Mini meat chickens for a private farm
If your goal in breeding poultry is to obtain both meat and eggs, then white and colored mini meat chickens, which take up little space, are rather unpretentious in keeping and care, and are quite productive, will be a good option for choosing.
Mini meat chickens
About mini chickens
Mini meat motley breed of chickens found its consumer, thanks to the ability to grow it in a small private farm.
The mini-yarn owes its appearance to the Zagorsk Institute located in the Moscow region, which works in the field of domestic poultry farming.
In many European countries, mini-breeds of chickens have replaced the classic chicken representatives. Little roosters and hens, red and white, have become especially popular with French and English poultry houses, due to their high rates of meat and egg production. In Russia, breeding and sale of mini-roosters and chickens is carried out in Yekaterinburg, Sergiev Posad, Podolsk, Orekhovo-Zuevo.
A general description of the standards, under which each individual subspecies of mini-chickens fits, includes the main parameters of the appearance:
- small size and low weight of females and roosters,
- very short legs,
- dense rigid plumage.
The weight of mini-representatives varies from 2.5-2.7 kg of a hen and up to 3.0 kg of a rooster. The average egg production is 170 pieces, which can significantly exceed these indicators when creating the most favorable conditions for keeping and feeding. The egg weighs 50-60 g. Average breeding rates:
- the survival rate of young animals - at least 85%,
- hatchability - not less than 80%,
- the safety of an adult is at least 90%.
Representatives of mini-meat breeds of chickens can be in one of 3 possible colors: white, fawn or red.
Benefits for a private household
Among the positive qualities of the breeds of these chickens, reviews of poultry houses indicate:
- rapid intensive growth and early puberty,
- pickiness in the use of feed, their quick and easy digestibility,
- possibility of content and growing chickens in cages and aviaries,
- rather large size of the eggs brought, despite the small size of the individual itself,
- balanced and unassuming character,
- profitability from the economic point of view in terms of saving the place of keeping and the amount of feeding costs.
Among the disadvantages of these chickens are:
- predisposition to colds due to frequent hypothermia due to the low location of the body due to short legs;
- predisposition to diseases of the paws with insufficient nutrition;
- the need to keep chickens of different color shades separately due to the prohibition of crossing them.
The subtleties of growing and keeping
Small broilers, when raised and kept at home, show themselves as versatile birds that can live without creating special conditions.
Premises
Providing the proper temperature in the room where the bird is kept, which for chickens in the first weeks of life is at least 35 ° C, and for adults - at least 20 ° C, a survival rate of up to 100% can be achieved.
When keeping small meat birds in more than a dozen numbers, poultry houses recommend not mixing individuals of different palettes, since their crossing often leads to a weakening of immunity in the younger generation and a loss of hereditary characteristics.
It is possible to keep small meat breeds of chickens both in open-air cages and cages in a limited space, and in an outdoor way. At the same time, the rules for cleaning the premises, its disinfection, the absence of drafts and compliance with the requirements for moisture indicators are the same as when growing and maintaining conventional classic chicken breeds.
Feeding features
Feeding small meat chickens and roosters differs from the feed ration of other chickens only in the amount of food consumed. In order to ensure proper feeding of chickens, poultry houses often use ready-made feed mixtures in accordance with the age category of poultry, intended for fattening broilers, in which chalk and flour (fish or meat and bone). Young animals can be grown on a natural diet, which consists of curd products and fresh herbs.
Overview of individual subspecies
Among the individual subspecies that were bred in Russia, the most famous are B66, P11 and B33. Their differences can be seen in the photo and video.
Chickens B33
Otherwise called dwarf leghorn. The color of the chicken is white. Bird reviews indicate that these birds
- survivable in 98% of cases,
- absorb 40% less feed than ordinary poultry of standard sizes,
- friendly by nature,
- feel comfortable in a confined space, regardless of active temperament,
- egg production indicators reach up to 250 eggs per year.
Chickens P11
Representatives of the P11 breed, or swarm islands, have established themselves in home breeding as hardy, productive and active birds, differing in:
- early egg-laying ability,
- the possibility of cage and aviary content,
- a reduced amount of feed consumed (no more than 120 g per day per head).
Suit P11 - fawn (red).
Chickens B66
Although they are not pioneers on farms, they have established a stable dynamic of growth in popularity among poultry houses and received numerous positive reviews.
B66 chickens belong to universal ones with a greater share of meat orientation. Like other miniature meat chickens, these birds are sturdily built, with a horizontal body and short legs. B66 has only white color. The description of the breed includes the advantages of poultry in a productive way:
- average egg production of laying hens - 180 eggs weighing 50-65 g with the potential to increase this indicator to 250 with proper and complete care and nutrition,
- early puberty, the percentage of egg fertilization is 93,
- chick vitality indices - 85-87% with potential limits up to 95%,
- economic benefit of using feed - up to 35% compared to the cost of classic chicken breeds,
- the comfort of cage and outdoor maintenance is equivalent.
Chickens B66 weigh from 2.5 to 2.7 kg.