We grow broilers at home on porridge

A broiler is a beef or hybrid chicken that requires special care. Experts advise how to feed broilers at home in order to get dietary meat. It is important to provide the bird with proper care from the first days of life until slaughter.

Features of growing broilers

A bird that has just hatched from an egg needs warmth and light. The manger should be 30 C, the light should be on around the clock, there should be a drinking bowl with water and food in the form of crumbs from egg yolk, millet. In the first two weeks, chicks peck continuously and grow rapidly. In the dark, food is not visible.

The chick enclosure should be light-colored and the bedding should be soft and clean. Broilers do not need space. While the chickens are small, 18 pieces will fit in one square meter, up to 10 adult birds will remain on this patch. But at the same time, there should be good ventilation. Gradually, as the birds mature, the corral is expanded. Broiler chickens do not need walks, they are not allowed into the yard, and the effectiveness of weight gain decreases.

Another method is the cage keeping of broilers for fattening meat at home. Then many more individuals can be accommodated in a small area. Slaughter of birds begins after 8 weeks. The marketable carcass by this time weighs about 2 kg, the meat is tender, dietary. After five months, keeping poultry for meat is unprofitable. Diet properties are lost, fattening does not give a quick weight gain.

If there is no opportunity to purchase chickens, several hens and a cockerel are left to lay eggs for breeding. For good survival, it is best to buy ten day old broilers.

Proper feeding of broiler chickens at home

The owner of broilers in a subsidiary farm always has a choice whether to feed the poultry with fodder from the backyard and garden or use factory-made compound feed. In poultry farms, livestock are fed only with feed supplemented with growth hormones and antibiotics to prevent diseases. Therefore, it is up to the owner to decide how to feed broilers at home, with mixtures prepared according to the recommended diet, or with compound feed. Only meat grown on green grass, dairy, grain products cooked on your own will be tastier and healthier.

There are stages in the development of a bird, for each of which a different feeding ration is selected:

• how to feed broiler chickens from birth;
• feeding ration after 20 days;
• the second and subsequent months of feeding broilers.

For rapid weight gain, the chicks are intensively fed and watered. The fattening period is accompanied by watering. For every kilogram of food eaten, 1.7 liters of clean warm water should be drunk. Every week, a pink solution of potassium permanganate is added to the morning portion of water.

When feeding broilers, the grass is mowed for them and finely chopped. Celandine should not get into the collection, it is poisonous. Per day, young chickens eat a total of 1 kg of feed per flock per day. Every day the consumption increases and amounts to about 6 kg for feeding. At the same time, 7 days chickens are fed 8 times, then a week - 6 times, up to 20 days - 5 times, menstruation - in the morning and in the evening. However, at home, food in the form of a cut and boiled vegetables can be given more often, its calorie content is lower than compound feed.

When chicks are feathering, they should include fresh cabbage leaves in their diet. They contain the element sulfur required by chickens during this period.

If you do not follow the rules of how to feed broilers at home, time and money will be wasted. Therefore, you need to follow the recommendations of specialists.

How to reduce the consumption of compound feed when feeding broilers

In the household there is always food waste, root crops, green grass and cereals, cuts from them, in pharmacies you can buy the necessary vitamins and supplements. How to feed broilers for fast growth at home?

Five recipes for raising a healthy herd:

1. Use fermented cereal mixtures. To do this, add 200-300 g of pressed baker's yeast to the cereal mixture, dilute everything in 15 liters of water, heat for 6 hours to improve fermentation. Then add greens and boiled root vegetables up to 30 kg of total weight. Use fresh feed, avoiding souring. The proportions can be reduced depending on the number of heads to be fed. You can give a yeast mixture of cereals without greens, but add crushed potatoes.
2. Wet mash is made from crushed grains, small cereals, crushed and soaked bread crumbs and crusts, cereals, herbs and boiled potatoes. The more varied the composition, the better it is eaten. Can broilers be fed with one boiled potato? Occasionally, chicks can be pampered, making the menu varied.
3. For feeding at home, you must use dairy products. The milk is poured fresh, not sour. It is also good to add reverse, cottage cheese, buttermilk, whey, but do not mix with milk. At the same time, you can give cereals.
4. Fresh greens can be fed not only in cut form. To prevent the bird from throwing it out of the feeder, not trampling it, you can hang brooms from fresh greens: dandelion, sow thistle, clover, alfalfa. Can spurge be given to broilers? For them, this is a delicacy. When kept in winter, seedlings of cereal crops - wheat, barley, will become green fodder.
5. Compliance with cleanliness. Sour food should not be given to birds. Feeders need to be scalded frequently. The food should not be available for eating by wild birds or rodents. They can carry disease.

Feeding chicks up to one month of age

At the nursery age, laying hens and broilers chickens develop on the same feed. At this time, a mash of millet, chicken egg yolk with the addition of crushed grains of the "Artek" type is made up. The grain mixture is 60% of the total composition. The box should contain water and a temperature of about 30 degrees.

When kept in cages, the temperature must be kept higher, since the chicks do not have the opportunity to choose a place. A sign of coldness is when the chickens form a heap. If it's hot, the chicks lie with their wings stretched out. The temperature gradually decreases from 34 degrees to 18.

On the third day, chopped greens, seedlings, grass flour are added to the feed, 5 g per head. From the fifth day, cottage cheese and dairy products appear on the menu. One-week-old chickens are fed with grated carrots and pumpkin. Pumpkin is needed as an anthelmintic agent, but not more than 5 g per chick.

From the third to the twentieth day, when feeding broilers, it is necessary to use the Startovy compound feed, which contains balanced and easily digestible vitamins for chicks.

From 20 days onwards, it is necessary to add unmilled cereals and mineral supplements in the form of shell rock, shells, bone meal to broilers feeding. Once a week, pebbles are added to the mash to grind food in the stomach. Birds greedily pounce on food at every feeding.

At the same time, they seek out tidbits, part of the food, throwing it out of the trough. It is better to fill the trough by a third, gradually adding a portion. If the chicks were fed correctly, by the month they should weigh 500-700 grams.

Lighting should be around the clock in the first weeks, but dim. The lamp can be painted green, red. Bright lighting can cause pecking

Monthly chicks are already picky, it's time for feeding. How to feed broiler chickens in 1 month? Now 20% of cereals can be replaced with crushed potatoes. The cereal mixture consists of whole grains:

• corn, soybeans and sunflower flour - 20% each;
• barley - 10%;
• wheat - 25%;
• peas - 5%.

A prerequisite for gaining weight quickly will be the use of the five tips published above. It is quite possible to grow about a hundred kilograms of dietary meat in the country for the winter.

Selection of food for broilers - video

Broilers are undoubtedly one of the most popular breeding options for meat chicken breeds. High productivity, fast weight gain, phlegmatic character, excellent meat quality - these are important distinguishing features of these breeds. But along with the benefits and an abundance of quality products, the breeder will face problems and specific nuances in the breeding process that require increased attention and diligence on his part. Let's try to understand all the intricacies of the process called: broilers - growing at home, feeding, note the main pros and cons of broiler breeding.

Broilers - main breeds

Broiler breed KOBB-500

Broiler is a representative of crosses, a hybrid of meat breeds (Kohinin, Plymouthrock, Langshan, etc.). The most common color is white, almost all breeds have a wide chest and strong legs, they carry few eggs. Difference and peculiarity of the broiler: genetically based rapid weight gain with relatively low feed costs (from 1.8 to 3 kg per kilogram of weight), which allows a month-old chick to weigh up to 2.5 kilograms. A healthy chick gains daily (depending on the breed) from 30 to 80 grams of weight. All breeds are distinguished by increased vitality, calm character, pale skin typical for most broiler crosses after slaughter. The most popular breeds today:

• Broiler-61;
• ROSS-308;
• Change-7;
• ROSS-708;
• COBB-500.

Let us note the peculiarity of the latter breed, which favorably distinguishes it from others: the KOBB-500 carcass has yellowness, which is popular among buyers, which makes it more profitable for breeding for retail sale. The yellowness of the breed does not depend on the nutritional characteristics, the presence of corn in the diet, etc.

Broiler keeping specifics

Preparing the chicken coop

In the early days of life, chicks are exposed to stress from moving, which negatively affects health and vitality, increasing the risk of mortality and disease. To reduce negative factors, it is necessary to conduct a thorough preliminary preparation of the poultry room, taking into account all the necessary needs of the chicks. An approximate list of necessary activities.

• Disinfect the premises.Pre-plaster the walls, grease with lime (for floor maintenance, lime the floor in the proportion: 1 kg per square meter). When reused, disinfection is also necessary, the walls should be treated with whitewash;

The use of lime is a primary necessity when building a chicken coop

• There should be no drafts in the room. All cracks must be plastered, properly filled or repaired. Do not use rags or other temporary alternatives. a bird out of curiosity can peck this part of the wall, damaging its beak or tongue;
• Regardless of the season, the temperature in the hen house in the first weeks should not be lower than 30 degrees. For heating, both various heaters and incandescent lamps are used. In the future, the temperature can be gradually reduced to 20 degrees by the time of the slaughter. At low temperatures, both weight loss and a general decrease in chick health are possible;
• In the first weeks, constant dim lighting (1.8 W per square meter) is necessary: ​​it helps to gain weight, improves the body's resistance to non-infectious diseases, and stimulates hematopoiesis (the process of formation and development of blood cells). Later, after 2 weeks of growth, when the bird gets stronger and gains weight, the lighting can be reduced by introducing the darkness mode for several hours, which will also be beneficial for the health of the chickens;

Lighting as a heat source for chicks

• Good quality, working ventilation and humidity control is essential. The accumulation of ammonia in the air, high and, conversely, low humidity in the room can cause biting, lack of appetite, stress, the appearance of infections (for example, coccidiosis), and increased mortality. The optimum humidity level is from 50 to 60%;
• When planning a chicken coop, it is necessary to ensure free and convenient access of all chicks to drinkers and a feeder, avoiding crush and competition for food;
• Lay a dry and loose covering (sawdust, straw) on the floor with a layer of no more than 10 cm thick. Clean up dirt every day, keep the room dry: chicks inevitably spill water on the floor, which creates ideal conditions for infections and bacteria.

It is important to know: due to stress, moving day old chicks often results in an increase in mortality, many breeders prefer to purchase older chicks for up to 10 days, which reduces the likelihood of losses, but reduces possible profits.

It will also be useful when buying (regardless of the age of the chicks) to pay attention to the liveliness and mobility of the chicks, rejecting excessively apathetic and immobile ones.

Containment room options

Solid brooder for chickens

In the first 10 days of life, it is recommended to keep the chicks in a brooder, "a nursery for the smallest", necessary for better control over what is happening at the most helpless moment of the chicks' life. The brooder itself can be placed in the house, making it easier to observe. To make it you will need:

• two large boxes fastened together: one for feeding, the other for walking. The boxes themselves must be disinfected (ideally with lime);
• oilcloth, a layer of straw or sawdust for bedding;
• feeder;
• drinker;
• constant lighting.

The approximate number of livestock in a brooder is 18 chicks per square meter. After 10 days of growth, a crush inevitably begins among the chicks, which means that it is time to move the bird to a more extensive, adapted room.

For the chicken coop, it is possible to build a separate covered building, but you can adapt a summer cottage or use an ordinary greenhouse.

The option with a greenhouse has an undeniable plus: in the case of breeding chicks in the cold season, heating costs are significantly reduced, which increases the final profit. But in the greenhouse, problems with ventilation and humidity are inevitable, which will ultimately lead to a significant loss of chickens from diseases and infections. It is necessary to constantly ventilate the room, while avoiding drafts and cold snaps, or conduct a separate ventilation system.

When using a separate room, two options are practiced:

• outdoor, with chicks on the floor covered with litter;
• cage, with the construction of a multi-tiered system for keeping chicken.

Cage multi-tiered building for chickens

The outdoor version is simpler to perform, does not require additional labor to create cells, but it has several important disadvantages in comparison with the cell content:

• the ratio "number of chicks - square meter" in the cage version is definitely more advantageous. It is advisable to place up to 10 chicks per 1 square meter (taking into account constant growth). With a cage keeping on the same square meter, depending on the number of floors, you can place 2 times more chicks, which is not the limit;
• the cost of heating the premises, ventilation and electricity in the cellular version - less;
• high degree of pollution during floor maintenance. The need for more frequent cleaning, an increase in diseases and infections.

Outdoor chicken coop

Video - Broiler Cage

Creation of equipment for feeding and water supply

Also, in the chicken coop, it is necessary to think over the feeding and drinking system, it should be simple, to exclude the possibility of injury to the bird. Even without special engineering talent, it is possible to quickly and easily build several types of drinkers and feeding devices.

To create the simplest drinking bowl that works according to the principles of physics, you will need:

• deep and wide bowl or basin;
• five-liter water bottle.

Diy drinker example

Step 1... Close the bottle tightly. Make a hole at the bottom of the bottle with a nail or knife. The hole should be no higher than the top of the bowl.

Step 2... Then we put the bottle in a bowl, add water. Water flows out exactly to the desired level in the bowl, provided the lid is tightly closed. We get the simplest homemade construction from scrap materials.

An equally simple version of the feeder. For this you will need:

• large plastic bottle;
• several screws;
• a small sheet of plywood;
• scissors.

DIY chick feeder

Step 1... We cut the bottle into two parts. In the lower part on the sides with a knife we ​​make holes for the bird.

Step 2... We fasten the lower part with a couple of screws to the plywood sheet for greater stability (the bird should not be able to turn the structure over).

Step 3... Lower the upper part with the neck inside the lower part, pour the grain. As the grain is eaten, new feed will flow to the bottom from the top.

Video - Feeders for chickens from a sewer pipe

Broiler feeding

For accelerated weight gain, broilers need a constant and balanced diet, focused both on improving the taste of meat and maintaining health. Depending on the age of the bird, its diet changes, new ingredients necessary for growth appear. There are only four nutritional strategies:

Economical feed options

1) Nutrition exclusively with dry compound feed. Many farmers insist on the convenience of feeding poultry with dry feed: this simplifies the daily care of chicks, which is especially important for large farms. Making a wet mash, at a lower cost, requires non-free man-hours. Also, the likelihood of problems with the safety of the product is not excluded, due to the high probability of purchasing low-quality ingredients. The composition of the dry compound feed is initially balanced for optimal growth of the bird, the bird gains weight on it almost instantly, while when using wet mash, delays in weight gain are possible (up to 15 days from the norm).

Balanced dry compound feed

2) Many breeders prefer to use wet mash (the proportion of production is 1 kg of dry food for half a liter of water, broth, dairy products), which significantly reduces feeding costs.Additional savings are provided by the ability to add part of unused products from the table (cereals, part of vegetables, yeast), not spoiled waste. This option is optimal for farms with a small number of poultry (up to 100 heads) and a modest budget;

Wet mash preparation

3) Combined food. It can be produced in various ways: dry food is constantly added to the trough, in addition to which there is wet food; dry food can be added to the mash itself as an integral part. An option that simplifies the care process (the frequency of visits to feed the poultry is reduced), significantly saving money by reducing the share of finished compound feed in the diet;

4) The use of BMVD. Modern protein concentrate (BMVD) containing mineral supplements, vitamins, biologically active substances. When added to dry compound feed (from 5% to 30% of the total amount of feed), it can significantly reduce food costs, enrich the poultry ration as much as possible, increasing productivity, meat quality, and disease resistance. Cost savings when adding BMVD can be up to 20% compared to feeding exclusively with compound feed. It also saves time, freeing you from the need to prepare food, vitaminizing it yourself, filling it with useful additives. The method is optimal for farms of any size.

Modern protein concentrate (BMVD)

When preparing mash, spoiled food should be avoided. The mash itself should not stand for more than 3 hours, sour or deteriorate in the sun.

Recipes for feeding broilers from 1 to 14 days

At the initial stage, feeding should take place 8 times a day, by the second week the number of feedings can be reduced to 6. The approximate rate of feeding on the first day is 10-15 grams, by 14 days - about 80 grams, the portion is increased daily to avoid malnutrition.

For chicks from 1 to 14 days old, eggs, dairy products (reverse, whey, low-fat kefir, cottage cheese) are vital; it is useful to prepare a wet mash based on millet with the addition of dairy products.

Millet is the main grain crop in the first days of chickens' life.

Millet

In the absence of stomach problems, diarrhea or indigestion, dry feed PKV6-1, created specifically for the starting period, can be added to the chicks. The feed is based on corn, which stimulates the proper development of the skeleton and muscles, the performance of the stomach and intestines.

The feed itself is quite expensive, so you can replace the purchased version with a mixture of your own preparation. This requires:

• exactly half of the mass will be ground corn;
• 15% - ground wheat;
• 15% - meal or cake;
• 12% - dairy products (reverse, whey or kefir);
• the rest is barley.

At the initial stage, the share of grain crops should be 55-60% of the total ration; it is advisable to serve any grain crops ground, without film.

In the second week, crushed shells, shells, chalk, bone meal and fish oil can be added to the mash, which will be a valuable source of minerals and nutrients. Also, babies in the same period (from 3 days) need to add herbal flour, chopped dandelion, dry nettle, alfalfa, green peas (up to 3 grams), this will make up for the lack of fiber for the body.

Greens are the main natural source of vitamins for chickens.

Greens for chickens

Diet for broilers from 14 to 30 days

The number of feedings is reduced to 4 per day, the bird becomes more independent, every day a chick at 2-4 weeks of life eats from 90 to 120 grams of feed. Chicks are fed with a mixture of corn, wheat, cake, meat and bone meal, skim milk, greens, fat.

At the stage of fattening, a healthy chick is rapidly gaining weight (1.5 kilograms at the end of the fourth week) and becomes almost omnivorous.There is a need to increase the variety of food during this period, which is dictated by the need for chicks in a large amount of nutrients and vitamins for full maturation. New products are added to the diet, the ratio of some of them in the mash changes:

1) It is advisable to replace part of the millet (20%) with crushed boiled potatoes as an additive to the mash;

Boiled potatoes

2) Fish waste is added, first in the amount of 5 grams, gradually increasing to 15;

3) Yeast and a greater amount of fresh greens, grass flour (if feeding is in winter) begin to be added to the mash, the optimal amount of greens is 10% of the total amount of feed;

4) Grated carrots and yellow pumpkin appear in the diet, you need to start with 5 grams, increasing the portion, as you grow older, to 30 grams per head;

5) During plumage, it is advisable to start feeding the bird with fresh cabbage;

6) During this period, it is recommended to add dairy products (curdled milk, buttermilk, etc.), bone meal, chalk, shells to the mash as widely as possible. chicks at this age are in dire need of a large amount of protein and calcium due to increased growth.

Buttermilk

Advice for those who use ready-made mixtures: it is advisable to replace the starting compound feed PK6-1 with the fattening PK6-2 containing lysine, oil and meat and bone meal, which is more suitable for this stage of poultry growing up. The pellets themselves in the feed are larger, quickly saturating the grown bird.

Finishing broiler feeding: 30 to 45 days, slaughter

At the finish line, it is preferable to feed it 2 times a day, the daily portion of an adult bird is up to 180 grams. You can refuse ground grain, it is advisable to replace it with whole grain (if possible, it is recommended to germinate grains). Fattening compound feed PK6-2 is replaced with a balanced finishing PK6-3, the composition of which can be partially recreated at home. An approximate recipe for finishing food at home:

• 20% corn;
• 20% soy;
• 25% barley;
• 25% wheat;
• 10% peas.

Cereal mixes become the main course at the finish line.

Cereal mix for broiler feeding

It is advisable to add a small amount of sunflower oil cake, minerals (shells, chalk), fat, yeast, vitamin supplements to the feed, which is useful for poultry of any age.

By the 45th day, the bird ceases to rapidly gain weight, having reached the ceiling of 2-2.5 kg, the investment ceases to justify itself. It is advisable to start slaughtering the hen after this period, if there is no need for layers, eggs for incubation, etc. Below is a summary table of the ratio: age - feeding - growth.

Age	1-14 days	15-30 days	31-45 days
Feed intake	15-80	80-120	120-180
Average growth	30	48	55
Average mass	40-500	500-1600	1600-2500

What you need to do to raise healthy broilers

For the health of the bird, to reduce losses from infections, it is strongly recommended to carry out a therapeutic course of vitamins and antibiotics.

Along with vitamins and antibiotics, starting from 5-7 days, it is recommended to drink poultry weekly with a weak solution of manganese to prevent gastrointestinal infections.

Broiler breeding mistakes at home

• The first main mistake: while observing the temperature regime, the breeder does not pay attention to the cold floors in the chicken coop (important for floor keeping), which leads to heat loss in chicks and diseases. Before moving in the chicks, it is recommended to check the floor of the room with your own feet. If you feel cold in the room, additional insulation will be required;
• The second mistake: it is worth paying extra attention to the floor in the room and because of the potential presence of mold. It is recommended to check the presence of fungus in the chicken coop even if the premises are clean outside. It is necessary to reduce the possibility of moisture getting on the floor, in case of wetting, remove the wet segment as soon as possible.In overcrowded conditions, a wet floor quickly becomes a source of disease (which can easily lead to infection in the yolk sac);

Hidden mold and dirt are serious sources of danger.

Macro shot of mold

• The third mistake: do not put excessively bright lighting for the chicks, this can cause pecking, stress and weight loss;
• The fourth mistake: in the pursuit of high temperatures at the starting stage, proper attention is not paid to ventilation, which leads exclusively to negative consequences. Chickens should not have a steam room, and the air in the room should not smell aggressively of ammonia.

About what not to feed broilers

Broilers are almost omnivorous birds, but it is important to exclude certain foods from their diet, the list of which you can see below.

• boiled potatoes;
• stale or spoiled food;
• sausages;
• lemons, oranges;
• melons, watermelons and peels from them;
• fresh milk and cheeses;
• alcohol-containing products;
• chocolate products;
• pure jams and oils.

But even with observance of all the rules and regulations of feeding, it is possible to use either low-quality products for mash, or compound feed. This becomes clear very quickly, the bird begins to get sick, lose weight, biting is possible. In this case, it is worthwhile to urgently carry out unscheduled drinking with vitamins and change the feed.

Particularly sick birds should be placed in a separate cage for individual treatment and feeding.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Broiler Breeding

Broilers growing at home

As a result, we offer the reader a list of the main pros and cons of broilers as a breed so that he independently decides whether it is worth breeding this tasty but difficult bird or is it better to try yourself in a different field.

Advantages

High productivity and growth. The weight of a broiler by 6 weeks of growth can reach 2-2.5 kg, as a result, after 50 days of growth, up to 3 kilograms from a chicken, and up to 5 kg. with a cockerel. A real giant, while potentially profitable.

Quality products with an excellent proportion of white and red meat, in the case of proper care, no stress sources and a varied diet.

The broiler is undemanding to large spaces, at the initial stage (brooder) it is possible to place up to 18 chicks per square meter, which allows using small backyards as a mini-poultry farm.

Flaws

The need for constant feeding, high food costs. The poultry will not gain weight on pasture; for a good nutrition of broilers, clean water of medium temperature, high-quality, safe and varied food with a clear feeding schedule is needed.

In case of errors with the selection of products, death and various diseases are possible.

Due to the increased crowding and low mobility of broilers, the room with chickens must be cleaned of waste every day (also wash the feeders and drinkers with soap every week), knowingly prepare for settling, monitor the health of the bird, regularly feed with antibiotics and vitamins, settle a weak bird separately, set on an autonomous diet to avoid falling or pecking.

High humidity, temperature drops are unacceptable. It is necessary to provide high-quality ventilation of the premises, while avoiding, at the same time, drafts or cold, which lead to illness, weight loss and mortality. This fact makes setting up a broiler breeding facility a daunting and costly task.

Many farmers are concerned about how to feed broilers. Proper nutrition of chickens is a guarantee of the quality of eggs, good type of meat and healthy future offspring. This is especially a fundamental question for broiler chickens: there are unspoken rules on how to water broiler chickens, what feed to choose if the chickens are two-week-old or three-week old. A healthy diet provides them with fast weight gain, good meat quality and a delicate taste.Carefully selected nutrition will also ensure a solid quality of eggs if the breeder wants to have a whole livestock of broiler chickens.

Feeding broilers at home

The main goal in growing broiler chickens is slaughter for meat, since this type of chickens quickly gains weight up to 5.5 kg. Raising a chicken to a broiler layer is only worth raising if you want additional, healthy offspring.

A stable feeding regime should be maintained, taking into account the characteristics of the breed.

Bird menu at home

The ration for feeding at home should be selected taking into account the age of the bird. How to choose a food that would provide chickens with the whole range of essential micronutrients? Chicken needs protein and fat. In addition to serving chicken, fish, and dairy products such as whey, you can get enough protein.

You can enrich the chicken's body with protein by feeding it the most harmful beetles from the garden: Colorado, May. After 3 days from the moment of birth, you can feed the main food and grass, since this will be a good vitamin supplement for birds. The need for vitamins in small chickens arises from birth, as the young body grows. Any food should be given strictly on time. For example, if lunch is every day at 3 pm, you need to feed only during this period of time, otherwise the chickens will get lost and not know when to wait for food and when not.

Self-catering for chickens

Broilers can be fed with self-prepared food. It is advisable to include boiled, grated vegetables, various root vegetables and potatoes in the diet. Stir-downs daily with barley and wheat. They are valuable because they include a lot of exactly those vitamins and minerals that are needed for the development of the chicken and improve its health. Having enriched the chicken menu with vegetables, you can do without even specialized feed. In nature, chickens are laid down by the day that any of them, even a broiler chicken, will be greedy for flour made from leguminous herbs: from peas, nettles, clover, alfalfa or dandelions.

The calculation can be made specifically for these herbs, since the recipe is simple. Nevertheless, grass meal should not be more than 5 g per day per chick: due to the presence of fiber, it is poorly absorbed.

It is advisable to calculate feeding by day. If one type of food and herbs is given on one day, then on the other you need to alternate food. At home, after drawing up the optimal diet, the birds will get used to it and over time, resistance will develop to products. Birds will also appreciate the presence of fruit in their diet.

Varieties of feed

Broiler feed is very important. Many farmers use feed such as purina, elite, west or best, grover, kalinka, pk-5, pk-6. You can also start feeding, especially daytime chicks from the first days of life until the age of 14 days. Already 3-week-old chickens are fed with more adult feed and are gradually transferred to it. Pellets are good for fattening. When feeding broilers at home, all responsibility falls on the farmer, and the feeding and health of the livestock depends on how competently he makes up the diet. The composition and table of each balanced feed is indicated on the label.

In order to accurately determine the dosage and calculate the consumption, you need to consult a veterinarian, in this case, the content is greatly simplified. The consumption of such feed before slaughter will be much less than self-preparation. Nowadays, instead of self-selected food, specialized feeds are used, which also provide birds with the necessary minerals, trace elements and vitamins. The main thing is to take into account the type of feed. This greatly simplifies the keeping of birds. Feeding broilers at home should be done according to all the rules.

How to feed broilers from zero to slaughter, STEP BY STEP / At the request of subscribers

Growing broilers. Feeding: important nuances !!!!!!

Growing broilers at home How to feed broiler chickens - ZOLOTYERUKI

What feed to choose for broiler birds

For each feed there is a specific scheme or table, so it is quite simple to decide what to feed broilers at home: you just have to study the instructions.

Whichever method of feeding is chosen, it is necessary to give food at home strictly according to the dosage. Transfer to homemade should be gradually, strictly by the day. Starter feed is used to feed both newly hatched and two week old chicks, as it is a storehouse of protein for birds. They can be fed to chickens from the very first days of life, since protein for them is the main and most important micronutrient that they really need right now.

Finishing feed, as the name suggests, is used to increase the muscle mass of the chicken. Also, this food "accelerates" weight gain. According to research, this feed is an ideal solution for the rapid physiological maturation of birds, especially broilers.

Finishing feed is used for those birds from which it is planned to obtain strong healthy offspring. Most of the finishing feed is conventional mash feed. They do not contain so much protein, but they are saturated with vitamins and minerals necessary for adult chickens - such food will increase the life of the bird and strengthen its health.

Broiler feeds that can be prepared on their own will slightly extend the growing time of broilers, but such feeds can be much cheaper and more profitable than purchased ones. Nevertheless, ready-made feed from the right category is the right solution for fast growing broilers, you can add the necessary ingredients and elements to it from above.

Diet of weekly broiler chickens

At home, you need to know the feeding ration of broiler chickens. The sooner the chick is provided with quality nutrition, the better. It is advisable to take the dosage into account, according to age and characteristics.

Many farmers want to know if it is possible to feed grown-up and novice broilers with crushed, buckwheat, apples? It's too early to give an apple to weekly chickens. If an adult chicken eats dry food well, then apples can be fed to it, but not more often than a couple of times a week. If you give apples and other fruits without measure, it will lead to gastrointestinal upset.

Buckwheat is not given to broilers. Nutrition for the first 10 days should be provided with a pipette. If one of the newborn chicks is not able to peck food, they should be fed separately with a pipette filled with a mixture of yolk and cream. These first 10 days in a chick's life should be the most nutritionally intensive, as a newly hatched broiler chick should eat every 2 hours a day, which is about 7-8 full pipettes. Chicks should never be left without food for more than 6 hours.

For rapid growth in the future, pure protein is fed to chickens: milk, cottage cheese, boiled eggs. With the onset of the fifth day of life, you can safely add crushed shells to the eggs to obtain minerals for the chicks.

In the first 10 days of life, weak chicks are eliminated - all those who have survived to this moment can be considered winners. But the diet for the winners must also be appropriate: from this moment on, the chicks need at least 15 g of feed daily. For this reason, you must always monitor the feeder: it must always be full. By the 10th day, strong chicks should themselves feed on compound feed. Gradually, their diet can be filled with greens. Also, 10-day-old birds can already be given carrots: young animals need no more than 5 g per day.

Feeding rules for three-week-old broiler chickens

20 days is the date when feeding of broiler chickens can be safely switched from starter feed to fattening feed. It is important not to miss this moment. The nutrition of the chicks should be diversified: they gradually begin to gain weight. First of all, the diet should be replenished with protein, which is now the most important for birds. For this purpose, cereals cooked in meat broth, boiled fish, and generally animal products are well suited.

When the chicks are used to this menu, you can add yeast. Some young poultry farmers are afraid to do this at such an early age, believing that it is better to wait up to a month. This is mistake. Naturally, yeast should not be more than 2 g per chicken. For general health and good condition, as well as intestinal prevention, it is useful to give water to chickens with diluted potassium permanganate.

After a while, you can also give boiled potatoes mixed with cereals. You cannot feed birds with plain raw water: decoctions of chamomile or rose hips will be much more useful for the digestion of small chicks. It is worth considering that broiler chickens drink a lot, and each of them needs up to 40 g of liquid per day so that they do not develop dehydration.

Meals at the age of one month

At a respectable age of up to 50 days, chickens should already be fed with dry grain, corn. Few farmers at this age prepare feed with their own hands. Broiler chickens are a rather rare case, because they are allowed to mix "assorted" from different grains. You can give mash every day with millet, oats. For the taste of meat and a set of fat, many people give corn. Assorted from different grains, you can do the following: mix peas with crushed wheat, barley. The approximate and best composition of such a "cocktail" is at least 2 types of cereals, proteins and mineral supplements or mineral-containing premixes.

Feed intake rates may vary. Wet mash at a clearly set time will not interfere either. It is up to the breeder to decide in what proportions and in what quantity to mix grain feed. Also at this age, yeast is an obligatory element of feeding. Every chick, at least a little, needs to eat yeast a day for effective growth.

It is also recommended to use fish oil as a source of vitamins. But yeast should always be a must on broiler menus. With the right nutrition and stable feeding, broiler chicks can gain up to 4 kg of weight by 2.5 months. Some breeders prefer to steam their food. Porridge steamed on fish and meat waste, sprouted grain, grass, etc. can almost completely replace compound feed, but not all farmers come to this method of feeding. Subject to these simple rules, even a small subsidiary farm can bring a good profit to the farmer.

The period of active growth of broiler birds

After 30 days of life, when fattening broilers, it is necessary to provide active replenishment of the diet with vitamins and protein foods. In warm seasons, the birds are already supplied with vitamins while walking and feeding is simplified, but in order to preserve this source in winter, it is worth harvesting dried greens "wreaths" from the summer.

Greens, even in dried form, retain all the beneficial properties. It is also worth adding mineral sources to the diet: grated shells, shells or chalk. It is not recommended to give sand: it will have a bad effect on the work of digestion.

For better functioning of the digestive system of chickens, it is worth adding vitamin D to the diet, in addition to it, you can also use specialized feed. Broiler chickens need to be fed ad libitum and often, still 7-8 times a day as chicks.

What should not be fed to broilers

It is difficult to feed broiler birds correctly with your own hands without answering the question of whether it is possible to feed domestic broilers with this or that product. There is a list of what to feed small broiler chickens with. It includes:

• Any food from the table.Human food contains many substances and impurities harmful to birds. Broilers should avoid eating salty, sweet or seasoned food even in minimal quantities.
• Pure boiled potatoes and potato boiling water. It can't even be used as a base for mash. Potatoes can only be given with cereals.
• Fine sand: it clogs the goiter.
• Bread, baked goods, any additives.
• Peel from citrus and melons.
• Sausages and sausages.
• New milk.
• Cheese, cocoa, chocolate and jam.
• Alcohol-containing foods and fermented berries or fruits.
• Pure butter and vegetable oil.

If there are no products for a balanced diet, they should not be replaced with foods prohibited for feeding. In this case, it is better to find a suitable product, but the broilers will be healthy and active, and the farmer will receive the highest quality meat. If you follow the rules of feeding and diet, birds will strengthen their immunity and will be less susceptible to common diseases.

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Broiler is a hybrid of domestic animals, obtained by crossing different breeds. It is distinguished by its early maturity. Broilers are called not only poultry, but also other animals, such as rabbits.

In this article we will talk about broiler chicken, namely: where to start, how to choose eggs, what and how to feed according to growth periods, how to water, what vitamins to give, what should not be fed, diseases and what to treat. Let's talk about adult broilers: living conditions, feeding and water, diseases and how to treat them.

In general, we will go through all the stages of cultivation - from eggs to the sale of the finished product.

How to choose eggs to grow

Broiler eggs

The choice of eggs for incubation is an important part of the broiler raising process, because it determines the percentage of chicks hatching, how healthy the offspring will turn out, how often they will get sick or not at all, how quickly they will gain weight, etc. Whether you will be left at a profit or at a loss will also depend on the right choice for laying the eggs.

For selection of eggs, we select a healthy broiler chicken without signs of infectious diseases. It is recommended to leave your choice on a medium-sized hen.

The egg should be uniform in color. It is advisable to choose medium sizes, because the same offspring is obtained from small eggs.

Large ones have a thin shell. Therefore, the appearance of microscopic cracks, through which they penetrate into the embryo of infection, is not excluded. In addition, many eggs of this size simply will not hatch.

The weight of the egg is also selected, if possible, the same. Then the chicks are born with a slight difference in time.

We take eggs from the nests several times a day. Their overheating or cooling is unacceptable. It is advisable to store them in a warm, dry room, in which the permissible temperature drops do not exceed 5 degrees.

Setting eggs in the incubator

The maximum shelf life between removal from the nest and setting in the incubator is two or three days. If this period is exceeded, the likelihood of negative consequences for their healthy development in the future increases.

A correct, competent approach to the process of choosing eggs for laying them in an incubator is the key to a successful result.

The maximum age of a hen from which eggs are taken for an incubator is limited to 2 years.

What and how to feed

It is very important to feed broiler chicks correctly, starting from the first day of their life, because starting feeding sets the appropriate rate of growth and development of these poultry. In addition, the composition of the feed plays a decisive role in the quality of the final product - meat.

Broiler chicks from zero days

There is a widespread opinion that day-old broiler chickens should be immediately given chopped boiled eggs, cottage cheese, mixed feed, which help to strengthen the digestive system.

Broiler chicken

However, others caution against such a decision. They argue that this is precisely the reason for the death of the poultry population during the first 2 - 3 days of their life. And feeding broiler chickens with boiled eggs at one day of age not only does not strengthen their immunity, but also causes a disorder of the digestive system, causes a large number of deaths.

It is not recommended to give any wet food. It is useful at such an early age to give only millet and a small amount of egg powder. Chicks should have free access to feed and water. The size of the cage, box, and other place in which the brood was kept allowed each chicken to eat and drink freely. In water, we dilute potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) in a very low concentration.

In this case, the color of the water must not be allowed to change to pink. It is also recommended to separately prepare an aqueous glucose solution. This will help avoid indigestion - a disease of the digestive tract.

The room in which the chickens are kept should be well ventilated but protected from drafts. Dampness is also detrimental to them, even if the optimum temperature is maintained.

Weekly chicks

You can gradually accustom kids to starting compound feed from the fifth day of their life. At the same time, they are soldered with a prominent solution of vitamins. It is not recommended to give them antibiotics until this age.

It is useful to drop "Trivitamin" into the beak of each chicken - a drug for the treatment and prevention of vitamin deficiency. Add "Baytril" to the water, which is intended against infections at the rate of 1 gram per 2 liters of water.

7 day old chicks

From one week of age, chickens are taught to eat cottage cheese. We vary the diet with crushed boiled egg. The feed can be slightly moistened with whey. The approximate daily consumption rate during this period reaches 15 - 20 grams. Indoor temperature - 30 - 32 degrees.

Important! Make sure the chickens do not get dirty or wet while eating. Otherwise, it is fraught with their death. The places where they are kept must be dry with the right temperature and humidity.

Chickens from 10 to 20 days

During this period, greens are added to the porridge (slightly moistened dry starter food), for example, finely chopped onions, at the rate of 1:20. It contains the necessary vitamins. Besides, green onions are used as an antiparasitic agent.

To avoid one of the most common diseases of poultry - coccidosis, which leads to disruption of the digestive process and dehydration of the body, at two weeks of age, the drug "Baycox" is added to the water at the rate of 1 gram per 2 liters of water.

During this period, they eat feed up to 30 grams per day. In order for babies to have a good growth, take care of an increased daylight from the first days. The ambient temperature is kept at a level not lower than 28 degrees. If young animals at this age are overcooled, they can get bronchopneumonia, which occurs precisely as a result of hypothermia.

Two week old young

You can add reverse, yogurt, buttermilk to the feed. After 15 days of feeding, protein feed of plant origin is mixed into the food. The proportion of greens can be gradually increased. It should now account for up to 10% of the total feed weight.

Stir in crushed eggshells, feed yeast, and grated carrots in small amounts. In no case should the chickens be given sand. Do not forget to make a very weak solution of potassium permanganate.

From day 10 for three or four days, broilers may begin to die. Therefore, during this period, we solder poultry with antibiotics. Add a couple of drops of iodine. After a short break, vitamins are given, vitamin D is especially important during this period for rickets.

Lack of vitamins leads to hypovitaminosis A, D, E, B. Chickens are given only high-quality feed. If you buy it ready-made in a package, keep an eye on the expiration dates.

Juveniles should be kept away from adults to avoid disease transmission. Chicks up to 20 days old require round-the-clock lighting.

How to raise monthly chicks

After 22-25 days, they switch from feeding with starting compound feed (cereals) to growing (in granules). The composition of the broiler feed should include mineral content, protein (fishmeal), cereals (corn), amino acids and vitamins. You can also continue to add green mass.

To save money we advise do not buy expensive growth food, but make its composition yourself: crushed wheat, oats, corn, barley, peas. All components are mixed in equal proportions. It is advisable to add fish oil, whey, meat and bone meal to the feed. Add (but do not mix) the leaves of cabbage, lettuce, green onions.

Feeding one month old chicks

By 35 days of age, you can gradually increase the volume of corn to 40% of the total, and reduce wheat, oats and barley. The meal or cake is about 15%. The percentage of green mass can be reduced.

Under normal conditions of keeping and quality feeding, monthly chickens weigh about 800 grams.

We exclude from the diet all types of bread, boiled potatoes (if it does not go in a mixture with other components), all stitched products, especially if you smell. We remind you to refrain from adding sand. We make sure that the water of the chickens is constantly clean, fresh, slightly warm. It is useful to use settled water.

We lower the temperature of the medium to 23 - 25 degrees. The duration of lighting is reduced to 14-16 hours a day.

To avoid aspergillosis at this age, you need to ventilate the room well, avoid dampness. For prophylaxis, add a little iodine-containing preparations to feed and water.

All new feeds are given in small quantities at first so that the chicks can get used to it. Otherwise, they may have indigestion, leading to death.

Chickens 45-50 days

After 40 days of life, the young are given not crushed, but whole grain. A commercially available finishing compound feed containing the main nutrients is also used. But if you want to have tasty meat, you can refuse to purchase it.

Whole grain is poured into the feeders, not crushed grain. Vitamins, feed yeast, chalk must also be present in the feed. After reaching 45 days of age, we exclude any medications. A good effect is given by cooking porridge, which includes boiled small fish, corn, wheat, peas, greens.

2 month old broilers

All this is mixed and allowed to brew. In porridge, we increase the percentage of corn to half of the total mass.

If you did not save on feed and gave a full-fledged diet, their weight at this age should be more than one kilogram. The breed also has a big influence on this figure.

If the weight of a unit of young animals of one breed reaches 1, 2 - 1.3 kg, then the weight of a grown chick of this age can be 1.6 - 1.8 kg. all other things being equal.

We continue to use clean settled water. We gradually lower the ambient temperature to 21 - 23 degrees. The duration of daily lighting is reduced to 12-14 hours.

The area in which the young are kept should be sufficient so that everyone can freely approach the feeder or drinker. However, the walk should not be spacious, otherwise the broiler will lose weight due to excessive activity.

Breeding adult broilers at home

Keeping broilers for fattening for more than two months is not economically feasible, since the birds gain weight more slowly with age, and they consume more feed. In addition, broiler meat older than 70-75 days is less tasty than two months old.

Cell maintenance and care at home

If you want to raise up to 10 head of chicken broilers at home, their cage content will suit you.Depending on the size of the cage, they contain 3-5 heads (then the size of the cage is made from such a calculation in order to limit the free movement of the bird to the required one - to go to the feeder and drinker), or up to 10 heads (the size of the cage increases, the requirements for the spatial conditions of detention and the dilutions remain the same).

Keeping birds in a cage

When growing livestock more than 10 units need to do or additional number of cells (since one cage, with more than a dozen heads in it, is very cumbersome and inconvenient to move, it loses mobility), or think about keeping in a pen.

Let's say that it is economically beneficial for you to breed livestock in cages. Then, for dry food (mixed fodder, grain), it is advisable to choose trough-type feeders, which are placed outside the cages along a whole tier. We also build a continuous drinking bowl, for example, from a PVC sewer pipe.

The front side of the trough can be made from combined type metal rods. This is convenient because chickens can be kept in such a cage at first.

Steel rods on the walls are placed among themselves quite often so that the brood does not run out of the cage or fall out of it (if the cage is in the second or third tier).

After the young grows up, they are seated in different cages, removing the rods from the walls through one. Thus, we provide free access to feed for an adult broiler.

How to grow: tips for beginners

Broiler cage

There are several requirements for the conditions of keeping an adult broiler bird:

• so that the content area makes it possible eat freely each individual, that is, not too small, but not too large (the reasons are indicated above);
• permanent availability of high-quality fresh feed in the feeders. In addition, there can and should be separate feeders for porridge, if used;
• constant availability of fresh (better settled) warm water in drinking bowls, but not higher than 22-25 degrees;
• enough hours daylight hours (12-14 hours). If less - we give additional lighting;
• humidity air 68-72%;
• no dampnessespecially in cells;
• no drafts must not be;
• ambient temperature - within 20-21 degrees (if it is lower, then the activity of broilers decreases, the intensity of feed consumption decreases, the growth of mass slows down; if it is higher, then the bird becomes hot, the result is the same);
• obligatory presence ventilation, since otherwise the intensive accumulation of nitrogen has a detrimental effect on the vital activity of the bird. A case is described when the owner, in order to save on heating, placed the floor of a hundred broilers in a greenhouse where greens were grown in a small makeshift paddock. Despite the fact that the greenhouse was periodically supplied with fresh air, after a few days the greens began to fade due to the increased nitrogen content in the air, although this was not felt. After the corral was fenced off with foil, the concentration of nitrogen in the environment in the corral reached such a level that the chickens began to behave sluggishly, ate feed reluctantly, and slowly gained weight.
• cells inside must be clean... To do this, you can make the floor from a galvanized welded fine mesh, and clean the floor pallet based on the amount of droppings accumulated in it;
• if growing broilers at home is "put" on stream, then it is necessary to periodically carry out disinfection of cells (after the slaughter of the previous batch, but before growing the second).

Disadvantages of keeping birds in cages:

• requires monetary investments more than with a driven cultivation method.

Advantages:

• more convenient in service;
• more compact (saves used space).

How to keep and raise a broiler in a pen

This method of keeping broilers and chickens from zero days does not differ from the previous one.The main differences are as follows:

• economically viable in terms of construction. Basically, to raise birds in a pen you need a floor and walls. If you are going to raise a bird in a barn, then part of the barn is fenced off with collapsible sections made of welded mesh wire, put feeders and drinkers - and the pen is ready;
• designed for content not less than 10 heads birds;

Walking hens in the corral

Flaws:

• requires increased care and attention to elimination of dampness and high humidity, you need to frequently change the litter of broilers to keep the floor dry;
• by area occupies more space per one livestock unit.

Advantages:

• less material costs, compared to the first method.

Requirements for ambient temperature, humidity, absence of drafts, dampness and other conditions of detention remain the same.

Correct feeding. Where to begin

As mentioned above, it makes no sense to fatten broilers for more than two months. This is justified by the following:

• after two months fattening poultry gains weight more slowly;
• consumption feed increases;
• broiler meat older than 2.5 months tougherless tasty.

Feeding adult broilers (in our case, in the recommended age range from 60 to 75 days) comes down to the fact that they need to be given only high-quality feed with the following diet:

We feed adult broilers with whole grain or purchased final compound feed. To make the meat tastier, we advise you to abandon the purchased compound feed altogether. This will save you money and improve product quality.

But even more worries will be added, in order to breed chickens, you will need to buy separately grain of wheat, barley, corn, peas, etc., mix all this in proportions. Do not forget to give greens, add fishmeal.

If you are not lazy, then prepare porridge for your poultry from the above ingredients with the addition of cooked small fish. If there is no fish, add fish oil. The main specific gravity should be maize (up to 50%).

Some, when growing poultry, after two months of feeding, switch exclusively to corn and greens (5-10 days before slaughter). For normal chain feeding, expect your broilers to weigh at least two kilograms by 70 to 75 days of feeding.

Broiler feed

Attention! We do not give broilers:

• boiled potato (if it does not go in a mixture with other components);
• all varieties of bread;
• all overdue products;
• sand;
• medications (if possible);
• several new products food in large quantities;
• other components, if we see what they call negative reaction the bird.

What to drink

Follow the same rules as for raising young stock. The water should be:

• clean, preferably separated;
• moderately warm (in the region of 20 - 21 degrees);
• in drinking bowls, providing unimpeded access poultry (depends on the number of livestock);
• can be diluted at very low concentrations potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). In this case, the color of the water must not be allowed to change to pink.

Broiler chicken diseases

Broiler chickens can be sick with quite a few diseases. Some of them:

• heterokydosis - worms in the intestines. Piperazine can be used against this disease. Preventive measures - thoroughly wash the room in which the chickens are;
• arthritis - joints of chickens suffer (broilers walk less, try to sit down). Ampicillin (10 mg per 5 kg chicken weight) can be used for 5 consecutive days. Ampicillin for arthritis

  Arthritis prevention measures: Provide only quality food, bedding should be dry;

• ascites (accumulates fat in the abdomen). The bird walks sluggishly and reluctantly. To avoid this disease, it is necessary to give greens;
• salmonellosis manifests itself in upset stomach... Can be treated with tetracycline or dithrevite.The dosage is indicated in the instructions for these medicinal products;
• pseudo-plague - chickens can become infected through contaminated eggshells. It is necessary to plant the sick and disinfect the room;
• simple poisoning... To avoid this, you need to ensure that the food is fresh and of high quality, and that foreign objects, such as fish bones, do not get into the feeders).

If you do everything right, the result will not be long in coming.

Recommendation for beginners: there is nothing better than personal experience... Therefore, in the initial stages of developing your business, you can use the information and recommendations of others. But if in practice you achieve the best results thanks to your best practices, it is a sin not to take advantage of this.

If you find that some recommendation does not apply to the growing conditions of broiler chickens in your conditions, think for yourself how to get out of the situation to achieve optimal results.