Highsec breed: history, description, conditions of keeping and feeding chickens

The favorite breed of bird breeders are highsecs. Although it is more correct to call it not a breed, but a cross of high egg-laying hens, bred in one of the smallest countries in Europe – Holland. This article provides a detailed overview of this type of poultry.

The history of the appearance of the cross

The beginning of work on the development of this hybrid dates back to 1968. It was then that the breeders of the Dutch farm “Euribrid” decided to breed chickens with high egg production. The whole complex of works on breed selection took about two years. In 1970, a new cross-country chicken was presented to the world. A successful sale of parental forms under the name “Hysec” began.

The Borovskaya Poultry Farm, located in the Tyumen Region, was the first to acquire highsecs in 1974. This farm was engaged in breeding laying hens and made great strides in your work. For many years, the factory has been at the forefront thanks to high-sec, agricultural production has not been able to achieve the results of the Borovskaya poultry farm for a long time. Now cross highsec is very famous and widespread throughout Russia.

Breed description

The birds of the breeds “New Hampshire” and “White Leggorn” were taken as the basis for crossing when breeding highsecs. That is why among the cross there are individuals of both brown and white color. Distinctive features of chickens of this breed are grace, ease of movement, graceful complexion and energy. At the same time, individuals that are calmer in temperament cannot be found in the poultry house. The antagonism, which is present in almost all other breeds, is the least pronounced in highsecs.

Chickens look very beautiful and original: they are covered with feathers that are smooth, silky to the eye and touch, and have an outstanding crest, which, due to its height, cannot rest on its head evenly and hangs to one side. But highsecs are favorites of poultry farmers not because of their attractive appearance, but because of their high egg production rate. To date, this egg breed is considered one of the most productive.

Chickens of this hybrid are of two types:

• white highsec;
• brown highsec.

Although the progenitors of these species are the same, nevertheless, the white specimens of the highsec breed differ from the brown ones both in appearance and in their productivity.

White highsec

This type of highsec has the following features:

• white color of plumage;
• rather small weight (maximum weight 1,7 kg).

On average, after 4,5 months, young hens begin to lay. In the most egg-laying period (at the age of two or three years), the productivity of individuals of this breed is 280 eggs per year. Eggs are heavy (63 grams), are highly nutritious and have the lowest cholesterol content. Shell color is white or light brown.

The safety of the young in this subspecies of highsec is 100 percent.

White highsec is an egg cross, so after realizing its egg-laying potential can be sold for meat, but the broth from such a chicken will not turn out to be very tasty, and the meat itself will be tough, so to speak, “rubber”.

When introducing white highsecs, you need to remember that they need optimal conditions for keeping and feeding. Even with small deviations, laying hens experience stress. Even representatives of this cross need food containing a large amount of minerals.

brown highsec

Features of brown highsec:

• yellow-brown plumage;
• rather large physique, weight from 2 to 2,4 kg.

The egg production of these chickens is up to 305 eggs per year. Eggs have a highly durable dark-colored shell.

Brown highsec is an egg and meat cross.

Brown individuals compared to whites are calmer, phlegmatic and have greater vitality. The body of these highsecs is more resistant to cold weather and to changes in food. With a decrease in food intake, the performance of brown chickens does not decrease. The disadvantages of this cross include only pickiness in food.

Today, the Highsec breed taken as the basis for the new hybrid Zarya-17, which was bred by Russian breeders at the Ptichnoye plant located in the Moscow region. The productivity of these chickens is not inferior to the Dutch progenitors, but they are more adapted to Russian weather conditions and poor quality feed.

When choosing a bird on the market and if you want to purchase individuals of the Highsec breed, be especially careful. There is a risk of purchasing a completely different product that was originally needed. The size and color of highsec can let down a not very experienced farmer when making a purchase. Without proper attention, instead of young birds, you can purchase small and light adult chickens of this breed and notice the catch already at home. It is possible to distinguish “girls” from “boys” among highsec chickens already at a daily age. They have a different color of down: in cockerels it is yellow, light, in hens it is close to brown, dark.

Conditions of keeping and feeding

If you want the birds to be healthy, comfortable, their performance indicators do not decrease, and their egg shells are hard, you need to provide them with normal living conditions, but taking into account the following features:

• to settle the birds in a comfortable and equipped room. It must be prepared, dried and ventilated. Ventilation should be of high quality, but the presence of drafts is unacceptable. Not bad whitewash the walls and ceiling quicklime. There should be 1 individuals per 4 square meter of floor.
• ensure the correct temperature. The chicken coop should be warm, especially if chickens are kept there, because they can die in cold weather. Therefore, in a poultry house with chickens of this breed, you need install an additional heat source. It is not necessary to heat a chicken coop with adults, it is enough just to insulate it well. Due to the large number of feathers, the highsec’s body temperature is maintained at about 42 degrees, so adult birds tolerate frost well without additional heating.
• arrange the underlayment. Before you put chickens in a poultry house, you need cover the floor with a layer of sawdust or hay 5-7 centimeters thick. In the future, the thickness of this layer will become larger, because it is not necessary to remove the old bedding, you can simply pour new ones over the old layers. But this is only possible if you know for sure that there are no bedbugs or fleas in the house. As soon as there are suspicions that the chicken coop is infected with parasites, you need to immediately destroy the litter. In the absence of sanitation, various diseases threaten the birds, and the young may even die.
• place perches for chickens against the wall. Birds will sleep on these horizontal bars. The height of their location is 60 centimeters from the floor level. Be sure to place perches in one row. If you arrange places to sleep on top of each other, then chickens of this breed will compete for the best places and, as a result, will not rest well. If there are cages available, then settle the highsecs in them. This cross will perfectly tolerate this type of placement;
• place the nests in the far, darker places of the chicken coop. Nothing should distract the birds from egg production. Line the nests with plenty of soft hay. Can put a rubber mat near the nestso that the egg does not break due to the carelessness of the chicken;
• arrange feeders and drinkers along the walls. At the same time, the edges of the feeders and drinkers are located at the level of the laying hen’s back;
• install artificial lighting. Highsecs are very whimsical in terms of lighting. Daylight hours for laying hens should be extended to seventeen hours a day. Therefore, in the autumn and winter, when there is little light, you need to equip special lamps in the chicken coop. This will force the hens to be more active and produce eggs more often;
• Feed high quality and balanced food. Birds of this cross will not peck at food that they do not like. To maintain and increase egg production, they need vitamins, protein and quality grain in sufficient quantities. In order to enrich the body of laying hens with calcium, small pebbles and sand should be added to the feed. At a time when the active phase of growth of individuals is underway, it is recommended to give them compound feed, selecting it depending on the weight and age of the highsec.

Highsec cross individuals are the best hybrid of birds of the egg direction of productivity. In order to regularly receive eggs from highsecs, you need to monitor the nutrition of the birds and the conditions in which they are kept. Individuals of this breed are unpretentious in care, quite hardy, but still they need attention.