Cultivation, care and feeding of broiler chickens

suitable for frying meat.

An increasing number of poultry farmers are interested in how to organize the growing, care and feeding of broiler chickens. And this is not surprising at all.

In just 7–8 weeks, the bird grows to 1.5–2.5 kg, which, with the right approach, during the warm season, even in a small farm, can grow 1–2 batches of chickens.

Features of growing broiler chickens

In order for broiler chickens and crosses to fulfill their purpose, they need competent care and a carefully selected diet. If the bird is not used for procreation, broiler chickens are usually raised at home for no longer than 70 days. Then the bird gains physiological weight gain, but feed consumption remains at the same level, which means that the benefit from such livestock drops sharply.

The focus of the poultry farmer on broiler chickens is the care and feeding of poultry. Both need to be adjusted from the first day of the nestlings on the farm, since the delay often becomes the cause, if not the death, or the weakening, lag in growth and pain of the livestock.

Under the conditions of home gardens, broilers are settled in poultry houses on a deep bedding or cellular contents are used.

In the first case, the room for broilers should be protected from external weather conditions, and the floors should be warm and dry. As a litter, it is most convenient to use sawdust, which is pre-dried well. You can take other materials that provide constant dryness, cleanliness and looseness of the floor covering.

Before settling chickens:

• clean, disinfect and dry the house;
• floor covered with a layer of hydrated lime at the rate of 0.5–1.0 kg per square meter;
• over fill fillings with a layer up to 10 cm;
• create conditions for maintaining humidity at a level of 60–65%;
• provide continuous ventilation of the room;
• maintains an air temperature of 26 ° C;
• provides 24-hour lighting for day-old chicks.

Per square meter with this method of growing broiler chickens should be no more than 12-18 birds.

While broilers are small, and their own thermoregulation is imperfect, they need an increased air temperature of about 26–33 ° C.After 20 days, the air in the house can be cooled to 18–19 ° C.It is important to ensure that the bird is comfortable, otherwise it is too cold, and excessively warm air adversely affects the growth and well-being of the chicks. Neglecting the rules of poultry housing threatens to get acquainted with the symptoms of diseases of broiler chickens and the treatment of poorly growing herds.

Growing up in cages, especially of a multi-tiered structure, allows you to significantly save the area of ​​the house, simplify its hygienic processing and control the feeding of the chicks. At the same time, the temperature and humidity conditions, as well as the average daily feed intake rates are similar to the content on the litter.

The cultivation, care and feeding of broiler chickens are greatly influenced by cell or poultry lighting. In the daytime the bird actively eats and moves. The darker the room, the more sluggish the growth of chicks.

Therefore, within 14 days from the moment of birth, the chicks are organized around the clock coverage, and then gradually switch to the natural mode.

Feeding Broiler Chickens at Home

However, it is not enough to create suitable conditions for the chickens and provide them with the proper amount of feed. For the early receipt of large, well-fed birds, it is important to choose a balanced, age-oriented diet.

How to feed broiler chickens? This question is the most relevant for all novice and experienced poultry farmers who have not previously encountered the rearing of such birds. In household farms often use the use of wet and dry self-made food.

The first weeks of the chicks staying at the compound are fed with wet mash on the basis of boiled eggs, millet, crushed oats and wheat, which constitute just over half of the total feed volume consumed. From 3 weeks of age, boiled potatoes are introduced into the menu, replacing them with no more than one fifth of the cereals.

One should not forget about protein feeds, which provide for an active growth of muscle and bone mass. To this end, the bird is given cottage cheese, yogurt, reverse and other dairy products. The source of animal protein from 10 days of age becomes fish and meat and bone meal. These products should be given first at 5–7 grams per day per head, and then double the consumption.

Feeding broiler chickens at home involves the use of protein-rich vegetable products, including cake from sunflower seeds, all kinds of meal, crushed seeds of legumes.

From three days of age, green feed for broiler chickens is needed. In spring and summer time - this is a juicy grass, tops of garden crops, crushed carrots, 3-5 grams per chicken. In the cold period, when there is not enough fresh greens, grass meal of no more than 2–5 grams and sprouts of barley or other cereals are introduced into the diet.

Excessive grass meal in feed can cause diarrhea in broiler chickens, the treatment of which involves the mandatory correction of the menu, the use of antibiotics and other drugs.

To prevent digestive problems, broilers are given:

• every other day as a drink a pink solution of potassium permanganate;
• is fine gravel with a diameter of not more than 5 mm, which activates the bowels and improves the digestion of grain and other feed for broiler chickens.

From 5 days the bird is given a crushed shell, but not sand, and chalk at the rate of 2-3 grams per chick. Mineral feed and gravel do not mix with other components of the diet and poured into separate containers, which are always in the house.

Clear water at room temperature in the house should be constantly. To exclude the development of pathogenic flora and the development of intestinal and other infections, the dishes are regularly washed and disinfected.

For better growth and as a preventive measure, with the first symptoms and treatment of broiler chicken diseases, vitamin supplements are given to young chickens. From the fifth day on the menu, they use the oil solutions of vitamins A, D, and E, avoiding an overdose of the drugs used.

How many times a day and how to feed broiler chickens at home? A lifelong bird should not suffer from food shortages. The first 7 days of chickens should receive food at least 8 times a day, then the bird is fed every four hours. In the third week, the number of meals is brought to four, and from one month of age, broilers are fed in the morning and evening.

All wet food for broiler chickens is prepared in such a way that the bird eats them within 30–40 minutes.

If the mash is kept warm longer, it is possible:

• souring products;
• insect insect eggs;
• pathogenic microflora development.

All these factors most often cause broiler chickens to cause diarrhea, the treatment of which weakens livestock and reduces growth rates.

Use of compound feeds for broiler chickens

In order to intensify the weight gain, today ready-made and self-made compound feed, fully meeting the physiological needs of the bird, is used. Such a diet gives especially good results in the first four weeks.

Ready-made feed for broiler chickens vary in particle size and composition. Most often resort to a three-stage system of feed, which is designed for all ages of chickens from birth to slaughter.

Although such mixtures are more expensive than homemade mixers, they significantly improve the performance of growing livestock, simplify the care of broiler chickens, their growing and feeding, as well as the control of food consumption.

At the initial stage the compound feed helps to strengthen the immune system, to create all the prerequisites for good health and rapid growth of the bird. To this end, the amount of mineral additives in the diet increases, the ration is built on easily arranged components.

During active growth, feed for broiler chickens is a source of protein, calcium, vitamins and fats, which provide rapid growth of the backbone and increase in muscle mass. Before slaughter, use finishing mixtures to increase fatness.

Growing broiler chickens in cages - video

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