Day-old chick maintenance
Experienced farmers know that raising broiler chickens does not require large financial investments. Birds grow and develop quickly enough. Despite the fact that they rush less often than their relatives, their popularity is enormous, since from one individual you can get several kilograms of excellent dietary meat. How are day old chicks kept? The answer can be found in the overview.
Day-old chick care
Babies turn into adult birds within a few months after hatching. But these chickens, in particular day old chicks, require special attention and care. Growing broilers at home is a very profitable activity, of course, if you know some of the nuances of the correct content and feeding.
Lack of experience and theoretical knowledge leads to the fact that many novice poultry farmers, by their actions, destroy young livestock already in the first week of life.
Raising chicks
At first glance, it may seem that outwardly all day old broiler chicks, both males and hens, look the same. But if you look more closely, the feathering of females appears faster, but males have wider wingspan.
Yes, the flight feathers of small cockerels are larger and longer, but you can understand this only if you put several chickens nearby and take a good look at them. If you have only one yellow lump in front of you, it is very difficult to determine its gender, but still it is possible. To find out how the daily allowances are distinguished by sex of chickens, you can watch special photos and videos on the Internet.
Growing day-old broilers can be done not only at home, but also, for example, on a personal plot... In any case, it is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory work. First of all, you need to determine in which room the chickens will be kept and equip it. Raising birds can be done equally well in both the floor and the cage way.
Making cells is easy. After spending some time creating the right homemade aviaries, any farmer can easily provide the livestock with excellent conditions for growth and harmonious development. But in order for the chicks not to die and get back on their feet quickly, they need good care and proper feeding.
You should always make sure that the place where the feeders are, and the containers themselves are clean and full. You cannot use cheap suspicious mixtures as feed, prescribe medicine and prophylactic drugs to birds without one hundred percent confidence in their need.
Broilers do not need large areas; chicks can only be accommodated with a regular cardboard box or medium-sized wooden crate. A week after birth, the chicks will need more free space, so they will need to be released into an impromptu aviary (brooder).Active movement in the brooder promotes thermoregulation and improves the circulatory system.
Nutrition rules for young animals
An important question that worries most novice farmers: when should you start watering day-old chicks? When to feed them? Opinions on this matter were divided among poultry farmers, each proves his truth, based on his own many years of successful experience.
Of course, you can listen to the advice of experienced ones, but it's better to turn to statistics instead: babies, especially those who have been in an incubator, who were given food in the first 16 hours of their life, have a 20% more chance of survival than those who are the first once fed only on the second day.
Natural diet
Nutrition greatly affects the formation of the internal organs of young animals, therefore, the faster useful microelements enter the body, the faster the energy and protein resources that day-old broilers have spent on their own development are replenished.
If this argument is not enough, a simple analogy can be drawn between hatchery domesticated birds and their wild-born counterparts. In the second case, the chickens, already 5-7 hours after birth, are in a hurry to follow their mothers for a walk. And they look very confident.
Chicks growing in natural conditions can choose their own diet, so it usually includes:
- plants' seeds,
- some insects,
- fresh grass.
Naturally, no one will add bugs and spiders to the diet of domestic chickens, but this is not necessary. An excellent alternative to natural pasture is grated boiled yolk, cereals, chopped greens, fresh nettles.
Nettle is not stored for long, so it is advisable to add only recently plucked grass to the diet every time, in which vitamins have not yet been destroyed. In addition, greens that have lain in the refrigerator for some time begin to form hydrocyanic acid, which is very dangerous for chickens.
You should carefully approach the planning of the menu for day-old chicks. Any mistake in the formulation of the ration can lead to the loss of the entire yellow-horned livestock.
So, the chickens warmed up under the lamp, dried up, stood on their feet, and the first thing they dream of is to feast on chopped hard-boiled yolk. They will be very grateful if a little semolina and eggshells, peeled from films and finely ground, are added there.
It is important not to overfeed babies with yolk. It should be given at the rate of: 1 egg for 10 heads.
Nutrition in the first days of life
On the first day of life, babies (it doesn't matter if they were born in an incubator or they were hatched by caring layers) need snacks every 2 hours, and food is needed not only during the day, but also at night. In addition to the yolk, you can give fresh kefir and low-fat yogurt.
Fermented milk products have a beneficial effect on the development of the digestive system, filling the young bird's intestines with vital bacteria and microelements. As a basis for feed, you can use barley or small corn grits, as well as millet.
Malnutrition problems
A common problem faced by most poultry farmers is diarrhea in birds, leading to the death of the livestock. To solve it, you must first determine the cause and only then take corrective measures.
Chicks can develop diarrhea due to factors such as:
- overfeeding,
- a sharp change in the ingredients that make up the diet,
- improper care of day-old chicks,
- sharp overheating or rapid hypothermia,
- non-compliance with the feeding regime,
- lack of minerals.
On the first day after the birds hatch, they are just learning to eat, so they may accidentally eat some straw, sawdust or other debris along with the food, which can lead to digestive upset.To protect the chicks from accidental death, instead of straw, it is permissible to lay a white rag or plain paper in several layers on the bottom of the box.
You can cope with diarrhea:
- watering the chickens with a manganese solution (it can also be given for preventive purposes several times a week throughout the life of the bird);
- excluding all types of dairy products from the diet;
- carefully separating the grains from flour and any other impurities that can clog the stomach;
- having made the revolting zheltorotik drink herbal infusions (calendula, St. John's wort or oak bark).
If diarrhea began in all babies at the same time, and some of them have even died, it means that the cause of the disease lies not in poor care, but in a strong intestinal infection. Here, special processing of the room in which the birds are kept is indispensable. You can not self-medicate, you need to immediately seek veterinary help. The faster this happens, the more chicks will be saved.
Antibiotic booze
Some poultry farmers, to improve the health of chickens, from the first day of life, begin to water them with antibiotics according to the following scheme:
- chickens aged from 1 day to 5, in order to protect against bacterial infection, are given "Baytril" or "Enroxil".
- On the 6th to 11th day of life, birds need vitamin deficiency prophylaxis, which is carried out with the help of special vitamin complexes, for example, an aqueous solution of "Nutril".
- On the 12th to the 14th day, prophylaxis of coccidiosis with the help of Baykoks or its analogues is needed.
- 15 to 17 days give a vitamin complex.
- 18 to 22 days, add Baytril or Enroxil to food.
Before diluting the preparations in water and starting to solder the chicks, carefully read the dosage required and how many times a day the procedure should be carried out.
Grounds for vaccination
There are a number of reasons why raising day-old broiler chicks is impossible without vaccination:
- Newcastle disease... Infection. Pneumonia develops in birds, hemorrhagic lesions are observed on most internal organs.
- Marek's disease... In its advanced stage, it is the cause of paralysis, blindness and swelling of internal organs.
- Infectious bronchitis... A sick bird has severe conjunctivitis, hoarseness and coughing, which causes it to shake its head violently.
- Adenovirus infection. There is a strong decrease in the already low egg production of broiler chickens. Eggs that have been laid are deformed and have very soft shells.
- Salmonellosis... The chickens begin to tear their eyes, drowsiness and runny nose appear.
Due to the listed and some other less popular diseases, the growth and development of birds slows down, they begin to lose weight and stop gaining weight. If vaccination is not done on time, birds may not live to be slaughtered. Broilers are very sensitive to epidemics of infectious origin.
Preparing the poultry house
The main requirements for the room in which the day-old chicks will be raised are:
- dryness,
- purity,
- correct and stable temperature conditions,
- well-organized lighting,
- the possibility of airing.
Before settling birds, you should clean the area of the poultry house, disinfect a drinker, feeders and the entire room with the help of special tools.
It is important to thoroughly ventilate the house after treatment to get rid of the strong odor. You also need to make sure that the walls, floor and ceiling in the room are dry, and then whitewash them in several layers.
Broiler chickens are poorly oriented in a dark space, so they should be kept in a sufficiently lit room. The light must be switched on continuously for 20 hours a day.Young animals should be taught to darken gradually (it is necessary to turn off the lamps for a quarter of an hour, then turn them on, after some time turn them off for a longer time). In this way, the birds will get used to the dark and will not experience panic at the same time.
Litter selection
Litter is an essential element of the house. Competently selected materials will ensure good thermal insulation in the room where the birds will be kept and protect the livestock from meeting dangerous microorganisms living in chicken feces.
In order to ensure sufficient looseness and dryness of the litter, it should consist of several layers. As a material you can use:
- hay,
- sawdust,
- wood shavings,
- sunflower seed husks,
- dry leaves.
Regardless of what material is chosen as bedding, the following requirements will be imposed on it:
- There should not be a drop of moisture in small parts of bulk material (in order to eliminate the consequences of accidental getting wet, for example, due to heavy rainfall, it is imperative to dry the bedding, having previously laid it out evenly on a flat surface).
- The material must have high absorbency.
- The embankment should have a crushed structure - all large particles should be immediately removed from the deck.
- Mold, even in minimal quantities, is unacceptable.
The most affordable bedding option is layers of sawdust or dry grass. The laying of the material should take place in several stages: the first thin layer was laid - it was tamped well, the second was laid - it was tamped again until the total thickness reaches 1 cm (for summer) or 2 cm (for winter).
It is also undesirable to make a thick layer: good air permeability is needed so that a lot of chicken droppings, which are toxic and very harmful to chicks, do not accumulate in the material. One and the same bedding should not be used for a long time: it must be carefully renewed every few days.
Features of the content
Improper care of day old broilers is the main reason for the death of not yet matured chickens. Due to too high humidity or low temperature, drafts, low lighting, the birds begin to hurt, panic and, as a result, die one after another, so it is extremely undesirable to ignore these factors.
Babies cannot stand the cold, and even the usual room temperature is lethal for them. This should be taken into account when organizing the transportation of daily broilers.
If you do not want the journey to end sadly for fluffy yellow lumps, you should not use an ordinary cardboard box for this. In addition to the fact that they get very dirty, the plumage of the chicks will stick together, the legs will freeze, and a runny nose may even develop. Naturally, one hundred percent safety of such a livestock is out of the question.
In addition, day-old chicks will require a lot of care and time (from one week to several months) to recuperate the survivors. After this, many people completely lose the desire to breed birds. But it was only necessary to use a special insulated container, covered with thick woolen material, instead of a cardboard box.
The bottom of the box should not be soft, otherwise the crowding of babies, respectively, cannot be avoided. If you make a container for transportation yourself, do not forget to make holes in it through which air will flow (there are many training videos on this topic on the network). You cannot plant more than 20 chickens in one cell at a time.
Baby care
Chickens need to be looked after very carefully, therefore, having equipped the poultry house with flooring, drinkers and feeders, you should make sure that the air temperature is constantly maintained there. The norm is 30 ° C.
Do not keep chicks brought to their destination in a shipping container for a long time.They must be carefully sorted into cardboard boxes. Do not put clean and healthy chicks together with dirty or abusive ones. the latter should be placed in a separate box and fed with food supplemented with vitamin C.
It is recommended to water babies only with cool, pre-filtered and boiled water in order to exclude any possibility of infection through drinking into not yet matured organisms. If the chickens cannot drink water themselves, then they must be watered.
Lighting and heating a room is easiest and most efficient to carry out with an infrared lamp. The first few days after the chicks are born, the lamps should not be turned off often and for more than 15 minutes. This time is necessary for young animals to settle down in a new place, to find out where the feeder and drinker are.
Comfortable conditions
It is necessary to carefully observe how the babies behave from the first day after hatching in order to determine and meet their needs in time:
- If a satisfied squeak comes from the house, and the yellow lumps are scattered evenly all over the floor, then the birds are happy. The dwelling is cozy, the temperature is correct, and it is very dry.
- If all the chicks are huddled together, it means that they are cold and it's time to think about insulation.
- If day-old chicks have heavy breathing and beaks wide open, the room, on the contrary, is very hot. The sooner the owner lowers the lamp power, the fewer chicks will die. Even the slightest overheating is no less dangerous than hypothermia. From it, the appetite of babies decreases, and, consequently, growth and development slows down.
Summarizing
If you have enough desire and basic knowledge, you can even take care of day-old chicks at home, as well as provide them with high-quality feeding. If you do everything right, very soon you can grow beautiful and healthy chickens and cockerels from small yellow lumps, which means that there will always be fresh, tasty, and most importantly, healthy meat on the table. Bird breeds in this case do not matter. In general, in order to grow each of them, feed them correctly, you need to adhere to similar rules.