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They will grow from the correct keeping and feeding of chickens in the first days of their lives. In order for the internal organs and the digestive system of chicks to begin to actively develop, they must be fed within 16 hours after hatching. The probability of survival of each chicken in this case increases by 20%.Chicks should be fed frequently and in small portions.
If you do not know how to feed the chickens correctly in the first days of their life, then the death of the whole brood is inevitable.
Than to feed day-old chickens
In order for the chicks to grow healthy, the following rules should be observed:
- feed must consist only of natural and fresh ingredients;
- must be fed at the same time;
- chickens should always be full.
In the first 10 days, broods should be fed every 2 hours, including night time. You also need to carefully draw up the diet - it must contain all the nutrients necessary for growth.
For hatching chicks only, it is best to use finely chopped and hard-boiled eggs and cottage cheese mixed with corn or semolina.10 chicks will need 1 egg, 50 grams of cottage cheese and 50 grams of cereals. 
Milled oat-flakes, millet, barley, wheat cereals or starter feed are also suitable. Clean and boiled water should be at room temperature near the food. In addition to it, you can use kefir or lean fat yogurt to feed chickens from day one. 
As soon as the brood has grown to three days of age, they begin to accustom him to the grass. To do this, the greens of such plants as dandelion, alfalfa, clover, dried nettle or plantain finely chopped. On the 10th day, it is already possible to give boiled vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, zucchini and so on. Wet feed chickens are bred in such an amount that chicks can eat at a time. If the food in the trough will lie too long, it will spoil. In addition, the chicks fill it with debris and excrement. If they eat such food, they will have an eating disorder, because of which the whole brood may die.
The main rule that must be followed before feeding only hatched chickens - food must be easily digestible and sterile.
After the 10th day you need to give small pebbles( gravel, sand) or crushed shells, they are necessary not only for the digestion of food, but also as mineral supplements. At this age, it is not necessary to feed the chickens at night. In the daytime they give feeding every 3-4 hours. What else can be fed 10-day-old chicks at home, so it is soaked with stale bread in yogurt. Before you submit, you need to squeeze and crush it. Meat broth or meat waste perfectly fill the lack of protein.
After the chicks have eaten, you should check that all chicks have full goiter. If someone is noticeably different, then he needs to be transplanted into another cell and fed.
If the brood is constantly contained in a cage without walking, then it can develop beriberi. As a result, the chicks will stop growing and may become ill. To do this, it is necessary to give vitamin supplements containing vitamins of groups A, E, D. When feeding daily chickens at home, 1 tablet of multivitamins is mixed with food. It is enough for 10 chicks. 
How to keep chickens
correctly In the first days of life, broods are especially weak and easily sick, which leads to their death. Therefore, it is extremely important to arrange for chicks a warm place for growth and without drafts. Most often, a large box or brooder is used, and a lamp with an ordinary incandescent bulb is installed as a heater. Its power is calculated in such a way that the temperature in the cell is the same in all places and equals + 30 ° C.
In this case, more than 25 chicks should not be placed per m2, and after they reach one month of age, up to 17 heads are placed on the same area. Before you feed the chickens in the first days of their lives, you need to lay paper on the floor of the box and cover it with compound feed or small corn groats. Nestlings will be able to quietly rummage in such litter without damage to their health.
The trough and the trough should be designed in such a way that the chickens cannot climb in them with their feet. Dirty water and feed are an excellent medium for the spread of intestinal diseases.
compound feed What else can you feed chickens in the early days, is this starting feed, or as it is also called “nulevka” in another way. The main ingredients of the mixture are wheat, corn, peas and barley. Also contained in small doses of fish meal, amino acids and vegetable fats. The rate of one chicken per day ranges from 10 to 30 grams. Combined blends enriched with vitamins, such as Sun, are even better. Daily rate - 10-55 grams per 1 head. Compound feed labeled "Growth" is issued to two weeks old chickens. Its composition is designed so that the bird gains weight as quickly as possible. And the ingredients in the ground are noticeably larger than in the starting one, since the chicks at this age are already able to digest them.
It is not necessary to buy combination feeds for feeding chickens, they can be done with your own hands.
For the starting feed, you will need to mix the following ingredients:
- corn - 50% of the total;
- barley - 8%;
- wheat - 16%;
- kefir with low fat content - 12%;
- cake - 14%.
All components must be thoroughly crushed to fine crumbs so that chicks can swallow them easily. For chicks with an age of more than two weeks to 1 month, the composition of the combined mixture varies slightly:
- corn - 48%;
- feed oil or unrefined sunflower oil - 1%;
- wheat - 13%;
- milk powder - 4%;
- fresh cut grass - 3%;
- fodder yeast - 5%;
- fish meal - 6%.
If the chickens have problems with the intestines( weak stools), then instead of pure water, water diluted with potassium permanganate to a slightly pinkish tint is put for 30 minutes.
After the chicks have reached a week of age, bunches of various herbs can be hung on their walls in a cage. If a weak chicken has appeared among the whole livestock, it must be separated from the brood in another box. This is necessary in order to protect healthy chicks, and it was more convenient to treat the patient.
