Breeding chickens in the country for beginners

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2009

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Breeding chickens in the country can be a great way to always have your own environmentally friendly product on the table. However, for beginners, growing broilers in the country can be a reason for numerous questions, from legal aspects to breeding and keeping birds.

Breeding chickens and broilers in the country

Legal aspects of breeding

For many country neighbors, chickens in the country are nothing more than a spreading infection, lice, pincers and a way to attract rodents, therefore, often when deciding on the breeding of poultry in a summer cottage, many private farmers doubt whether the law allows keeping, for example, 30 or more chickens in a personal summer cottage.

The current legislation provides an opportunity for members of horticultural associations to keep animals on the land plots provided to them in an amount that would ensure compliance with all sanitary standards and do not harm neighbors.

It is forbidden to keep large livestock such as horses, cows and pigs in dachas, but it is better to breed rabbits, goats, lambs and poultry to get meat and eggs from it for a summer cottage with a written agreement received from nearby neighbors, fencing a site for them and equipping there is an outbuilding on it at a distance of at least 4 m from the boundaries of their plots.

At the same time, the building must meet the requirements for fire-prevention measures and environmental protection rules.

It is worth remembering that animal husbandry in a summer cottage cannot have a commercial basis; it is possible to start raising chickens within a gardening partnership exclusively for personal consumption. Subject to breeding poultry on a small scale solely for individual consumption, coordination with the veterinary supervision for dacha farming is not required.

Breed selection

In order to make the right choice of breed for breeding in the country, you need to know that all chicken representatives are divided into 3 main lines, depending on their productivity.

1. Egg layers stand out from the total mass by indicators of egg production, are small in size, they have early maturity, as a result of which they begin to lay an egg from the age of 4-5 months. The maximum weight of a hen is up to 2.2 kg, a rooster is up to 3.0 kg. Egg chickens are active throughout the day, require large areas for a walking paddock in search of food, and have a good appetite. These breeds include Russian white chickens, Leghorns, Golden Czech, Andalusian, White-tailed red, Hamburg.
2. Broiler chickens are large in size, gain weight intensively, and have good taste characteristics of meat. They can be grown during the spring-summer season, which will be enough to gain weight. However, their egg production rates are significantly lower than those of other areas.Broilers stand out among meat breeds, Cornish, Mechelen chickens, Brahmas, Langshany, Cochinchins.
3. Meat, or universal, produce average productivity for both meat and eggs. As they grow older, these representatives lose their original egg production and then go to slaughter. Among the universal ones are the Kyrgyz gray breed, Tsarskoye Selo chickens, Lakenfelders, Sussex, Chicken chickens, Yurlovsky birds, Velzumers and Moscow White breed.

Laying hens, which will regularly supply fresh eggs, are the most popular among summer cottages. Among the advantages that summer residents point out is the keeping of chickens in the country in the summer, their unpretentiousness and stable immunity.

For beginners, the process of breeding chickens and broilers in the country is recommended to start with unpretentious breeds, which are better to have up to 30 pieces.

The subtleties of purchasing a bird

You can buy the right breed at a poultry farm or an agricultural market, but the most recommended option for purchasing poultry for breeding chickens in the country by beginners is to buy from breeders. They will be able to give useful advice on raising and keeping poultry, caring for them and feeding order. In addition, the risk of acquiring sick or unvaccinated chickens is minimized.

The suspiciously low cost of chickens should alert you first of all.

Poultry experts recommend caution when purchasing heads and better pay attention to the following external aspects:

• the bird should be vigorous and active, not drooping or lethargic,
• chickens should not sit on their paws, remain in a standing position,
• there should be no discharge from the eyes,
• the comb in roosters and hens should be bright red, unless a different color is provided for by the breed,
• plumage is smooth, clean.

Pay attention to breath that is odorless and should be uniform. It is also worth checking the bird for the presence of parasites in the feathers.

An important point is the age of the bird; by beginners, it can be determined in several ways:

• The winter brood of birds is extremely rare due to the rise in the cost of keeping. You should count 5 months (this is the average age of the young) from the date of purchase, if the brood falls in the winter, then most likely there is a deception here.
• Before buying, it is important to study the photo of the chicken paws of the old chicken and young animals, and then, when personally viewing, pay attention to the paws of the offered individuals.
• Young birds are distinguished by the brightness of the scallop and lobes; these parts of the young bird's body are warm to the touch.

The greatest difficulties arise for beginners when purchasing chickens, which are chosen taking into account some of the features:

• chickens should have a reaction to a voice or noise (knocking),
• at the sight of a treat, the reaction of the chickens is quite fast and active,
• the feather coat of chicks has a smooth and even structure.

Place for the poultry house

The comfortable stay of birds in a summer cottage depends on the correct choice of a place for an outbuilding and an equipped enclosure.

In addition to the fact that the place for placing the chicken coop should be chosen at a distance of at least 4 m from the borders with neighboring land plots, it should be sufficiently illuminated throughout the daylight hours, but not be exposed to direct sunlight. Dryness of the soil layer is also important, therefore it is not recommended to build an outbuilding for breeding and keeping chickens in a country house in a lowland or in a swamp. Are not suitable for placing the poultry house in a piercing wind and under trees.

The most favorable will be the place that is inclined: rainwater will not accumulate, but will begin to Leave, leaving the soil layer of the corral to dry out.

When planning the size of the site, do not forget about the need to arrange a place for walking birds in such a way that a corral is required for 1 hen or cockerel. m area.

Building a poultry house

Build a chicken coop follows with such a calculation that from 1 to 2 dozen chickens will feel comfortable on an area measuring 2 * 3 meters. At the same time, the quality and fundamental nature of the structure depends on the period in which the selected breed will be kept.

Spring-summer breeding

Keeping chickens starting in spring and summer assumes that no insulation is required from the poultry house and a simple shed with a roof or a shed that is able to protect birds in case of bad weather and a corral is suitable as a living room for chickens. Additional lighting is not required in the summer.

Year-round breeding of chickens

Breeding keeping the livestock of chickens at their summer cottage throughout the entire calendar year will require construction of an insulated structureto keep the livestock alive during the cold winter season. It is necessary to provide heating that would keep the temperature from 11 to 22 ° C. If there is enough natural light in the summer, then in the winter they often resort to artificial lighting to maintain daylight hours up to 18-20 hours.

Internal arrangement

Among the recommendations given by professional poultry houses, the dimensional parameters of the internal arrangement are important:

• the height of the chicken coop should be within 2.2 m,
• perches are made at a height of 1.1 m in length, based on 1 hen, 15-20 cm of space,
• the window is also located at a distance of 1.1 m from the floor, it is better if its dimensions are 0.5 * 0.5 m with a chicken coop area of ​​1.5 * 2.0 meters, with an increase in the area, the number of windows increases,
• the floor is lined with sand mixed with shavings,
• for the free exit of chickens from the hen house, a hole half a meter wide is made.

Of no small importance in the internal arrangement is nesting, especially if the owner intends to breed and grow an egg breed. As a nest for hatching chickens and laying eggs, you can pick up a box or make yourself a structure with a width of 0.5 m and a depth of 0.6 m, which is covered with straw or hay. How it looks right, you can watch the video. One nest is usually enough for 3 layers.

You can watch the video on how to equip a chicken coop.

Feeding and care rules

Often, beginners are faced with a lack of knowledge in the field of proper bird feeding, therefore, when growing chickens in the country, beginners are advised to purchase ready-made mixtures, selected according to the age of the laying hen.

Among the basic rules for feeding poultry is two meals a day, subject to the availability of fresh herbs. The diet of birds should include:

• grain of 2 types - 45 g each in spring and autumn, 40 g in summer and 50 g in winter,
• crushed grain of 2-3 types - 55 g each in spring and autumn, 60 g in summer and 50 g in winter,
• meals and cakes - 12 g each throughout the year,
• bran - 10 g throughout the year,
• boiled potatoes - 20 g each in summer and autumn, 50 g each in spring and winter,
• yeast - 3 g each throughout the year,
• carrots or silage - 40 g each in spring and winter, in spring - 20 g,
• grass or greens - 10 g each in spring and winter, 50 g in summer and 30 g in autumn,
• flour (meat and bone, fish) - 5 g each throughout the year,
• return - 20 g each in spring, autumn and winter, 30 g in summer,
• shell rock and chalk - 4 g each throughout the year,
• salt - 0.5 g throughout the year.

The most useful are cereals. The birds themselves prefer mash - a mixture of vegetables, feed and herbs. The supply of essential vitamins is provided by fresh grass and herbs.

One individual eats on average about 185 g of feed per day. Depending on the breed, this indicator can be either lower (for egg birds) or higher (for broilers).

Taking care of chickens in a summer cottage means vaccinating, regularly examining birds, identifying sick individuals and isolating them from the main livestock. Smoking care also includes timely cleaning and disinfection. During the period of keeping the hen, you need to monitor the availability of drinking water.