quite economical.

Depending on the weight of the individual, 11 to 21 eggs are laid under it. The incubation area must be separated from the rest of the chickens. You can use a separate cage for the nesting site, or place the nest in a dark corner of the chicken coop.

Be sure to feed the henso that she does not die of hunger and exhaustion, which often happens. It is necessary to forcefully remove the chicken from the nest and feed and water it 2 times a day.

Chicks with a hen hatch in 20-21 days. Sometimes there are cases when a brood hen, without waiting for complete hatching, can throw the remaining eggs and go for a walk with the already hatched individuals. Therefore, to prevent these unpleasant problems, those individuals that have already hatched are placed in a box or in a warm place, a lamp is first installed above them. On days 22-23, the family unites.

Pros:

• Natural process;
• High survival rate;
• Chicks from the moment of hatching and in the subsequent period are together with the hen;
• Economical. This method will require fairly low financial costs.

Minuses:

• Long process;
• Low number of hatching chicks per season;
• There is a likelihood of pecking eggs by a brood hen during incubation;
• Chicks can be hatched in this way only once a season and only in warm weather.

Feeding broiler chicks hatched in an incubator

Features of raising chickens in an incubator at home and feeding them

Breeding chickens using an incubator is in great demand and the advantages of growing chickens after an incubator speak for this, among which the main ones should be highlighted:

1. Beneficial use. In one season, the incubator is used up to 10 times;
2. Simple use... This device is easy to handle, does not need to be fed, watered, and there is no need to worry that the brood hen will peck the eggs;
3. You can lay from 50 eggs and more at a time;
4. Breeding chicks all year round... These devices provide all the functions that provide output in winter and summer.

Depending on the function, incubators are mechanical, manual and automatic.

In a manual incubator, each egg is turned manually... The use of a mechanical incubator is almost the same as that of a hand held device. However, in this type of incubator, turning is carried out not for one egg, but all at once. In addition, compliance with humidity and temperature control in both types of devices lies entirely with the owner.

But devices with automatic turning of eggs greatly simplify the life of the farmer, because they have a digital thermostat. During the laying of eggs, it is required to set a certain temperature, and it remains stable during the subsequent incubation period.

If the temperature regime rises or falls sharply, then the mechanism makes a sharp sound... In addition, the eggs are turned every hour, which prevents the embryo from sticking to the shell, and increases the percentage of chick survival. However, these devices are expensive. But this is the only way you can raise healthy chickens.

Correct management of newly hatched broilers

Conditions of detention

Premises

Keeping chickens out of the hatchery at home is easy. Remember a few rules for caring for a chicken house:

1. An important condition of the room is cleanliness. Be sure to clean up the place where the chicks are kept every day, remove garbage, uneaten food. Otherwise, infections can quickly appear in an uncleaned room;
2. If litter is available in the house, it is regularly changed. It should always be clean and dry;
3. It is not advisable that a large number of poultry be present in the place of detention. It is important to provide the youngsters with free space so that they can walk freely, run, fully exercise all motor functions;
4. Number of livestock keeping directly depends on the area of ​​the place for keeping chicks.

You should not constantly keep chicks indoors. Regularly, you need to take the bird population outside for walking, but preferably at 2 months of age. Fresh air, obtaining additional green fodder are the main conditions for the full functioning of all digestive organs of the bird.

Light

The second important condition for keeping chicks is light. The length of daylight hours depends on the age of the young.

From the first days of a chicken's life, it is necessary to maintain the duration of daylight hours at least 18 hours... This value is then reduced to 10 hours before the chicks reach 4 months of age.

These indicators do not depend on the type of chicken breed. In addition, it does not matter what the poultry is grown for - for eggs or meat, this indicator should remain unchanged. The duration of daylight hours in winter can be maintained by the presence of additional lighting in the room where the individuals are kept.

Temperature for breeding healthy individuals

Temperature parameters depend on the age of the bird:

• For diurnal individuals up to 5 days of age, a suitable temperature regime in the room is considered to be up to +32 degrees Celsius;
• With the onset of 6 days of life and up to 9 days, the temperature gradually decreases to +28 degrees Celsius;
• From day 10 to day 20, the temperature regime is reduced by another 3 degrees +25 degrees Celsius;
• In the subsequent period, the temperature should be maintained from +20 degrees to 24 degrees Celsius.

Maintaining an optimal temperature level can be ensured by using lamps for lighting. In winter, additional heaters can be installed.

Food

What to give in the first days of life

Chick feeding should be started immediately after hatching.... But still it is worth waiting for a while for them to dry out, to get a little stronger.

A small amount of corn grits should be poured into a feeder with a flat base or simply on the bottom of the box. This cereal has a fine structure, so this food will be most suitable for newborn chicks.

Do not give crushed yolk to newborn chickens. This product has a high fat content. Also, many veterinarians note that this food does not exert proper stress on the muscular structure of the stomach of a newborn chicken. As a result, the formation and structure of the walls of the stomach is disrupted. If roughage is given after this meal, it can cause indigestion.

Feeding day old chicks

The diet of diurnal individuals, in contrast to newly hatched chicks, is already more varied. In addition to corn grits, individuals can be given other types of feed:

1. Semolina;
2. Barley groats;
3. Millet;
4. Ground oat flakes;
5. Wheat groats.

The feeding process for day old chicks should be done every two hours.... Feed should be given in small portions. It is advisable not to mix cereals, otherwise some individuals will begin to choose their favorite food and will only eat it. Therefore, it is best to give feed mixtures individually and dry.

For full-fledged growth and development, chicks should be given other components in addition to cereals. For young individuals, cottage cheese is very useful. Thanks to this product, the body of chickens is saturated with nitrogenous substances and calcium. Cottage cheese can be given from 2-3 days after the emergence of chicks in the morning, pre-mixing with cereals.

Organization of feeding of grown chickens

It is worth remembering that dairy products provide high value for babies... Instead of water, you can pour whey, liquid kefir into the drinker. On the third day, individuals can be fed with greens. For food, you can use plantain, clover, dandelion, nettle, biting. On the 5th day, green onions should be introduced. Green onions have a beneficial effect - they provide high protection for the body against various intestinal diseases.

Weekly

Individuals of one week of age can already begin to give a mixture of corn, barley, oat and wheat groats. The cereals are mixed in equal proportions - 1: 1.

Additionally, chopped herbs and dairy products can be added to the mixture. During this period, individuals can already be fed less often, but the portions should be large. Up to 4-5 feedings should be received per day.

Period

From a month or more, chicks are released outside for walking. For this reason, the diet during this period is green. Through the use of herbs and other greens, individuals receive the vitamins necessary for their growing body.

Besides coarsely ground grain is introduced into the diet of individual layers... From a month and a half, adults should eat whole grains. You can give meat and bone meal and food waste.

How to determine the gender of a chicken: chicken or rooster?

In the egg

How to identify a chicken from a rooster in an egg? Not many poultry farmers will be satisfied when, after hatching, the percentage of males will be almost 80-90%.Therefore, in these cases, the method of determining the sex of a cock or a chicken by egg is used. It would seem that this task is difficult and almost impossible, but this is far from the case.

To determine the sex of the egg, recommendations will help:

• First you need take an egg in your right hand, while the sharp end of the egg should be directed upwards;
• Further run your left finger along the top of it;
• If a ring and tubercles are observed at the upper end, then these criteria indicate that a cockerel will appear. If the top of the egg has a smooth structure - a chicken.

Hatching chicks with a brood hen

At day-old

How to distinguish a chicken from a cockerel at one day of age? At one day of age, sexual characteristics do not appear at all clearly, so it is quite difficult to determine the sex. Females usually have more luxuriant plumage., but males, on the contrary, are scarce, in some places they can be without fluff.

At 2 months

How to tell a rooster from a chicken at 2 months old? At this age, gender can be determined using several methods:

• By plumage... Individuals with abundant plumage are females, and those with poor plumage are males;
• By this age, the cockerels have a comb, the beard turns red, and the face is rounded;
• In cockerels, legs become longer, spurs can already be seen on them;
• In males, overgrown plaits appear on the tail.

At 3 and 4 months

How to distinguish a rooster from a chicken at 3 or 4 months At the age of 3 months, sex determination of individuals is much easier, in roosters you can see the following external characteristics:

1. The scallop becomes bright in color;
2. The crest, beard and earrings become large;
3. The legs become high;
4. Spurs are already clearly visible on the legs;
5. The tail has long braids.

Methods for determination in poultry farms

In addition to traditional methods for determining the sex of chickens, there are other methods that are commonly used in poultry farms. These methods help to determine the gender with the greatest probability.

Cytogenetic way

How can a cockerel be distinguished from a chicken by this method? This method is based on the determination of the age by the karyotype of the fast-acting cells of the feather pulp. Usually in males who are not even a month old, the Z chromosome acts as the longest metacentric.

In females, the number of these chromosomes is 10 times less; W-chromosomes - submetacentric - predominate in their bodies. If, during the analysis, it is found that the Z-chromosome is present in the body in a single copy, then this is a chicken, if there are a lot of these chromosomes, then a cockerel.

Sex determination of chicks by different methods

DNA

This method of how to distinguish chicks from females from cockerels allows you to determine the sex of the chicks with the greatest probability. It is based on blot hybridization of blood DNA with a primer.

The juvenile can be identified with high accuracy using the analysis of samples or whole blood, washed erythrocytes. The disadvantages of this method include high cost and labor intensity.

On the wings

Determining gender using this method:

1. The first way is inspecting the color of the wings... At the age of 2-3 days, the wings of the chicks are examined - in males they are slightly lighter than in females;
2. The second way is in counting feathers... It is necessary to pull the wing of the chick and spread it. Chickens fledge first, for this reason 6-7 primary feathers are large in size, unlike others. But males have all the same feathers.

To size

The sex of the chicks is determined depending on their size. Typically, a high-precision balance is used for this method. If an individual has a large enough mass for its age, then it is a cockerel. If the mass is small, then this is a female. Usually the difference in weight is about 5 grams.

How to tell the sex of a hen by color?

Determination of sex by color of plumage is mainly used for purebred individuals:

• Running shoes... At about the age of 1 day, sexual characteristics are determined: beige is typical for females, and white for males;
• Autosex breeds... Chickens have monochromatic colors - gray, white, black, and males have stripes;
• Brahmas... Females have distinct stripes on the back and points on the head. Males also have stripes and dots, but they are slightly blurred;
• Rhode Island and New Hampshire breeds. On the second day after hatching, dark spots and stripes can be seen on the head of females; males do not have these characteristics;
• Adler silver. Females are yellow in color, and males are lemon with a black stripe on their heads.

Japanese method

This method of sex determination of chicks is used in many poultry farms. The accuracy of this method is almost 95%. However, to implement this method, you need to have special skills.

Before you start sex determination using this method, it is worth understanding the structure of the chicks' genitals and finding out their differences.

Males can be separated from females by detecting a tubercle in the anus, which is absent in future chickens:

1. First of all, the chick's cloaca is cleaned of traces of droppings;
2. Next, the individual should be taken in the palm of your hand, turned over, paws apart so that the cloaca is clearly visible;
3. The hole must be pushed apart, at the same time you need to press on the abdomen. As a result of these manipulations, the internal structure of the cloaca will be clearly visible.

External differences between the cloaca of females and males:

• In females, the cloaca looks like a neat nodule without bulges;
• In males, a genital tubercle is quite often found.

To avoid unpleasant consequences, this method should only be carried out by an experienced poultry breeder or farmer.

Arranging a place for newly hatched chicks

Reflex

how to distinguish chicks by sex using this method? This gender determination method is performed in two ways:

1. You should take the chick by the scruff of the neck and look behind the legs for a while. Usually chickens try to curl their legs, and clench the claws. At the same time, it raises the paws a little. And the bettas, on the contrary, do not twist their legs, and do not move them, they hang in an even position;
2. You can, on the contrary, take the chick by the legs and look behind the position of the head. Chickens usually lift their heads up., and the cockerels, on the contrary, hang without moving.

How to distinguish a cock from a chicken by voice?

Usually this method is used by the Orpington and Cochin peoples. The voice of males is the most coarse, similar to a quack. In females, on the contrary, the voice is softer, they mostly squeak. This method does not always allow you to accurately determine the sex characteristics of individuals. It is mainly used by experienced poultry farmers.

How do you determine your age?

Usually the age of chicks is determined by the plumage. It is advisable to remember the features of plumage depending on age:

• Between 8 and 12 days of age, feathering appears in the shoulder area;
• In the period from 12 to 16 days, feathers appear on the crop and breast;
• In chicks of three weeks of age, the first molt is observed, while all the fluff falls out of the tail;
• At the end of the fifth week, flight feathers grow, and feathers appear on the back of the body;
• At six weeks of age, the head and lower body are covered with a feather;
• Full plumage is observed at the age of 3 months.

Diseases of chickens

Chickens, as well as chicks of other bird species, are susceptible to various diseases. The following diseases are most common:

1. Avitominosis;
2. Poisoning;
3. Digestive disorders;
4. Salmonellosis;
5. Coccidosis;
6. Typhus and many others.

In order to properly treat diseases, it is worth knowing what symptoms are characterized by diseases in chickens.

Diarrhea in chickens

Why broilers vilify chickens is sometimes quite difficult to figure out. Below, let's try to figure out and understand all the reasons for this phenomenon.

White diarrhea in broilers: can it be cured?

Quite often, chickens develop white diarrhea. It is also called pullorosis.This disease usually occurs in an acute form and quickly affects the fragile intestines of chickens. The causative agent of this disease is a bacillus called salmonella. The disease usually spreads at a high rate, in a few days almost all birds can get sick.

White diarrhea in broiler chicks

How to cure diarrhea in chickens? For prophylaxis, you need to clean the room of debris, disinfect everything. It is also imperative to check the room temperature and ventilation.

Recovered individuals are subject to destruction. Meat from sick birds should not be eaten.

Yellow diarrhea in broilers: why it occurs and how to treat it?

This diarrhea can occur during infectious diseases, as well as if the conditions of detention are not observed. Sometimes yellow droppings are seen in Gumboro disease. In these cases, an examination and testing are carried out.

Besides yellow diarrhea can result from stress, hypothermia, due to poor quality feed. In these cases, folk remedies are used for treatment and the premises are disinfected.

Yellow diarrhea in chickens

Bloody diarrhea in chickens: a symptom of what diseases?

Bloody diarrhea usually occurs with coccidiosis. This disease is dangerous and often leads to the death of the entire bird population. This disease occurs due to poor hygiene, namely, untimely cleaning of the room. This disease affects the intestines. In addition to diarrhea, the following conditions are observed:

• Loss of appetite;
• Lethargy, inactivity;
• Tousled plumage;
• Impurities of blood and mucus appear in the droppings.

How to treat if chickens have bloody diarrhea? For treatment and prevention, it is necessary to clean and disinfect the premises in a timely manner, vaccinate and give the appropriate chemicals.

Light brown diarrhea in broiler chickens and its treatment

Broilers have brown diarrhea with eimeriosis. This disease is caused by various parasitic protozoa that accumulate in the intestines of chickens or hens. Infection usually occurs through food, dirty bedding, gadfly.

Symptoms of the disease:

1. Individuals sit in one place with closed eyes;
2. Tousled plumage;
3. The wings are hanging to the floor;
4. Lack of appetite;
5. Brown diarrhea with mucus.

The disease is determined during the study. Treatment is best done at an early stage. For treatment, drugs are used - coccidiostatics.

Light brown diarrhea in chickens

Chickens vilify green

Green diarrhea can occur with pasteurellosis disease. In this case, examinations, analyzes are carried out. If the diagnosis is confirmed, then appropriate treatment is prescribed.

In the absence of pasteurellosis, green diarrhea can cause poor-quality expired feed. In this case, the treatment is carried out using adsorbing agents (activated carbon). Suspicious feed must be disposed of and only high quality feed provided.

Green diarrhea in chickens

Worms

Chickens often have such an unpleasant disease as helminthiasis. This condition poses a particular danger, and in almost 50% of cases, if not treated promptly, it leads to death. Signs of worms in chickens are severe emaciation.

The main danger of this disease is that it affects all individuals in the same room. Worms are excreted along with the droppings of affected individuals and, together with food, enter the body of healthy individuals.

What to do if chickens develop worms? In order to save the entire population of birds, you need to plant infected chicks in time, clean the room, remove all bedding and disinfect everything. Infected individuals should be given antihelminthic drugs and nutritious food. Medicine for worms in chickens should be given as early as possible.

Disease prevention

Preventive measures for various diseases of chickens include the following recommendations:

• Timely cleaning and disinfection of the premises saline solutions, caustic soda, bleach;
• Compliance with the density of livestock in the poultry house. It is desirable that the number of chicks in one room be moderate;
• Quality feed with a high nutrient content;
• It is imperative to equip the ventilation of the room;
• Compliance with the temperature regime of the room;
• Soldering birds with drugs against infectious diseases;
• Timely vaccination.

Breeding chickens is a laborious process that requires a lot of responsibility. In order for the livestock to be healthy, it is imperative to follow all the rules of keeping. The main condition for the full growth and development of chicks is care and attention!

Now you know how to raise chickens at home, how to treat chickens, what to do if chickens develop worms, and how to treat diarrhea in chickens and adults. Follow all recommendations and watch out for chicks.

And a video on how to feed chickens:

Chicken and eggs are the most popular foods in the daily diet. Therefore, raising chickens for their own consumption and for sale takes a leading position in the farm. Against the background of a wide variety of breeds, the choice depends on the intended purpose. For novice poultry growers only, the complexity goes beyond the technical aspects. While it is easier for professional breeders to get started, since there are enough laying hens, then beginners do not have this opportunity. So the only way out is to purchase eggs for incubation or young animals.

• IMPORTANT TO KNOW! Do not cut "fungal" nails! Nail fungus is eliminated as follows: treat the nails with the usual ...

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1 How to choose chicks?

In order to start a business from scratch in the hope of success and the long term, the farmer should choose the breed responsibly. Depending on the desired result, chickens are divided into meat, universal and egg. The first category is grown for the sake of delicious dietary meat. Egg production suffers at the same time. For beginners, it is advisable to dwell on the egg and meat variety. In the future, you can expand and diversify the livestock.

It is recommended to purchase chickens only from trusted suppliers or from large poultry farms.

Among the egg breeds, the most popular are: Loman Brown, White Russians, Kuchin Jubilee, Orlov, Rhodonite, Leghorn. They start laying eggs from 6-7 months and produce about 300 eggs per year. At the same time, they gain a small weight, on average 2–4 kg. The meat is harsh, suitable only for broths.

Meat representatives include Brama, Cochinhin, Orpington, Cornish, Dorking. They rush a little, but the meat yield is solid, 4–7 kg. Brama is distinguished for its resistance to cold climatic conditions, which is important for middle regions. The best option is considered meat and egg breeds, such as Kuchin, May Day, Plymouth Rock, Sussex, Bress-Gali.

When buying chickens, first of all, they pay attention to external indicators. Healthy young growth:

• agile, lively;
• reacts to external stimuli;
• stands firmly on its feet;
• has a neat appearance, soft fluff;
• knows how to drink and peck independently;
• the belly is tucked up, the umbilical cord is clean;
• eyes are shiny, black;
• the wings fit snugly to the body.

To transport the brood to the place of detention, take a cardboard box, and a soft bedding is laid on the bottom. The optimum temperature inside is at least 26 ° C.

Growing, keeping and caring for turkeys at home in detail for beginners

2 Leaving for the first time

The first days of housing impose a special responsibility on the poultry farmer. To keep the entire composition intact, you must adhere to certain conditions:

• temperature regime;
• high-quality feeding;
• a sufficient amount of water for drinking;
• comfortable conditions.

At first, chickens are kept in cardboard or wooden boxes, where it is dry and warm... If earlier they were used for their intended purpose, then before the new settlement they are disinfected. Something non-slip is lined at the bottom so as not to injure the chicks. Maintain the humidity of the environment in the range of 60–70%. Since babies do not have thermoregulation, approximate temperature conditions are created after the incubator. It is gradually lowered for painless adaptation.

It is necessary to create round-the-clock lighting and heating. This will help artificial incandescent lamps. Set at a height of 40-50 cm, so that the chicks are freely located under them or move aside if it's hot. To control the microclimate, a thermometer is fixed. How birds feel can be assessed visually. If they huddle together, it means that they are cold. When they move around calmly, eat with appetite, everything is normal. Feeders and drinkers are regularly cleaned and changed to prevent infection in chicks' fragile bodies.

Initially, the temperature in the brooder should be at least 36 ° C. Decrease by one degree every 3 days. At 7 days of age, chicks tolerate temperatures of 30–31 ° C. It is permissible to transfer a weekly brood to a common chicken coop, to a specially equipped place. The decrease in temperature continues, and by two months they stop at 18–20 ° C. Heated for up to one and a half months, if necessary. To accustom the chicks to darkness, the light is switched off daily for 15–20 minutes. Thus, they go out to 18-hour daylight hours.

Cleanliness in the poultry house will be the key to the health and full development of birds. Crowding is unacceptable, per 1 sq. m accommodate no more than 12 heads. 7–8 days after birth, you can already release the young for a walk. Sunbathing has a beneficial effect on growth, prevents rickets.

The first walks last no more than 30 minutes. Subsequently, the young will be able to spend most of the day outdoors. For convenience and safety, a fenced enclosure with a canopy is being built.

Growing ostriches at home for beginners

3 Incubation of eggs

If you want to independently remove chickens from purchased eggs, you need an incubator - a special unit in which acceptable conditions are created for the formation of chicks. For the development of the egg content without deviations, it is not only a certain temperature and humidity that is important, but also a regular change in the location of the egg. The hen spins eggs up to 10 times a day. Small incubators do not have this function, so you will have to resort to the manual method. For home use, it is enough to purchase an apparatus for 40-50 eggs.

Conditions for correct hatching of chicks in an incubator:

• In order not to confuse the sides when rolling the eggs, markings are made.
• An egg no older than three days is suitable for incubation, otherwise the success of the enterprise is doubtful.
• On the first day, eggs are placed in a warm incubator and do not turn over for 24 hours.
• Eggs are periodically shifted from the edges to the middle. This is due to the lower side temperatures.
• On the 19th day, the temperature is lowered from 39 ° C to 37 ° C, they stop twisting.

Chicks hatch 20–22 days after laying. Even if there are layers, an incubator on the farm will not be superfluous. Then you don't have to distract the chickens from laying eggs.

Geese linda: characteristics of the breed and growing at home

4 Feeding

Adequate and balanced nutrition plays a key role in the subsequent growth and development of birds. Chickens are able to peck independently on the eighth day of life. Menu for the first days:

• For 4 days, give a finely chopped boiled egg.
• Gradually, boiled millet is introduced, which, in terms of the grain size, is ideal for gripping with small beaks. First, it is mixed with an egg, then in pure form.
• Wheat and corn are added to the mash.Oats and barley are not recommended, which are difficult to digest before the age of 1 month. Can become a source of gastrointestinal diseases.
• High-quality feed formulations are permissible from the third day after birth.
• Green vitamin supplement - alfalfa, nettle, clover, carrot.
• Fermented milk products - cottage cheese, whey, milk powder.
• Meat and bone meal, alternative to which is meat waste and earthworms.
• Wood ash is mixed in an amount of 0.5 g per unit.

For better digestion, a container with pebbles and crushed shells is installed in the chicken house. The initial 10 days are fed at intervals of 2 hours, then increased to 4, then to 6 hours. In order not to create a crush, they are taught to take feed by scattering in the right place. If the chickens are in good health, they tend to sleep after eating.

When the chicks are feeding, it is necessary to keep an eye on it. Weakened individuals are seated separately so that others do not oppress them. So they will quickly return to normal and it will be possible to return them. Boiled water is poured for drinking. Drinking bowls are equipped with a restriction along the edge so that the fluff does not get wet. A cropped plastic bottle installed upside-down will do. As the water level decreases, it refills again.

5 Raising broiler chickens

Broiler chicks are handled differently. Here the emphasis is on intensive feeding. Chickens gain 1.5–2 kg of live weight already at 2 months. From birth, chickens are kept in a heap, 1 sq. m of space accommodate about 15 heads. Until slaughter, the dimensions of the room remain unchanged. The feeders are distributed taking into account 3 cm of free access per chick.

The temperature regime is left the same for the entire growing period, since broilers are especially demanding on heat. It is equally important to correctly adjust the illumination: for 5 days, the lamps are turned on around the clock, they gradually begin to reduce the daylight hours to 18 hours. Food in the feeders is needed all the time so that the young can eat at any time. A balanced feed is suitable, with a sufficient amount of vitamins and mineral supplements.

This method is called intensive. When broilers are extensively bred at home, feeding alternates with walking in the summer. Use standard feeds.

6 Under the hen

Raising bird offspring under a laying hen is a proven and effective way. The mother chicken takes better care of the kids, always warms and feeds. This is more convenient for the farmer, since it is much easier to care for the chickens.

For such purposes, adult sexually mature individuals are acquired, with experience and a good incubation instinct. If you plan to lay eggs from the incubator, pre-test the layers. At night, when she sits on her eggs, they lay 1–2 strangers. If she did not refuse to sit on them, the next day they add the rest.

The amount to be heated depends on the season: in spring, 15 eggs are enough, in summer, in hot weather it will be able to hatch 20.

The newborns are left for a short while near the mother, then carried away under the lamp. After complete drying and acclimatization, they are returned back or grown independently. The first days the frequency of feeding is at least 5 times.

Private chicken breeding is beneficial for rural residents, since summer residents are outside the city only in summer. It will not make a profit, although it will allow you to pamper your family with delicious and fresh products. In addition, it will not be possible to grow young animals uncontrollably. Even with modern equipment, the constant presence of a farmer is required. With a responsible and competent approach, appropriate care and feeding of chickens, business will only flourish.