Breed of chickens Master Gray
Chickens Master Gray are meat-and-meat breeds, which are most conveniently bred in private farmsteads. This Cross was bred on the experimental farms of the Hubbard company, which has been creating new chicken branches for more than a century, and then Russia acquired Master Gray chickens. Breeding countries - USA and France. In France they are sometimes called "Master Grizzly". Roosters and hens are distinguished not only by good productivity, but also by their beautiful appearance. This can be easily verified by looking at the birds in the photo or their description. Chickens Master Gray have positive reviews. The only drawback is that when crossing, full-fledged crosses of the breed are not obtained.
Chickens Master Gray
Description of the breed
Chickens of the Master Gray breed were bred by a complex crossing. This is not a full-fledged breed, but a cross. It is impossible to get offspring at home that would fully comply with the standard, therefore chickens need to be bought at serious poultry farms. so there is a guarantee that a real cross is being purchased.
There are two lines of this cross: M and S (almost like in clothing patterns). Cross Master Gray M got from crossing chickens Red bro M with Master Gray cockerels. Cross Master Gray S - by mating Red bro S females with Master Gray males. All Reds differ in the speed of weight gain.
The Master Gray cross breed of chickens has a very beautiful plumage, which looks great on photos and videos. It is called speckled, variegated, gray, or shell-like. The main tone is gray, which is intertwined with white feathers in a chaotic manner. The pattern is clearly expressed in the neck area, on the tips of the wings and on the tail. In the area of the body, the pattern almost disappears, white and gray colors merge with each other.
Characteristics of Master Gray chickens and a description of their appearance are as follows:
- the head is medium, with a large, curved hooked beak;
- the comb is foliate, with pronounced denticles;
- round earrings;
- the color of the scallop and earrings is bright red;
- the neck is medium, densely covered with feathers;
- the body is large, but rather compact;
- the body is muscular and massive;
- the back is extended;
- the breast is well developed, muscular;
- paws are powerful, medium in length, with yellow metatarsals.
You can see in more detail what Master Gray looks like in the photo. These large roosters and hens are not only very productive, they can be a decoration of any yard, almost like a Sunday Ameraucana breed... It is not for nothing that birds consistently receive positive feedback from their owners. The rich color of a proud scallop silk chintz feathers a strong body, real beauties and beauties.
Product characteristic
The task of the breeders when creating the Master Gray breed was to link the high indicators of egg production in layers with the large body weight of the hens and good quality meat. In the end, we managed to do this, the product characteristics of the cross are as follows:
- the weight of the males is 6-7 kg, the weight of the females is 3-4 kg;
- egg production - 200-300 eggs per year;
- egg Weighs 60-70g;
- egg shells are creamy or brown;
- the survival rate of small chickens is 98%.
Laying hens of the Master Gray cross begin to lay eggs as early as 4-4.5 months, like the best egg breeds. The performance of females may decrease 7-8 months after birth, due to moltsbut it resumes after a couple of weeks. The meat is juicy, soft and tender, with an original taste, excellent aroma and very low fat content.
Advantages and disadvantages
The breed of meat-and-meat cross-breed chickens is quite popular. It is prized for a number of benefits. The pluses of the cross include:
- endurance to both cold and heat life in any conditions;
- a strong immune system;
- unpretentiousness in food standard feeding, has excellent performance even on conventional feed;
- undemanding to the conditions of detention;
- beautiful appearance, it can be estimated from the photo;
- calm, fearless disposition, benevolence;
- universal product qualities;
- developed maternal instinct in hens.
The main disadvantage of the Master Gray breed can be considered the inability to breed chickens on their own at home. It is corrected by the fact that the young are not too expensive. In addition, hens can be used to incubate the eggs of other birds, they are good mothers for example, Adler... Chicks gain weight more slowly than broilers, but Master Gray chickens give not only meat, but also a large number of eggs, therefore their breeding and caring for them remains profitable.
Features of the content
Master Gray is an unpretentious breed of chickens, she does not need special care. It is acceptable for her as cellular, and walking content. Birds feel great at temperatures from 2 to 28 ° C, therefore, the house should be insulated for the winter so that there are no drafts. But additional heating, if there is no too much frost in winter, the breed is not required, although some poultry breeders claim that heating can preserve egg production in winter and why freeze living creatures.
It is important to remember that this is a breed of large chickens, therefore they need to allocate more area. No more than 2 individuals can be kept per 1 m of the chicken coop. Accordingly, it is necessary to calculate the area for walking. For one chicken or cockerel, 3-4 meters of a pen should be allocated. In cages, the accuracy of birds can be greater: up to 3-4 individuals per 1 sq. m.
The nests for the testicles should also be large for the size of the hens. The optimal size is 35 × 40 cm. The litter is made of standard peat, straw, sawdust or shavings. It is important to ensure that its moisture content does not exceed 25%, and that the material does not become too dirty and does not contaminate the eggs. If this rule is not followed, the bird will get sick. It is imperative to place containers with sand and wood ash in the chicken coop and pen so that the chickens can clean their feathers. Also needed feeders, separate for dry and wet food, drinkers.
Bird feeding
Feeding the hens of the Master Gray breed is not difficult. They do not require special additives like broilers. On the contrary, if you feed the birds mixed feed for broiler breeds, they will cease to rush normally, although they will gain mass faster. The diet of roosters and hens includes a number of foods, which include:
- cereals (wheat, barley, oats, corn);
- green food (fresh herbs, tops or grass flour);
- vegetables (boiled potatoes, carrots, beets, zucchini, pumpkin);
- oilseed meal;
- wheat bran;
- Brewer's yeast;
- fish and meat and bone meal;
- mineral additives (chalk, salt, crushed shells and shells).
During the molting period, you can increase the amount of proteins in the diet due to legumes, skim milk, meat broths. In the spring, a premix may be given to hens to increase the number of eggs. There is no need for permanent vitamin supplements. Drinkers should always have fresh water. It is necessary to place containers next to the feeders filled with small pebbles of shell rock or coarse sand to improve grinding of the grain in the crop and for the strength of the shell.
Raising chickens
Since Master Gray chickens are a cross, it is impossible to get pure offspring at home. Chicks Master Gray in the photo and video are very beautiful, although they will not completely repeat the signs of their parents. Experienced poultry farmers advise buying young stock from large poultry farms in order to have confidence in the quality of the breed. In the photo, purebred chicks look quite specific. They have bright yellow plumage with clear black dots on the back of the head.
Feeding and keeping small chickens is easy. They don't need special food. If you want to get not only meat, but also eggs from the chickens, you should not feed the chickens with compound feed for broilers. The average weight gain of chickens by day (for varieties M and S) looks like this:
- 14 - 299-305 g;
- 21 - 565-576 g;
- 28 - 884-902 g;
- 35 - 1233-1258 g;
- 42 - 1588-1621 g;
- 49 - 1925-1963;
- 56 - 2243-2287 g;
- 63 - 2537-2585
The consumption of feed for growing per 1 kilogram of weight ranges from 1.5 kg to 2.3 kg, depending on age. As you can see, Master Gray chickens grow quite quickly, although this is not the best weight gain, it is inferior to broilers. This helps the breed to maintain a leading position in private households in Europe and America. The Master Gray breed of chickens is gaining popularity in Russia as well. The high standard of production makes the breeding and keeping of these chickens profitable. They are often used for the production of environmentally friendly products.
How much does Master Gray hatching egg and chicks cost? The price of an egg is approximately 50 rubles. Daily chickens are sold for 100-150 rubles, weekly ones - for 150-200 rubles. There is no point in buying adult chickens, since it will not work to breed them on your own. It's easier to get chicks or hatching eggs.