What is the best way to pay on ebay. What do I need to pay with PayPal? The main disadvantages of paying by bank transfer

Feeding rates for broilers of different ages

Broilers are fed according to a special scheme. It differs significantly from those used in the cultivation of other meat and egg breeds of poultry. As the broiler grows, not only the amount of feed given to it changes, but also the composition of the nutrient mixture. In the first two weeks of life, the chick should eat from 10 to 25 g of feed.

From the 14th to the 30th day, the norm gradually increases from 50 g to 120 g, and at the finishing stage the bird should consume at least 150 g of feed prepared for it per day. It is necessary to monitor the composition of the mixture and its quantity very strictly. The slightest deviation from the feeding scheme can lead to a slowdown in the growth of a bird or its death.

Features of broiler feeding

The first months of life of chickens are characterized by a quick set. With improper feeding and care, the bird becomes obese. Drinking is of great importance in the diet of poultry. It is very important to ensure that only clean and always fresh water is in the bird's drinker.

From the first days to 2 weeks of age

Improper feeding of chicks can cause them different. In the first days of a broiler's life, dyspepsia may occur. As a rule, it causes death of the bird. The cause of the disease is the lack of certain minerals or vitamins by the broiler, as well as the rapid transition from one type of feed to another. Be very careful to introduce fresh grass, protein feed and silage into the diet of young chickens.

The atrophy of the stomach, leading to, can be caused by an excess of flour ingredients in the diet and the absence of crushed shell rock. The slow passage of food in a bird leads to mortality and can be triggered not only by poor food, but also by hypothermia or overheating of the chickens.

Lack of retinol in the body of chickens causes broilers. It is characterized by the weakness of the birds. They may have night blindness or rectal prolapse. In order to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to add grated carrots or grass flour to the poultry feed.

Hypovitaminosis A is caused in poultry by a lack of phosphorus and calcium in the body. It leads to softening of the bones, diarrhea and loss of appetite in the broiler. To prevent the disease, vitamin D is included in the diet of chickens. A sufficient amount of sprouted oats, grass flour and vitamin E in the feed prevents hypovitaminosis E in poultry. Meat, bone and grass meal can prevent vitamin B deficiency in poultry.

Broiler chickens are very high in body weight, gain weight quickly and taste good. This article focuses on the topic of breeding these chickens - in it you will find instructions on how to keep and feed the birds to achieve the most impressive results, as well as learn about the possible mistakes that are often made when raising them.

How to choose chicks

The key to successful rearing is the correct selection of young stock that would meet hybrid standards and be able to gain weight properly and on time.

However, it can be difficult to distinguish broilers at a young age from ordinary chickens, so the purchase must be made not from private sellers who can slip you a different breed of birds, but at poultry farms.

Did you know? The first broilers were formed by crossing breeds such as White Plymouth Rocks (as chickens) and Cornish (as roosters). It happened around the 1930s.

It is necessary to study very carefully appearance young birds, paying particular attention to their legs. Normally, they should be mobile, straight, should not contain any defects in the form of spots, wounds or bruises.

Try to pinch the chick lightly by its fluff: if you have nothing left on your fingers, then the chick is most likely healthy.

Next, you should pay attention to the eyes of the birds. You can't take birds, whose eyes are covered by a film - this is a sure sign that they are not healthy and will soon die. Normally, the eyes should be bright and shiny.

After that, it is worth examining the chicks' beaks. Normally, they are pyramidal in shape, smooth, light yellow in color. If you notice deviations in the structure of the beak, it is better not to take such a chicken. There is a high probability that he will not be able to eat properly and will die.

The best time to buy broilers is the end of May - beginning of June. Over the summer, the bird will have time to get stronger, gain weight, and if you decide to leave a certain number of adults for your brood, it will be able to easily endure the cold season.

At what age should you buy chickens

It is best for beginner poultry breeders to acquire chicks of two weeks of age - they are already quite strong and, most likely, will be able to survive acclimatization in new conditions without much loss.

If two-week-old chicks are not available, one-week-old chicks can be purchased.

There will be more problems with him, but his survival rate is extremely high compared to one-day chickens.

Did you know? Chickens only lay eggs if there is light. Even if the time has come for them to rush, they will not do this unless artificial lighting is turned on for them orif the sun will not appear.

It is best not to purchase chicks that are less than one week old, since many birds with genetic defects die within 6-10 days after their birth and you will have a very high probability of recruiting these.

In addition, young chicks do not tolerate the absence of a large heat source nearby, which is normally an incubator or their immediate mother, which is why they can also die prematurely.

Rooster or hen

Since a broiler is still a meat hybrid that lays very few eggs, it doesn't matter which sex of birds you buy for yourself. However, this can be important if in the future you want to independently carry out the full biological cycle of raising chicks using live rooster and chicken.

To do this, we will figure out how to determine which of the chicks is a rooster and which is a chicken.

To determine the sex of the chick, you need to take it in your palm so that the head is near the little finger, grab it with your thumb and forefinger back, and then look into the cloaca of the feathered in order to see in it the so-called genital tubercle, the presence of which distinguishes roosters from hens.

Breeding features

Breeding broilers as a whole does not differ from breeding other breeds of chickens, but there are some subtleties here. For example, all poultry farmers know that broilers produce quite a lot of waste, but not everyone knows that there is a need to regularly clean their place of residence, otherwise dangerous infections may develop. You can read more about this and other features below.

If you have a separate room where broilers can be kept, it will require some preparation:

1. First, spray the walls and floor of the future poultry house with lime to disinfect the house and protect the young from infection.
2. Allow the room to ventilate and dry out as broilers need a dry environment.
3. Cover the floor with oilcloth, on which you lay 2.5-3 cm of bedding or hay.
4. It is necessary to sterilize, prepare and install lamps for lighting and a special lamp for heating the young.
5. Next, hang a thermometer in some convenient place for you (preferably not far from the place where the young are in greatest quantities) to constantly monitor the temperature inside.
6. Finally, place a fence near the door to prevent young broilers from escaping from the building - and the chicks can be allowed inside.

Important! In the first two weeks of life of chickens, it is necessary to maintain a temperature for them at 30-32 ° C. Furthergradually lowerher 1-2 degrees every week, until you bring it to 20 ° C.

Broilers do not respond well to cage maintenance because they need a lot of heat, space and food for normal growth and development, and this is problematic to achieve in the cage.

If you are unable to locate the young in the room, try to place only 6-7 chickens in each cage (1x1x1 meter).

In each cage, it is necessary to install a powerful heating and lighting system of lamps, which must be used at full power at night to prevent the death of birds.

To successfully keep broilers outdoors, the temperature inside each cage should not drop below 27 ° C, even at night, so you will have to invest heavily in a heating system.

Each cage must be equipped with a feeder and drinker, which must always be full. This is to ensure that broilers are constantly growing and gaining weight normally.

The floor of the cages must have a litter, which must be changed once every few days in order to avoid the development of various infectious diseases.

Important! The cage must always be under your visual control, so that in the event of the death of one chicken, it will not be pecked by its fellows and thus caught the disease from which it died.

What and how to feed

Broilers require special attention to their own diet - it is only thanks to it and their genetics that they gain such a huge weight in a short time.

Here's how best to feed broilers by age:

• 0-5 days - dry millet;
• 5-7 days - dry millet, a small amount of dry food;
• 7-10 days - starting compound feed is gradually introduced, instead of water, pour fresh milk whey every 3 days;
• 10-14 days - add small amounts of greens to the diet (onions, nettles, etc.);
• 14-30 days - cottage cheese, ground grain, ground egg shells, various vegetables (cabbage, carrots, boiled potatoes) are introduced;
• 30-60 days - you can completely transfer to mixed feed or give crushed wheat porridge brewed in meat broth, fish and meat waste; keep giving a variety of boiled vegetables;
• 60-90 days - replace crushed porridge with whole grains, add legumes to the diet for more active recruitment weight.

In terms of frequency of feeding, broilers, especially in the first month of their life, need to ensure constant access to fresh feed and water. Only in this way will they be able to gain the required weight by a three-month period, after which their meat will lose a significant part of its pleasant organoleptic properties.

Therefore, try to ensure that your birds always have access to fresh food, preferably even at night.

Vitamin Supplements

Broiler supplements, also known as premixes, contain a range of different ingredients:

• useful,
• nutritious,
• fortifying,
• preventing the development of diseases,
• helping birds gain weight.

Among these additives, the following varieties are distinguished:

• vitamin supplements;
• mineral supplements;
• vitamin therapy supplements;
• vitamin and mineral supplements.

Important! When birds reach the age of one month, many are afraid that the bird is losing all its fluff, and the feathers do not really have time to grow. Don't worry about this- for broilers this is absolutely normal.

Depending on your goals, as well as the condition and needs of the birds, a specific supplement may be needed at a particular moment. For example, a vitamin supplement containing vitamins A, E and D is given starting from the 5th day of broilers' life in order to prevent the development of diseases of the osteoarticular apparatus.

All other additives are given as appropriate and may contain the following substances:

• various complexes of vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, PP, K);
• trace elements - iodine, iron, selenium, manganese, cobalt, iron, etc .;
• macronutrients - magnesium, sulfur, sodium, potassium, chlorine, etc .;
• various biological active substances - antioxidants, proteins, amino acids, etc .;
• antibacterial drugs - metronidazole, penicillin, tetracycline, etc.;
• fillers - chalk, flour, bran, etc.

Broiler rearing mistakes

Lack of attention to the peculiarities of broilers often leads to mistakes that seriously affect the life of birds.

1. The most common mistake when raising broilers is insufficient amount of light and too short daylight hours in the first month of life of young animals... Many poultry farmers recommend that the chicks do not turn off the light at all in the first month of life. In the future, the lack of daylight hours leads to a decrease in the potential and rate of weight gain by birds, the development of rickets and other pathologies of the osteoarticular apparatus.
2. The second major mistake is lack of attentiveness to the diet... Many owners do not understand that it is largely only thanks to a specific menu that such a rapid and productive growth of these birds is possible, and they feed them like ordinary chickens. The result is a slowdown in growth processes, the occurrence of diseases and even death.
3. It is considered a serious mistake and unwillingness to give these chickens fortified supplements, or an insufficient amount of them... It is important to understand that broilers need much more nutrients than normal chicks because they grow too fast and gain weight. Therefore, be sure to give them at least one fortified supplement, and it is better to add a mineral supplement to it.
4. It is also worth remembering about the possible development of various bacterial complications and pathologies. resulting from contact of delicate birds with contaminated litter and / or infected premises. To prevent this, disinfect the house and try to change the bedding at least once every 3-4 days.

So, we hope that you have learned all the aspects of broiler farming that interest you. Breeding meat breeds of chickens is a good business that can bring you and your family not only a solid income, but also a lot of positive emotions. Do your job with love and gratitude, and the reward will not be long in coming!

Broilers are undoubtedly one of the most popular breeding options for meat chicken breeds. High productivity, quick dial masses, phlegmatic character, excellent meat quality are important distinctive feature 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.

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 COBB-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.

Specificity of keeping broilers

Preparing the chicken coop

In the early days of life, chicks are exposed to the stress of 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 poultry premises, 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). At reuse disinfection is also necessary, the walls should be treated with whitewash;

• 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 time of year, 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;

• 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 leads to an increase in mortality, many breeders prefer to acquire older chicks for up to 10 days, which reduces the likelihood of losses, but reduces the potential 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

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 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.

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 contamination during floor maintenance. The need for more frequent cleaning, an increase in diseases and infections.

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.

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.

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

To gain weight faster, broilers need a constant and balanced diet, focused on both 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 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).

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 is provided by the ability to add part of unused products from the table (porridge, 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;

3) Combined food. Can be produced different 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 for feeding 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.

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.

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 compound 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.

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, herbs, fat.

At the stage of fattening, a healthy chick is rapidly gaining weight (1.5 kilograms at the end of the fourth week), becoming 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;

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

3) Yeast is added to the mash and large quantity fresh greens, grass meal (if feeding is in winter), 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.

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.

It is advisable to add a small amount of sunflower 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.

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.

Step	Description	Photo
1.	On the first day, it is necessary to give the chickens a solution of sugar and water (1 tsp per 1 liter).
2.	The next day, drink the chicks with enrofloxacin (cube per liter of water). Continue the course for three days. For each reception, we make a fresh solution, the old one, if it remains, we pour it out. It is recommended to repeat the course before the beginning of the third week, also within three days.
3.	After a week (6-7 days), you can drip trivitamins (oil solutions of vitamins A, E, stir in oil, in a ratio of 1 to 50), or use the Nutril complex (within 5 days, with repetition in a week).
4.	By the second week, drink with Bayoklox (prevention of coccidiosis) for 3 days. It is recommended to pre-drink the bird with B vitamins before the course (3 days).

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, 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.

• 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 broilers should not be fed

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 if all the norms and rules of feeding are observed, it is possible to use either low-quality products for mash, or compound feed. This becomes clear very quickly, the bird begins to hurt, 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

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. By the 6th week of growth, the weight of a broiler 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's undemandingness to large spaces, at the initial stage (brooder) it is possible to place up to 18 chicks per square meter, which allows using small household plots as a mini-poultry farm.

disadvantages

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 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.

Having a summer cottage or even a small personal plot, we advise you to engage not only in the cultivation of crops, but also in the cultivation of the farm. The easiest place to start is raising broiler chickens.

Already after a couple of months, two-kilogram chickens will cluck in your home yard. Your main task will be to provide nutritious food and maintain cleanliness in.

You will need an equipped chicken coop (heat and light) or a barn, food for different ages.

Chickens are sold between 1 and 10 days old. Better to buy ten-day ones, because many die within a week. However, they often prefer to buy a one-day trip, perhaps because of their attractive prices.

When purchasing broiler chicks, select active ones with clean, open eyes (no tears or swelling).

Drooping eyelids and lack of mobility can indicate the imminent death of the chicken (do not trust the seller who claims that they are just sleeping).

Conditions of detention

In order for broilers to grow large and healthy, first disinfect the premises (wash the floors, whitewash the walls, lay a bedding) and create a sedentary lifestyle for them.

• In the first week of chickens' life, the temperature in the hen house should be + 30 ° C.
• From the second week, lower the temperature to + 27 ° C.
• And from the third to + 24 ° C.
• Remove heating from the fourth.

Make sure that chicks do not run far from the heater during this time. Add a fence, if necessary, gradually expanding the boundaries.

When buying chickens in May-June, when the heat is prevalent outside, look closely at the behavior of the chickens. If they are hot and they look "jerky", then put them on a fan or create good ventilation.

July-August is considered an excellent time for growing broilers at home, when chickens do not need to provide additional heat, and then adult chickens do not need it. You can start cutting from November.

Lighting in the chicken coop should be around the clock only in the first 10 days of life, when chickens eat and drink every now and then. Then the light is turned off for 8 hours, and after three weeks they are left only near the feeding place.

Broiler feeding

First feeding of chicks after hatching after 12-18 hours. For the first 5 days, offer an egg, milk, finely ground wheat, cottage cheese, and herbs (clover, onion feathers, nettles).

Babies are fed with crushed boiled eggs, switching to balanced feed with herbs on the third day of life, meat and fish waste from the 10th day, boiled potatoes and wet bread with barley from 21 days, cottage cheese. Regularly pour crushed eggshells and calcined shells, vitamins A and E into the feeder. Every week, "treat" the pets with fine gravel, 2-5 mm in diameter, at the rate of 250g per 50 chickens.

Boiled potatoes are kneaded and mixed with feed. Waste is given at the rate of 5 grams per chicken, bringing the volume to 15 g.

Water should always be freshly poured, clean, at room temperature. Better to change it every 2 hours.

Compound feed is selected by age: first starting, then teenage and finally for adult broilers. The latter are usually fed from the 45th day until the time of cutting.

Feeding in 1 week - up to 8 times a day, in 2 weeks - up to 6 times, in the third - up to 4 times, and from one month of age 2-3 times a day.

Broiler care

Give the chicks antibiotics for the first 14 days.

Keep sawdust clean and dry, do not be lazy to clean them at least once a day in order to breathe clean air, and not your feces.

Disinfect the feeder and drinker weekly with a 3% formalin solution.

Keep an eye on the comfortable planting of chickens, from the age of one month it is 20 pieces per 1 sq. M.

With gastrointestinal upset, broilers need to be fed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 3-5 days, and an antibiotic should be added to the feed.

Broilers are beef chickens that rarely make it to egg production. They are grown exclusively for meat. This business is significantly different from and requires a special approach. Consider the main nuances and pitfalls of growing and breeding broilers.

Keeping broilers at home

Broilers are fairly large birds that are characterized by rapid growth and weight gain. At 50 days of age, the average carcass weighs 1.5-2 kilograms, while the weight of an ordinary chicken does not exceed 700 grams. Broiler meat is very tender and has excellent taste characteristics. Although they grow intensively and can be grown over a season, many do not want to mess with them, knowing how finicky they are. In fact, if you follow the directions and follow all the guidelines, you can build a decent home business.

Features of maintenance and care

For rapid growth and weight gain, chicks require a complete, balanced diet and suitable housing conditions. In the first two weeks, the room temperature should be +30 - + 32 ° C, lighting should be regular. From the first days, the chickens begin to grow intensively, so they constantly eat and are in motion, but they cannot do this in the dark.

After two weeks, the temperature is gradually reduced to + 20 ° C, day and night begin to alternate every two hours. There are two types of broiler rearing at home - cage and floor.

Growing in cages is a more convenient option. The advantage of broilers is that they are not afraid of crowding. With age, the bird becomes inactive compared to ordinary chickens. The area of ​​one cage can be any, about 18 chickens or 8-10 adult chickens can be placed on 1 m².

For floor maintenance, place a soft hay or straw bedding that should be changed periodically. If you do not have a large area, about 50 adults can be accommodated on 6 m².

As a rule, broilers are bred at home in warm weather. Just in time for the season, you can grow an adult and sell meat. At the same time, growing in winter is also acceptable, the main thing is to provide a warm bedding, constant heating on frosty days and good nutrition.

As with broiler breeding, cleanliness and ventilation are essential. Since this type of bird is quite picky in growing, it leads a sedentary image, a dirty room without access to fresh air will lead to a number of diseases.

When planning this business, you need to buy the following equipment:

• cells (for cell cultivation);
• drinkers;
• feeders;
• incubator;
• thermometer;
• heater;
• lamps;
• jigging cells for keeping sick chickens;
• broom;
• containers for collecting droppings;
• boxes for storing and preparing feed.

At home, it is quite possible to incubate eggs, for this you do not need to buy expensive and complex equipment. There is a wide range of home incubators on the market. When studying the literature, everyone can master the incubation process. To do this, choose oval-shaped eggs, without dents or chips, turbidity in the egg.

Broiler feeding

Broilers are quite demanding and picky about feed. It should contain all useful trace elements, vitamins that can be in the composition of feed or additional additives. Only good nutrition will make it possible to achieve great results in a short period of time.

The most important rule is that there must always be food. Any chick or adult hen should have access to it at all times, as they need food to grow vigorously.

The diet of newly hatched chicks is no different from others. As with, they can be given specialized feed. In the first week, you can add boiled finely crushed eggs, millet, wheat groats. From the third day, fresh herbs can be added to the mash porridge. You can also periodically introduce herbal flour. Many experts recommend that chickens be drunk with a weak solution of potassium permanganate at three days of age.

When the chickens are five days old, each of them needs to be drunk with trivitamin (sold in every veterinary pharmacy). Then add some shells, chalk or bone meal to the porridge. They are a source of beneficial minerals for broilers.

But remember that mixing sand, as with, is prohibited. In the future, mash porridge should contain chopped oats, corn, wheat or barley. It is also acceptable to feed broilers at home with food waste from the kitchen.

You can give whole grains from one month. From this age onwards, it is beneficial to add yeast to food. To do this, they are bred in warm water and mixed with cereals.

Advice: chickens should always have enough feed, but it is better for him not to stagnate. Rotten porridge will lead to a number of diseases.

In order for the diet to be complete, you can use a specially prepared factory feed base. It is better for chickens at the age of 1 month to buy "Starter feed", then smoothly transfer them to "Fattening". This food is balanced and you don't need to add anything to it.

Broilers, despite their rapid growth, do not consume much food. To calculate and purchase a feed base, you need to calculate 1 kg of compound feed and 2.5 kg of a feed mixture per individual.

Check your feed supplier carefully. An improperly balanced composition can lead to many diseases and high mortality rates.

Breeding broilers at home as a business

Any business depends on the level of consumer demand and the state of the economy in the country as a whole. Growing broilers at home will be relevant even in times of crisis, since people will never stop buying food. In addition, chicken meat is an order of magnitude cheaper than pork or beef, which makes the business in demand and popular.

Business organization

If you want to start your own business, look for profitable business options and consider ideas or growing broilers at home, build an approximate plan of action and expected profit, weigh the pros and cons, and only then make a decision.

The business plan should consist of the following points:

1. analysis of demand, consumer market, the level of competition between meat producers;
2. the choice of the method of raising chickens;
3. building and equipping a poultry house;
4. preparation of the food supply;
5. collection of permits, business registration;
6. consumer search, sales organization.

Experienced poultry farmers recommend feeding broilers with factory compound feed, giving preference to feed for meat breeds. With proper nutrition and maintenance, slaughter can begin as early as 45 days of broilers' life. During this period, they reach 4 kilograms, their carcass weighs 2-2.5 kilograms, which contributes to the most demanded market demand. It is recommended to finish slaughter before 55-60 days of age, otherwise the costs of further cultivation will make the business unprofitable. Keep in mind that meat begins to lose its dietary quality after 50 days of age.

Advice: from 20-25 days of life, it is better to transfer broilers to corn, thanks to which the meat will be pale pink, and not bright yellow. It is this shade of meat that is most in demand on the modern market.

Do I need to register a business?

For beginner entrepreneurs who are just looking for and want to develop in the poultry industry, there is no need or entity... For small volumes of sale of carcasses to friends or at a fair, it is enough to open a personal subsidiary farm. In this case, you do not need to pay taxes and submit regular reports.

With a larger turnover, you can register as an individual entrepreneur to conclude contracts with regular wholesale buyers of products. The registration process requires a minimum package of documents and is completed in 5 working days.

Sales of products

When growing broilers at home, products are most often sold in specialized agricultural markets. With a larger business, you can conclude contracts for the wholesale supply with supermarkets, shops, retail chains, as well as catering establishments (snack bars, cafes, restaurants).

Many entrepreneurs sell carcasses to single buyers by posting information on a bulletin board on the Internet or in the newspaper.

In addition to meat, it is necessary to find irregular sales channels for related products - by-products and feathers. If you run a dacha farm, you can use chicken manure for fertilization, or you can agree to sell it with neighboring plots and farmers.

How to grow broilers at home?

Growing, keeping and caring for broilers at home is not difficult if all instructions are followed. Their development requires warmth, light and access to food, so a balanced combination of heating, proper feeding and rest will provide good results for several months.

In order for broilers to gain weight intensively, they do not need to leave room for them to walk. Excessive activity harms chickens. For rapid development, you need to provide them with an alternation of day and night - for this, provide intermittent lighting. Lamps should be switched on for 2 hours, then fade out for the same period.

Causes of high mortality among chickens

The main reason why many breeders refuse to contact broilers is high level mortality among birds. Despite the fact that the time for maximum weight gain only takes a few months, it is much easier. But do not despair - with proper observance of all requirements and growing conditions, mortality can be avoided altogether. So why broilers die:

1. buying weak chickens, which are extremely difficult to grow at home;
2. improper unbalanced diet;
3. hypothermia (temperature below + 30 ° C in the first month of maintenance or + 20 ° C with further dilution);
4. infection (to avoid it, do not allow air to stagnate and constantly clean the place where birds are reared);
5. too bright light throughout the day.

Pale scallops, lethargy, dirty plumage and cloaca indicate the bird's illness. If you find the first signs of the disease, such an individual should be isolated from all other chickens and consult a veterinarian. All suspicious chickens should also be isolated and soldered with diluted potassium permanganate.

When buying young animals, you need to carefully consider the choice. Healthy chickens have clear shiny eyes, clean fluff, moderately soft tummy and run fast enough, react to noise or touch.

Poultry slaughter process

The desire to purchase the offered product or not depends on the presentation of the carcass, therefore, the birds approach the slaughter quite carefully. At home the best option- cut off the bird's head with an ax. After that, the carcass is dipped in boiling water for a few seconds and plucked. If done correctly, the pen will be easy to remove and it will take only a few minutes to pluck. Prepared poultry is thermally treated to remove residual feather mass and gutted.

Growing broilers at home can be the start of a profitable and large-scale business. The main thing is to take into account all the features of growing a whimsical bird. She quickly gains weight, does not require complex care. All that is needed for intensive weight gain is the correct temperature regime, rest, the alternation of daylight hours and the correct balanced diet.