Growing and breeding chickens at home, tips and tricks

It has long been known that there is nothing better and better than homemade products. It is quite environmentally friendly than the one that is grown on farms, and brings much more benefits to the body. One of the options for home-made products are chicken eggs and meat. Breeding chickens at home is quite simple and does not require the use of special technologies. And proper cultivation and care for them will provide the owners with a large number of eggs and tasty meat.

The best breeds of chickens to raise

Modern poultry farming is represented by the following types of chickens:

• Meat. Such birds are large in size and average egg production. A distinctive feature of such chickens is that they are wonderful hens.
• Egg. They have a small body weight and increased egg production. The most common type of chicken.
• Meat and egg. The best breed for breeding at home. Differ in the increased endurance. These birds are unpretentious in content and can be grown even in the country. In terms of egg production, they are slightly inferior to chickens of egg breeds. They are good hens. Very calm and it is not necessary for them to erect high fences.
• Fighting. A bird can weigh both 500 g and 7 kg. Because of their short plumage, chickens need a warm coop. The feed should be of vegetable and animal origin, rich in protein. They are rarely kept at home. Breeding them is not profitable.
• Decorative. Such chickens will also not bring any benefit. They are bred mainly for aesthetics and beauty.

Requirements for breeding chickens at home

The chicken is a rather unpretentious animal. Almost any room can be used as a chicken coop, for example, a shed on a personal plot or a small courtyard near a summer house. Inside the chicken coop, it is necessary to nail poles that will be used for perching and overnight for birds. It is undesirable to nail them too high.

The interior arrangement of the chicken coop depends on What is the purpose of buying birds?. If they are used for breeding, then in this case they must prepare a place in which the chickens will lay eggs. The floor of the chicken coop should be covered with dry and clean straw, which should be changed as soon as it gets dirty. In this case, the hens will lay eggs in only one place, which makes it easier to collect the eggs.

To create offspring, a rooster is needed. One rooster is enough for 9-13 hens. It is advisable to purchase an incubator, which will make the process of hatching eggs easier. Eggs must be properly selected before incubation. They must be free of any defects and of the required shape. Large eggs or those with two yolks are not suitable for incubation.

Breeding chickens at home

Chickens that are bred at home need care. First you need to prepare a place for them. Equipping the chicken coop, you need to put straw on the floor, make perches and hold the light. It is important that nesting and egg-laying areas are clean and shaded. This will help the hens to lay more eggs. The chicken coop should have two doors. One, for ventilation, should be located at the top, the second, for the exit of the bird into the pen, at the bottom.

To breed chickens at home, you will need either a hen or an incubator. Not all chickens have a maternal instinct. Birds of meat and meat and egg breeds, as well as non-pedigreed chickens are recognized as the best brood hens. The hen turns into a brood hen in spring and summer when she lays enough eggs. In this case, no action is required. It is enough just to put the chicken on the nest, which should be in a dark and quiet corner of the chicken coop. It remains only to wait for the chicks to hatch, periodically adding food to the hen and pouring water. medium sized chicken can lay 14–17 eggs.

You can also use a home incubator to breed chickens. This is a rather complex matter that requires theoretical and practical knowledge. Eggs should only be from healthy birds with high productivity, free from defects and deficiencies. Before incubation, eggs are carefully selected, rejecting irregular shapes, as well as too large or too small. Eggs in the incubator should be turned over periodically, once every 4 hours. little chickens appear after three weeks of incubation.

Growing young animals

Raising chickens is a very important stage in poultry breeding, as a lot depends on it. day old chicks need a lot of heat. The temperature during this period should be 30 degrees. It is great if the chicks hatched under the hen, otherwise it will be necessary to look for ways to warm them. For example, they put a heating pad wrapped in a towel in a box.

Even before the hatching of the chicks, feeders and drinkers are prepared. As a feeder, there can be an oblong container or a small trough. The main thing is that each chicken can safely eat and drink. All chicks should develop in the same way. If some of them are lagging behind in growth, then such chickens are planted and raised separately, giving them more attention.

Day old chicks need to be fed with lots of protein. It can be cottage cheese, milk, boiled eggs, kefir, etc.

Also, do not forget about vitamins. Chicks really like chopped greens, especially nettle, which contains a large amount of vitamins.

On the tenth day, the chickens are already beginning to be fed with special feed and wet mash. Be sure to add mineral supplements such as:

• a piece of chalk;
• crushed shell;
• bone flour.

Chickens should be gradually accustomed to free range. grown up chicks begin to form into the parent herd, i.e., in such a population, from which new offspring will subsequently be obtained. The selection is made in the fall, and pullets must be in good health and showing high activity. The rest of the birds are slaughtered for meat.

At home, chickens are not kept for more than 3 years, because their productivity begins to decline and their maintenance becomes unprofitable.

In autumn, roosters are also chosen for the tribe. It should be taken into account that 10-15 hens should have one rooster, but it is better to keep one more male in reserve. Roosters must have good health and leadership qualities.

The nuances of growing and breeding chickens at home

• For the bird to fly need light.
• A chicken will never lay in a dirty place. It is necessary to change the straw in the chicken coop more often, especially in places where laying hens are located.
• In order for the eggs to be strong, the bird must be fed calcium contained in chalk and charcoal.
• Be sure to add salt to the feed, which contributes not only to better absorption of food, but also destroys worms.
• In winter, the chicken coop should be insulated, because the birds die at temperatures below minus twenty degrees.
• The chicken coop should be bright and be sure to be ventilated. This affects egg production.
• Day old chicks require temperature not lower than +30 degrees.
• Breeding chickens is best done from egg breeds.

Conclusion

Comparing chicken breeding at home with other areas of agriculture, we can conclude that this process will in any case be profitable, justifying the time, effort and money spent on this. It is enough just to follow all the necessary recommendations and take into account certain nuances in the process of breeding and raising chickens.