Keeping chickens in the first days of life

3

3437

Article rating

Breeding chickens is not an easy task, because you need to know all the intricacies of how to breed chickens in the first days of life. If the chickens are incubated by a brood hen, she takes care of their health. If they were born in an incubator, the owner should become their "mother", otherwise the chickens will never become cockerels and hens, as they will die in infancy. It is necessary to clearly know what temperature is needed for the chicks in the first days of life, so that they feel comfortable.

Chickens in the first days of life

Keeping broilers at home for the first days should include all the rules for care and feeding. At home, growing and feeding immediately after birth is very important, since immunity is laid at this time. Subject to the basic rules for the care and cultivation of birds, they make a profit and delight them with good health.

Arrangement of the place

The most important thing is to create the right temperature regime and equipped place for newly hatched chicks in the first week of their life. In nature, the hen copes with this, hiding them under the wings and warming with the body. It is especially important for chicks from an incubator to adhere to this rule in the first 7 days: even from a slight hypothermia, the chicks will die. A place for chicks must be equipped in advance.

Suitable for keeping chicks cell, but the ideal place would be a wooden box or an ordinary cardboard box, since the walls will additionally protect the chicks from drafts, which are very dangerous for newborns. A heating source is required to create the desired temperature. Ideally it is infrared lamp, which will give not only warmth, but also light. Other available tools are also suitable: an incandescent lamp, a heating pad wrapped in a diaper. You can put the cage next to the battery or use an electric heater.

For newly hatched chicks, the ideal temperature is 29-30 ° C. Lighting is provided around the clock. If it is too expensive, you can turn off the light at night or leave something like a night light. If the heat source is an infrared lamp that is turned off at night, care must be taken that the temperature in the mini-chicken coop does not drop.

To keep warm, the cage or box can be covered with a piece of cloth, leaving a hole for air to pass through to prevent the chicks from suffocating. On the 5th day, you need to start gradually hardening procedures. The heating is reduced by 2-4 ° C. Subsequently, the temperature is reduced by 3 ° C every week. When chicks are one month old, they should not be uncomfortable at 18 ° C.

To find out if the owner has taken up hardening too zealously, you need to take a closer look at the chicks. If they huddle together, then the temperature urgently needs to be raised or there will be no one to temper. If the temperature is comfortable, the birds eat well and move actively.

Keeping young animals in a cage

Chickens need just as much warmth. It is best to cover the floor with a cloth, which is changed 1-2 times a day. You can also use a newspaper, but it gets wet quickly, and if the owner forgets to change it in time, the soggy pieces will become food for chickens, and this is harmful to the stomachs that have not yet matured. From the 5th day after hatching, the chicks can be transferred to a cage with a floor in a shallow cell.

The cells should be large enough for the chicks' waste to pass through, but not too large, otherwise the babies will get stuck in them and injure themselves. This design does not require thorough cleaning. If it is impossible to make the floor, you just need to lay hay. Both sawdust and straw can be used. All of these materials need to be changed as they become dirty. It is better not to use non-food materials: chicks will try them "by the mouth" and get sick.

It is also worth observing the footage of the chicken apartment: young animals should not crowd in a small space. Some farmers keep young animals in brooder, which can be done independently if desired. Weak chicks suffer in crowded conditions from strong brothers and sisters. There should not be more than 25-30 chickens per 1 m at the age of a day. With the growth of pets, the room should also expand. If the chickens are a month old, then there should be no more than 17 of them per 1 m.

Food

food should be appropriate for the age of the chicks. This is especially important for poultry of beef breeds such as broilers. You should also add to food vitamins and nutritional supplements. You should not be zealous with them if you want to get an environmentally friendly product, but you cannot neglect them either, since the lack of the necessary substances will negatively affect the development of babies. It is best to consult a veterinarian before taking the drug.

The first time to give food to chickens is after hatching after 12-16 hours. Before that, the chicks should dry out. In nature, for the first time they eat the remains of the fetal yolk. Many owners follow this path, giving babies finely crushed boiled yolk. Some veterinarians advise giving corn grits for the first time. The food should be served to the chickens not in a bowl, but on a board or cardboard: this is how the kids will learn to eat, since they do not have mothers showing what to do and how to do it.

How to water chickens

How to water chickens in the first days of life in order to build up immunity and not harm them? In addition to food, chicks also need water. If it is of inadequate quality, it is better to pass it through a filter or disinfect it with potassium permanganate. You need to solder so that the solution is barely pink. The use of potassium permanganate has a minus: along with harmful microorganisms, useful ones are also destroyed.

Excessive sterility, like dirt, is harmful to young animals and hens, as it suppresses natural immunity. However, if the conditions for keeping the poultry are far from ideal or there is a danger of infection, you should not reject the old proven methods. It is very useful to add glucose to the water. It will help babies to get stronger and will be an excellent prevention against anemia.

Day-old chicks diet

On the second day after birth or incubation, the chicks have already adapted enough, and it is time for the owner to expand their diet. At home, on the first day, you do not need to introduce all types of products, but on the second day you should add such cereals to the chicks menu: semolina, barley and wheat. You can also leave boiled eggs in the diet. Worth trying the special compound feed for chickens, but his choice at this stage should be considered carefully. It must be age appropriate and of good quality. The pellets should be small enough for the chicks to peck on.

Essential foods in the diet of day old chickens:

• cereals;
• dairy products;
• boiled eggs.

Without fermented milk products, there is a lack of calcium, nitrogen, and also some types of proteins. Low-fat cottage cheese is best suited for this purpose.If chickens are not enthusiastic about low-fat cottage cheese, mix it with an egg or cereal. It is useful to give chicks and yogurt with yogurt. There are many useful microorganisms in these products, which will form the basis for the formation of microflora of the digestive system of chickens, so they need to water the young. It is better to give this food in special drinkers. All of the above products do not need to be replaced with milk in their absence.

The chicken's body does not assimilate it and such food will not bring benefits. Sometimes chickens categorically do not want to eat such healthy milk. What to do? Show yourself a strict parent and force feed. This will require a pipette, time and iron patience. Educating your toddlers to eat well is worth the hassle. In a few days the chicks will get used to this taste and the problem will be solved.

The regime and norms of feeding young animals

From the first days of hatching, the chicks should be fed at intervals of 2 hours. In the early days, broilers and other birds should be cared for 24 hours a day. That is why many people prefer young birds so as not to grow them in an incubator, since a lot of nuances must be observed. The quality of the feed is also very important. It is better to remove yesterday's stale food and give a new one. If there is too much feed left, it is worth reducing the portion. It is also necessary to control whether all the chickens are full. A full goiter is an indicator of satiety. Sometimes food is simply taken away from the weaker ones. Such chickens should not be left to fend for themselves: you just need to feed them separately and control the process.

Feeding chickens from 2 to 7 days

The first week is very important for the further growth of the young. They cannot absorb complete adult food, but they must be gradually prepared for it. The peculiarity of feeding chickens in the period from 2 to 7 days is that the number of feedings is reduced. If the first 2 days the babies were fed 12 times, then gradually this number decreases to 5-8. Chickens are not hungry at this stage.

The minimum amount of feed should be more than 10 g. However, healthy individuals usually eat more. If food is aimed at fattening and caring for broilers, then they should not be limited in food. Let them eat as much as they like, as this helps them gain the necessary weight faster. Chicks are considered reared if they tolerate 18 ° C normally. Their weight at that time should not be less than 1.5 kg. Youngsters a few days after birth, usually on the 3rd day, can be given greens so that they receive not only proteins and mineral salts, but also vitamins.

Nettles, clover, dandelions are best suited for this. If the grass is dirty, it is washed, and in some cases scalded with boiling water. The greens are very finely chopped and added to the usual food, cereals or cottage cheese. From the 5th day of the chicks' life, the menu should be replenished with green onions. This is an excellent prevention from many diseases, especially those related to the work of the digestive system. Onions are also given to babies in a highly chopped form.

Feeding chicks one week after birth

Weekly chicks need to be transferred to more serious products. They give cereals and mixtures with the addition of vegetables. From vegetables, it is best to take carrots or potatoes. Fermented milk should be kept in the diet, but not as much is required as before, so the portions can be reduced. The greens also need to be preserved. And of course, do not forget that birds need not only eat but also drink water. Vitamins and supplements should only be used on the advice of a veterinarian. In general, babies have become more independent and caring for chickens in the first days of life has become easier.

The difference in feeding beef breeds and layers

Growing poultry is a profitable occupation, but you should decide for what purposes it is intended. There are egg-bearing breeds, there are meat breeds, and there are those that can be used for any purpose. The characteristics of the chicken menu depend on the breed.Meat breeds should be fed more to obtain juicy fatty meat. The focus should be on foods with a higher calorie content, which will allow you to gain weight faster.

The diet should contain more cereals, cereals, mixed fodders. Supplements may also be used on the advice of your veterinarian. Overweight hens are more harmful than beneficial. However, their body should have enough calcium and other mineral salts, so it is worth increasing the rate of fermented milk products.

Intensive or extensive feeding

Both methods have pros and cons. The rationality of the application also depends on the breed. The method is chosen by about 2 months of age. Meat breeds such as broilers need to gain weight quickly. On farms, 2-month-old chickens of this breed weigh 1.5 kilograms or more. You need to take care of them in the same way as for other birds, but the nutrition can be adjusted. To achieve such indicators, an intensive method and full-fledged cultivation are better suited. The bird does not walk, but lives in cages.

Housing standards: 12 chickens per 1 meter. If these boundaries are not observed, in the future it will not be possible to get the desired number of chicken eggs. The temperature intended for chickens should be within 18-20 ° C without sudden changes. The air is quite humid, 60-70%. Until the chicks are 5 days old, they need intense lighting around the clock. Later - a night light break for no more than 5 hours. The food is dominated by compound feeds, where there are many vitamins, proteins and proteins. Plentiful fresh drink. Gravel is also needed for better assimilation of food. It must be served in a separate feeder.

The extensive method is better suited for layers. From 3-4 months, walks are shown for chickens of these breeds. Sometimes the bird only spends the night indoors. Natural products prevail in feed. Particular attention is paid to the presence of foods that contain calcium.

Useful Tips

In order for the livestock to grow up healthy, you need to pay attention to how to care for the chickens in the first days of life.

If the young are sick immediately after birth, a veterinarian consultation is needed. In this case, the prescribed drugs and medications are given. For small individuals, it is undesirable to use some kind of medicine due to unstable immunity and young age, but if the disease has attacked the entire chicken coop, individuals need to be treated by soldering drugs or drugs in a small dosage, which will be prescribed by a specialist. The dosage should be selected only by a veterinarian after an internal examination of the bird, depending on the stage of the disease and the cause of the disease.

With intensive feeding, when feathers first appear, you need to make sure that no food sticks to them. Also, if food sticks to the paws, corns are formed, the birds die, since the paws do not move due to deposits. With this method, it will not be superfluous to have a veterinary consultation, certain drugs to improve nutrition and immunity. At the first symptoms of the disease, the bird is given drugs prescribed by a veterinarian. Supplements and vitamins will not be superfluous in terms of indicators, you can drink liquid additives.