Chicken breed Velzumer

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The Velzumer breed of chickens has existed for over 100 years. She was brought out in Holland at the beginning of the 20th century in a small town of the same name. The breeders were faced with the task of obtaining chickens that lay large eggs. They coped with this successfully. Since then, this line has been improved several times, so at the moment it is one of the best.

Chicken breed Velzumer

Brief information about the breed

• Productivity type: meat and egg.
• Rooster weight: medium-heavy (3-3.5 kg).
• Chicken weight: medium (2-2.5 kg).
• Start of laying: after 5-6 months.
• Egg production: 170 eggs per year.
• Features of the: unpretentious to conditions, tolerates frost steadily, females have no instinct to incubate chicks, eggs are dark brown in color.
• Egg size: large (65-70 g).
• Are they suitable for a beginner: Yes.

Detailed description

The cost

Due to the fact that the Velzumer breed is in demand, it is not a problem to buy it. Most subsidiary and poultry farms are ready to offer chickens, roosters, chickens and hatching eggs for sale at an affordable price.

An adult chicken can be bought for 1000 rubles, a rooster for 500 rubles, and chickens for 300-500 rubles, depending on age. The cost of an incubation egg is from 100 rubles and more.

Appearance

Mostly the plumage is brown, the neck is golden. Graceful head with a large red crest. The face and earrings are also red. Eye color is orange.

The rib cage is massive, convex. Low legs with well-developed muscles.

Roosters are brighter than females. There are 3 color options.

The most common is red partridge. Black plumage on the chest. The tail is black with a green tint.

Silver and gold are most common among dwarf breeds.

• In the first case, the roosters are white with a black belly and tail, and the hen has white feathers only on the neck, the rest of the color is dark.
• In the second case, the laying hen has a golden body, and the neck is much lighter, the roosters have a variegated and heterogeneous color: the head is white, the tail is black, the front part of the body is white-black, but the back is reddish-white.

Character

The birds are quite calm, despite the presence of the fighting breed in the pedigree. Roosters inherited importance and seriousness from their ancestors, sometimes they are pugnacious. Limited space or insufficient number of females contribute to the manifestation of aggression.

Laying hens have a curious disposition, absolutely not shy. They have good contact with other inhabitants of the courtyard, they easily become tame.

Incubation instinct

Birds have a calm disposition

The main disadvantage of this breed is the poorly developed maternal instinct in females. It is very difficult for a Welsumer chicken to sit in a nest for incubating chicks.

Usually offspring are hatched with the help of other people's layers or in an incubator.

Productivity

Velzumer belongs to the meat and egg direction, these birds are larger than specialized layers. Usually an adult chicken weighs 2-2.5 kg, a rooster about 3-3.5 kg.

The mass of a dwarf male is about 960 g, with proper care it can grow up to 1.2 kg. Female weight from 850 g to 1.1 kg.

The breed has tender meat with excellent taste. The egg production index is at an average level. In the first year, the laying hen is capable of producing 150-160 eggs. On the second, the egg-laying rate is reduced to 120 eggs. Large egg, 65 g.

The female of the dwarf breed lays eggs up to 150 pieces. with an average weight of 47 g. The eggshell is rough, characterized by a dark red-brown color.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantages of the breed:

• even in winter, females do not stop laying.
• birds easily adapt to the cold, so they can be bred even in regions with severe frosts.
• the survival rate of offspring is more than 90%.
• chickens quickly gain weight, it is easy to grow and maintain them even for novice breeders.

The disadvantage is the lack of maternal instinct in layers. Roosters are very temperamental and can be pugnacious.

Breeding features

Incubation

It is believed that as a result of breeding work, the hens have completely lost their maternal instinct, so the offspring are bred in an unconventional way.

If it is not possible to lay eggs on layers of other breeds, then they are laid in an incubator. This device allows you to create special conditions for high-quality hatching of chicks.

To breed healthy chicks, certain rules must be followed.

• The hen should be well developed and free from infectious diseases. Eggs are collected when she reaches puberty (usually from 7-9 months).
• Individuals selected for the continuation of offspring should be deposited in a separate enclosure.
• The food should contain a sufficient amount of micronutrients and protein.
• Ideal and medium-sized eggs are selected, with a clean, smooth shell without cracks, growths and other defects; collect them preferably in the spring, avoiding hypothermia.
• Selected eggs do not need to be washed, because they should have their own microflora.

In order to select eggs that do not develop, a control ovoscopy is performed in the middle of the cycle. Bad eggs need to be removed to avoid contamination of healthy eggs with pathogenic bacteria.

Chick feeding

From the first days of life, chickens are fed boiled eggs, finely chopped and mixed with semolina.

On the third day, you can enter fermented milk products. At the same time, the main delicacy is added to the food - a mash. This is a mixture of compound feed, grain, various vegetables, seasonal herbs, flour, bran and other additives. This composition is diluted with water, broth or curdled milk to the consistency of thick sour cream.

Birds need to be well looked after

Chickens' nutrition should contain greens at least 30% of the total diet, because it contains essential vitamins that strengthen the immune system. Newborn chicks are fed approximately 6 times a day. Starting from the 11th day, the number of meals is reduced to 4 times a day.

Chick care

On the 21st day after the start of the incubation process, the offspring hatch. When the chicks are dry after spending 1 day in the incubator, they should be placed in a separate box and evaluated for quality. Weak underdeveloped chicks must be discarded.

The first days the temperature should be 33-35 ° С, on the third it can be reduced to 29 ° С. Then the chicks get used to room temperature.

Maintenance of adults

Chicken coop

Chickens Velzumer is very popular, because the owners do not have any special problems with breeding it. To keep these birds, standard conditions are sufficient, because due to their good pedigree, they have strong immunity.

It is known that the more spacious the room, the more comfortable its inhabitants will be. It is desirable that 1 sq.m. there were no more than 3-4 heads.

It is very important that the coop is dry and warm, because chickens do not tolerate dampness and drafts poorly. The floor should be covered with straw or sawdust, and the covering should be changed regularly. The room is periodically ventilated.

The feeders and drinkers equipped inside are regularly cleaned and their contents changed in a timely manner. In addition, the hen house should have low perches and nests for layers, which are also kept clean.

Food

Velzumer are considered unpretentious birds, so they have a standard diet. In the summer period, they feed 2 times a day, in the autumn-winter period, the number of feedings can be increased to 3.

The diet should contain compound feed. Its composition can be completely different, the main thing is that all components are ground. The main components are: wheat, barley, oats, legumes, oilcakes and meal.

Vegetables and root crops are necessary for birds, because contain many vitamins. Vegetables (pumpkin or carrots) should be served raw, chopped. Small amounts of boiled potatoes and sugar beets can be added to the diet, as well as seasonal fruits.

The main source of vitamins (in particular vitamin K) for chickens is green food. If the birds have the opportunity to walk freely, then they themselves provide themselves with greenery. These are herbs such as:

• nettle,
• alfalfa,
• young peas,
• clover,
• forage cabbage, etc.

The diet must contain compound feed

Beet and carrot tops, radish leaves are also a good source of vitamins. In autumn and winter, in the absence of greenery, you can give hay, as well as chopped pine or spruce needles.

The diet should include animal feed to provide fat and amino acids. It can be meat and bone meal, fish meal, fermented milk products or earthworms.

To keep chickens healthy, it is important to provide them with enough water. Clean, fresh and cool water is provided daily.

Place for walking

If you provide the birds with a place to walk, then you can save on feed, because the chickens will have the opportunity to diversify their diet themselves. Another plus will be strong immunity and disease resistance.

For the comfort and safety of birds, you need to enclose a small area next to the chicken coop with a high fence. It is very important that there is access to open ground, where they can find worms, insects and young grass.

There should be a canopy on the territory so that the birds can hide from the rain or the scorching sun. For hygiene procedures, it is advisable to install troughs with sand, shells and ash.

Molt and break of egg production

Chickens usually moult every fall for 4-8 weeks. During the same period, hens temporarily stop laying eggs. Oviposition then recovers and continues throughout the winter.

The most productive period is the first 2-3 years, then egg production decreases markedly. Therefore, it makes sense to prepare a timely replacement for them, having raised a batch of young animals by this time.

Possible diseases

With proper care, thanks to a good pedigree, chickens practically do not get sick. To stay healthy, you need to keep clean, give them a variety of food and drink clean water.

It is also important to make sure that parasites do not start and get preventive vaccinations.

Owner reviews

The Velzumer breed is one of the favorites among breeders; they note the rather livable and friendly nature of these chickens. Their calm and picky disposition attracts all owners.

Farmers are pleased with the good fertility rates and the fact that females begin to lay early, at about 5-6 months.