Step-by-step instructions for raising broilers. Features of raising broiler chickens

Broilers are chickens raised for the purpose of producing poultry meat. Raising these birds does not require special conditions. These two facts are the reason that this type of chicken is very widely used in households and on poultry farms.

Removal

Many people believe that broiler chickens are a separate breed of poultry. However, this is absolutely not true. In reality, each brood is a selection from a clutch of birds with optimal weight gain characteristics. Various breeds of chickens with high reproductive qualities of the meat type are used for breeding.

Meat producers are used to ensure that our table always has dietary food - broiler chickens. The breeds most often used for this are Plymouthrock and Cornish. Crossbreeding produces young animals with high meat qualities. Such a bird grows very quickly, gaining live weight. The meat has high taste.

Broiler chickens are in good demand among owners of private farmsteads. They can also be bred at home, but you need to remember that it is important to cross these breeds according to certain rules. So, the Cornish should represent the paternal line, but only hens should be taken from the Plymouth Rock breed.

Cornish dogs were bred in Great Britain, from where they were brought to our country. Distinctive features: large size, strong bones, dense build. The breed has different colors, but most often the feather color is white.

Plymouthrock was developed in the USA. Feather color may vary. In our country, white chickens are more popular.

Industrial scale breeding requires the use of mainly these two breeds. However, Pervomayskaya, New Hampshire, Pantsirevskaya and some other breeds of chickens can also be used.

The use of these breeds results in chickens that quickly gain weight and have high meat qualities. Most often, a 70-day chicken weighs about 1 kg.

Description

Broiler chickens are large, heavy birds with thick legs. The color of the feather, despite the frequent use of colored breeds, is white. The fact is that white is the dominant color in the genes of chickens. With simplified plumage, this gene is fully expressed, turning chickens white.

Broilers are chickens that have a high weight and relatively weak bones. For this reason, they prefer to lie near the feeder most of the day rather than walk.

Chickens

Broiler chickens, which are raised on an industrial scale, are not the first offspring from crossing Cornish and Plymouth Rock. To get a truly productive broiler, you need to take the roosters from the first offspring and re-cross the White Cornish hen with the hen. Only then can high-quality broiler chickens be produced.

At an early age, these chicks are afraid of overheating, hypothermia, stress, and disease. They constantly need high quality feed. In the absence of special feeding and warmth, chickens (broiler chickens) will be underweight. In 2 months, with proper care, these chickens reach a weight of 2 kilograms, while egg-laying chickens gain such weight only by six months. If you feed a broiler for up to 6 months, you can get a seven-kilogram giant with meat that tastes like rubber.

Stern

Broilers are chickens that need optimally balanced feed. This is especially important in the first days of a chicken’s life. In the first week of life, the chick is exposed to stress, since its body is almost unadapted to the environment. That is why the use of prestarter feed is recommended. This food contains wheat, soybean meal, table salt, corn, premium quality fishmeal, synthetic amino acids, enzymes, a mixture of organic acids, monocalcium phosphate, antioxidants, limestone grains and a vitamin and mineral complex.

This entire mixture is an easily digestible feed, making it easier to keep.

Broiler chickens, which are raised using the right feed, can be raised on a homestead farm all year round. In this case, you need to have a dry poultry house with good ventilation. Floors must be low thermal conductivity and waterproof. Rodent access must be completely excluded. The ceiling and walls are plastered and covered with lime.

You need to choose chicks with a soft, mobile belly with an already tightened umbilical cord. The fluff should be smooth, bright and shiny. The chicken weighs approximately 40 g.

Before placing a new batch of birds in the house, it must be treated with fluff lime. After this, put down the bedding. The peculiarity of the litter is its constantly loose state. For each chicken, for the entire growing period there should be 3 kg of litter with a thickness of about 20 cm. This floor arrangement allows it to absorb moisture, gases, improve the thermal insulation properties of the poultry house and its sanitary condition. Under no circumstances should wet, dirty or moldy litter be left in the poultry house.

Sawdust, crushed corn cobs, sunflower husks, and peat are used as bedding for this type of housing - healthy, strong broiler chickens grow on such mixtures.

Growing full-fledged meat broilers is possible at a certain temperature - not lower than 24 degrees. It is very important that all chickens can approach the feeder at the same time, since those who feed last will not gain weight well. In addition, a constant supply of drinking water and food is required. The water should be cold. 12-15 day old chicks are allowed per square meter of floor. This density should be maintained until the end of cultivation.

Feeders should be changed as the chicks grow. Their edge should always be at the height of the bird's back.

For proper air circulation in the chicken coop, it is necessary to provide good ventilation and also eliminate the occurrence of drafts.

Maintaining long daylight hours is very important. This improves metabolism, normalizes gas exchange and increases activity.

Domestic broiler chickens are often raised in cages. They are arranged in several tiers. It is important to regularly remove bird waste products. With such maintenance, sanitary and hygienic conditions are improved, which almost eliminates the occurrence of infectious diseases. In a cage with an area of 0.5 square meters. m can accommodate a dozen day old chicks. This amount must be maintained until the end of fattening.

The main principle of cell growing is an optimal microclimate in the tiers. To do this, it is necessary to maintain the temperature regime, regularly ventilate the room with cages and maintain the level of illumination.

When kept in cages for 56 days, chickens with a living density of 35 heads/sq.m weigh up to 1.4 kg, roosters - 1.6 kg. Per kilogram of weight gain you need to spend 2-2.5 kg of feed.

Broiler egg

It is curious that broiler chickens, the breeds for which are indicated above, lay eggs that will not produce offspring that match the characteristics of the parents. Adult broilers of the ROSS-308 cross produce a large number of eggs with a fairly high hatching rate.

The quality of eggs is directly affected by the age of the chicken. So, the older the hens, the larger the eggs. At the same time, their quality decreases. Chickens hatched from small eggs from young hens grow faster, but end up smaller than those hatched from larger ones. Better results can be achieved by raising chickens from large eggs of young hens.

To date, several successful broiler crosses have been bred. This is a cross COBB-500 - a yellow chicken carcass with any feeding method. Such broilers can gain up to 2 kg of weight in 35 days.

Broiler meat

Since these birds are most often raised indoors without light, access to grass, and without walking, broilers are chickens that produce meat almost without taste or smell. Such meat is classified in the last category and is not allowed for feeding children.

Growing early maturing chicken hybrids is one of the most profitable areas of poultry farming.

A broiler chicken, with proper organization of housing conditions and feeding rations, gains a live weight of more than two kilograms already at 7-8 weeks.

Broilers do not need a lot of free space for walking, so there is room to keep them even in the smallest garden plot.

From choosing the right breed and preparing the chicken coop. Today, the following broiler crosses are the most popular in Russia:

ROSS-308 is a very productive cross. During the day, a chicken of this breed gains up to 60 grams of live weight. At the age of two months, broilers are ready for slaughter - by this time their weight is 1,600-2.5 kg. Ross-308 has a massive, fleshy chest and a strong build. Broilers have white plumage and light skin color. Chickens are calm and have a great potential for rapid weight gain. Pullets of the ROSS-308 breed have good egg production.
COBB-500 - representatives of several meat breeds of chicken were used to breed broilers of this productive and unpretentious breed. Broilers of the COBB 500 cross have pure white plumage, have a very strong build, a powerful chest and strong legs. The breed is very popular among owners of large and small farms, and this is understandable, because for one centner of live weight gain, no more than 1.8 centners of feed are required.
ROOS-708 is another promising cross, which is characterized by a surprisingly fast gain of muscle mass. Endurance and quick adaptability to living conditions have made this breed of broiler chicken one of the most popular in the world.
Isa Hubbard f 15 (Hubbard)- a meat and egg breed of broiler that gains weight well in well-maintained household conditions. The cross is considered one of the hardiest: the survival rate of young animals reaches 98%. 7-week-old chickens go to slaughter - by this time the weight of females reaches 2.5-2.7 kg, males - 3-3.2 kg.

Choosing a successful breed of broilers is half the success, but the final result largely depends on the conditions under which the birds are kept and the correct diet. Both the first and second need to be established from the moment the young animals appear on the farm, since any negligence inevitably leads to undesirable consequences: slower growth, the development of diseases and even the death of the livestock.

Conditions for raising broiler chickens

In our country, both floor and cell systems are practiced with equal success. keeping broiler chickens. In order for the young to quickly gain weight, the chickens should have limited free space: up to 12 chickens can be kept on each square meter of an open chicken coop.

When keeping cages, denser planting of young animals is also allowed. As for adult broilers on intensive fattening, there can be up to 8 heads per square meter.

In both options, it is imperative to provide the poultry house guests with optimal temperature conditions and access to oxygen, while the birds should be protected from drafts. Day-old chicks feel comfortable at a temperature of 27-30 degrees, and from the second week the temperature can be reduced by 3-5 degrees. A mature bird feels quite comfortable even at a temperature of +20-24 degrees.

For floor-keeping, it is enough to arrange bedding in the house. For these purposes, it is better to use ordinary boards, straw and/or sawdust. As they become dirty, the floors are cleaned and the bedding is renewed. In the cages it is enough to make a plywood base. Experienced poultry farmers do not advise installing cages that are too large - 2-3 square meters will be enough.

Particular attention should be paid to lighting. The light in a chicken coop with young animals up to 3 weeks of age should be on around the clock, then it can be turned off for 1-3 hours a day. The next point is humidity. The optimal figure is 60-70%.

Clean drinking water must be constantly available in the cage or open house. The optimal solution would be to install nipple drinkers operating on the principle of a valve - they provide a rational supply of water, while the main tank does not become polluted.

Raise broilers It is especially beneficial in the spring and summer, as it avoids the cost of heating the chicken coop. You can easily raise two batches of broiler chickens in one season.

In young meat chickens, intensive growth is genetically determined. By the eighth week of life they should have gained about 2 kg of live weight, so it is important to provide them with a sufficient amount of balanced food.

Broiler chickens eat a lot and often. In the first week, chickens are fed 8-10 times a day, and they need food even at night. From the second week, the number of feedings is reduced to six times, from the third - to 4, and then broilers are fed 2-3 times a day.

What to feed broiler chickens to gain weight quickly?

For the first feeding, crushed boiled eggs are traditionally used. In the first days of life, chickens are also given low-fat cottage cheese, wet mash based on chicken starter feed, crushed wheat, barley, oats, dry millet, etc.

From the fifth day, chickens can be accustomed to starter feed.
At one week of age, a broiler should eat about 15 grams of feed.
From the 14th to the 30th day, the feeding rate gradually increases to 120 grams.
In the third week, the bird’s diet can be supplemented with nettles and green onions. The share of fresh herbs should be a tenth of the total volume.
At the final stage of fattening, each broiler must consume at least 150 grams of feed per day.

To reduce feeding costs, in addition to ready-made combined feeds, you can prepare homemade mash.

Here is one option for a balanced mixture for feeding young broilers (per 1 kg of feed):

500 grams of medium-ground corn;
160 grams of crushed wheat;
140 grams of sunflower cake or soybean meal;
80 grams of barley;
120 gr. low-fat kefir.

All ingredients are thoroughly mixed and kept for several minutes, after which you can start feeding.

At the stage of intensive fattening, a mixture consisting of:

450 grams of medium-ground corn;
170 grams of sunflower cake
80 gr. fish or bone meal;
130 grams of wheat;
80 grams of barley;
50 gr. feed yeast;
30 grams of feed fat;
10 gr. chalk

VIDEO INSTRUCTION

Good to know - diseases of broiler chickens

One of the most common pathologies often found in broiler chickens is indigestion (dyspepsia). Develops as a result of eating rough and/or poor quality food. To prevent the disease, feed should be given to young animals at equal intervals. In this case, fatty foods and foods containing complex proteins should be avoided. To combat putrefactive processes in the stomach, a small amount of glucose and/or ascorbic acid can be mixed into the water.

Hypovitaminosis is another common problem. Moreover, most often broilers suffer from a deficiency of vitamins A and D. You can avoid such troubles by adding a little grass meal, carrots, nettles and other fresh herbs to the diet.

Chicken coop owners often encounter more serious diseases in their poultry flock - such as salmonellosis, pullorosis, aspergillosis, mycoplasmosis, etc. It will not be easy to cope with such ailments without the help of a specialist, so at the first signs of unhealthy behavior you should consult a veterinarian.

Broilers (compared to ordinary chickens) are very delicate creatures and very susceptible to changes in the conditions of their keeping. Even seemingly minor deviations from their usual way of life can lead to the occurrence of diseases. In this regard, it is necessary to know how to properly raise and feed broilers. Let's look at some of the details below.

Broilers: care and feeding

The success of homestead farming depends on various factors. It is necessary to create a favorable atmosphere in which broiler chickens will live and grow. Care and feeding of birds should be carried out according to a certain pattern. They should receive vitamins and microelements along with food. Factory-prepared mixtures are considered the most suitable. However, if it is not possible to purchase them, you can organize feeding broilers at home based on local products. It is important to take into account differences in the adaptability of breeds to certain products. So, for example, feeding meat-egg and meat-based broilers should be based on voluminous, predominantly protein mixtures. When keeping birds on a backyard farm, it is better to give them mill, grain, fish waste, waste meat, fresh herbs, and root vegetables.

Broilers: growing at home

Feeding is key for the proper development of young animals from the first days of life. The sooner the birds begin to receive food, the better their growth will be. Feeding broilers at home is carried out in two ways:

A dry mixture combined with protein and mineral. The first includes coarsely ground grain (oats, wheat, barley, corn). Protein mixtures contain meat and bone meal and fish meal. Mineral compositions include table salt, shell, chalk.
Dry flour mixture combined with wet mash.

Most bird lovers use the second option.

Important Features

Many novice owners are interested in: how much food should broilers receive? Growing at home - feeding and creating favorable conditions for birds - has its own specifics. You should know that young animals should receive as much food as they can eat. Regardless of how broilers are fed, they should always have food. Wet mash should be given 3-4 times a day. During the first 2-3 days, the chickens' diet includes finely crushed wheat, corn or barley (without films). It is also advisable to add wheat bran, well mashed with hard-boiled peeled eggs or cottage cheese. For 50 heads, 2 eggs. The more varied the food mixture, the better the development of the young animals. Thus, in the first few weeks there is no specific feeding rate for broilers.

Diet

Their meat mass will depend on how broiler chickens are raised and fed. During the first week, it is important that the young animals receive food at least every two hours. If a dry mixture is used, it can be given after 3-4 hours. To shorten the night interval, morning feeding of broilers must be done as early as possible. In the evening, they should receive food as late as possible. From the fifth day, fish oil should be given to young animals once a day, including it in the flour mixture at the rate of 0.1-0.2 g/head/day. The transition from one food to another must be done gradually. A sudden change in products has an extremely negative impact on growth and development. At the same time, it is necessary to follow the technology for preparing mixtures and the daily routine. For example, grain crops are introduced into the diet without films in finely crushed form. Starting from the 20-25th day, some of these products can be replaced with boiled potatoes, which the birds eat in mash.

How to prevent diseases?

Many are of the opinion that it is impossible to raise large birds using only natural mixtures and vitamin supplements. Therefore, active growth and high weight are often ensured by hormonal drugs, and treatment is carried out using antibiotics. However, in fact, it is quite possible to get by with natural mixtures, also rich in vitamin supplements and microelements. You can, of course, use expensive feed. It is manufactured in a factory taking into account all necessary sanitary standards. However, as poultry farmers themselves note, such a waste of money is, as a rule, unjustified. It is more economical to use regular grain, adding mineral and vitamin preparations to it. Such feeding of broilers at home will be as effective as using expensive mixtures. In any case, the main condition will be a balanced diet.

Types of mixtures

There are two types of food:

Feeding broilers at a young age does not present any difficulties. The most important thing, as mentioned above, is the constant availability of food. During the first days of life, birds require large amounts of crushed carbohydrate and protein products. Such food should make up more than 50% of the diet. Once the chickens reach 20 days of age, dairy products can be added. They are the most important source of calcium. In addition, vegetable protein is added to the diet. It is present in large quantities in sunflower and peanut cakes.

Diet from 30 days of age

Feeding broilers per month will be slightly different from before. However, in any case, food should be exclusively natural. The bird's stomach is not yet strong enough, so it is preferable to include fresh herbs and sprouted grains in the diet. During cold weather it is important to provide grass meal. In addition, from the age of one month it is recommended to add dry vitamin mixtures to food. The growth of the bird is quite active, so during this period it is necessary to ensure a constant supply of microelements. In the summer, solving this problem is quite simple. But in winter, feeding broilers can be difficult. During the cold period, dried herbs, mixtures with a complex of minerals and natural trace elements from shells and shells should be added to the diet. For better absorption of mineral supplements, birds are given vitamin D. The daily requirement will depend on the stage of development of the chicken and the number of birds. For young animals, on average, 1 kg per day is consumed. For an adult chicken, the amount of feed increases to 5-6 kg/day.

Setting up a chicken coop

Adult broilers are much larger than regular breeds, so they must be raised in a specially prepared room. It should be warm. Normal development of chickens occurs at a temperature of about 30 degrees. To maintain this level, you will have to equip the room with an artificial heating system. Lighting is also important. It should be 24/7. Broiler chickens need attention and special care. To make it easier to look after the young animals, it is advisable to install partitions in the room. This will make control much easier and will prevent the chickens from scattering in different directions. In the first week of life, temperature and nutrition will be of particular importance in development and growth, as well as in the prevention of diseases.

Summer period

Broilers enjoy eating pasture. In addition to being environmentally friendly, it helps to saturate the birds’ bodies with a large number of essential nutritional compounds. In this regard, feeding broilers in the summer is significantly simplified. Birds must be given freedom and released onto the grass. It is advisable to include fruit and vegetable waste in your diet. In addition, it is imperative to give calcium to chickens. One of its sources is chalk. It is often used as a filler for an aviary. Egg shell powder is also rich in calcium. Sand additives are often used when feeding. The fact is that chickens do not have chewing muscles and teeth, so food comes in whole pieces. It is only slightly crushed directly in the stomach due to its contractions. If sand is present at this time, it will contribute to more active grinding of the incoming products. Which, in turn, will facilitate subsequent digestion. However, for young animals it is better to replace sand with fine gravel. It should not be added directly to food. The birds will find it themselves in a separate container.

Purity

It is one of the key conditions for proper brood maintenance. The room itself, trays and drinking bowls must be clean. This is necessary to prevent various chicken diseases that arise in dirty conditions. Cleaning the chicken coop should be done regularly.

Broiler chickens differ from regular chickens in that they grow quickly and require little maintenance and feed. Therefore, it is profitable to grow them. Upon reaching 2.5 months of age, chickens are used for meat; eggs are not sold. The weight of chickens reaches 1.4 kilograms. Compared to adult birds, broiler meat has improved taste. It is dietary and suitable for feeding the sick, the elderly, and children. But the features of the content will be different. A certain light regime and a warm poultry house will be required.

Deciding on the breed

Chicks must be selected carefully. To do this, many turn to well-established producers and try to purchase individuals that are no more than a day old. But day old chicks die quickly. Therefore, it is recommended to take those chickens that are already 10 days old. You should contact special poultry farms. Preference should be given to active chicks with a clear gaze. To determine whether it is a cockerel or a hen in front of you, raise your wing. Hens have feathers of different lengths, while cockerels have feathers of the same length. Good broiler chickens are distinguished by a clean “butt”, a toned belly, even feathers, and down.

Particular attention should be paid to the wings. They should be pressed to the body. There is a way to test chickens - they must respond well to noise. Knock on the boxes, the chickens should react.

For growing at home, it is better to choose meat breeds of chickens. It can be:

Lohmann;
Dominant;
Ross;
Change;
Tetra.

Cross birds are especially prized. There are a number of breeds whose meat quality is lower, but they stand out for other characteristics. These are Plymouth Rock, Adler, Kuchinsky anniversary ones. Day-old chicks may die, so, regardless of breed, purchase 10-day-old broilers.

The most popular meat breed is Smena-7. The best imported chickens are “ROSS-308” and “Cobb 500”.

Cobb cross chickens 500

An excellent option for selling meat. The skin of the chickens has a good shade. The weight gain is quite high. In 35 days, the chicken gains weight of 2 kilograms. Reaching an age of 35-42 days is considered optimal for slaughter.

Broiler 61

The presented species is distinguished by the fact that at low feed costs you can get a large increase. For 1 kg of meat you will need only 2 kg of feed. In 7 weeks, the weight of the chicken becomes 1.7 kg. Bird survival rate is 98 percent!

Ross 708

The presented type of chickens is highly productive. Within a month, the young animals gain 3 kilograms of weight. Among all other breeds, this is the most successful. The only drawback is pale skin. The chicks grow quickly, she just doesn’t have time to gain color. Broiler chickens are very demanding in terms of care.

Ross 308

The main difference is an excellent increase in muscle mass. It can reach 60 grams per day. Chickens are slaughtered at 6-9 weeks. The weight of the chicken reaches 1.6 kilograms.

The offspring are viable. The presented breed lays well. The only drawback is the pale skin color.

Growing broilers. Part 1 (video)

Features of maintenance and cultivation

Broilers do well at home. Growing them is a profitable enterprise. Chickens grow quickly and gain body weight. Compared to regular chicken, broiler chicken weighs 2 times more! What should be the conditions for detention?

Raising broilers is somewhat more difficult than raising regular chickens. Special conditions and diet are required. Let's look at the conditions:

The room in which the chickens will be kept must be clean and well ventilated. The best option is broiler cages. But it’s also possible on the floor of a barn, as long as the temperature is right;
when kept on the floor, they make a pen. Clean crushed straw and hay serve as bedding. As the chickens grow, the pen is enlarged. 6 square meters can accommodate 50 heads;

cleanliness is the key to health. Since broiler chickens lead a sedentary lifestyle, it is necessary to create ideal cleanliness, otherwise they may get sick and die;
The birds feel good in the cages. Up to 18 chickens and up to 10 adults can fit on 1 square meter. It is important to periodically ventilate;
When purchasing one-day-old chicks, be prepared to provide them with an ambient temperature of 30 degrees and constant lighting. The conditions presented must be created within 2 weeks. During this time, the young animals will grow up and become stronger;
in winter, broiler chickens are placed in a special pen in a greenhouse. In this case, there is no need to monitor the temperature; the main thing is to ventilate the room.

Growing broilers. Part 2 (video)

How is feeding done?

Their health and weight depend on what you plan to feed your chickens. It is recommended to use feed for broilers from the first days. It contains everything you need: protein and plant elements, vitamins, salts, a substance that improves digestion. Chickens can eat a lot, there’s nothing wrong with that. There should be clean water near the feeder.

In the first 5 days of life, chickens are given a special drug that stimulates metabolism and growth. Compound feed for broilers is also provided. You will find out which drug to choose by consulting a veterinary pharmacy. Every year something new appears.

If you have the opportunity, chickens should be given curdled milk. It has a good effect on growth. From the third day you can give cottage cheese.

At the same time, green food is introduced into the diet. Twist garlic, onions, carrot tops, and dandelion. You should not give beet tops - they weaken you. From the fifth day you can give grated carrots. River sand and fine gravel are placed next to the feeder. They are needed to improve digestion. Continue feeding this way for 20 days.

Then you can introduce mash into the diet - the grain part is replaced with potatoes mixed with bran and yogurt. It is better to feed chickens with fresh mash to prevent intestinal diseases. The presented food option will protect against pecking. Watch how the goiters fill up. If not completely, separate the chicken from the rest and feed it separately.

Compound feed for broilers must be available at all times. The mash is given 3-4 times a day. In the first 4 weeks, chickens grow most intensively, therefore, they eat a lot.

From 4 weeks, crushed corn and wheat are introduced into the diet. You can give chopped apples, cucumbers, and other vegetables from the garden. Everything except beets. Chickens are raised for 80 days. Then they go to slaughter. The weight of an adult chicken reaches up to 3 kg.

Raising broilers at home. Part 3 (video)

How to make sure that the bird develops normally and does not get sick? The rules must be followed.

When pecking occurs, the chicken is given citric acid, previously diluted in water. The causes of pecking are bright light, damp bedding, lack of protein or gravel in food.
The space in the poultry house should be organized in such a way that the chickens can feed evenly.
For good development, create optimal living conditions for the bird in the house. Nutrition, lighting, humidity must be selected for a specific breed.
Requirements regarding air humidity - it should be exactly 60%. If the humidity is high, the bird will begin to wither.
At first, chickens require 8 meals a day. Then you can reduce your food intake to 4 times a day. There should be water in the drinking bowl at all times - you can use either cold or warm water. You should not raise it to a temperature of 30 degrees, otherwise the bird will stop drinking. Drinkers and feeders must be clean. They are washed daily. Once a week, treatment is carried out with soap or soda.

It is better to purchase chickens aged 1-10 days. They go to slaughter at the age of 60 days. It is irrational to keep birds longer; they stop gaining weight and the meat loses quality.
Chickens often have digestive problems. You can get rid of them in a simple way - at three weeks of age they give a solution of potassium permanganate. The procedure is repeated every three weeks.
The effectiveness of feeding is determined as follows: chickens are weighed every week.
As for the air temperature, it should not be too high so as not to cause irritation of the bird’s mucous membranes.

Raising broilers at home. Part 4 (video)

If you are interested in meat rather than eggs, you should give preference to raising broilers. The breed should be chosen based on the goal, on how quickly you expect to raise the bird and sell the meat. It is important to remember that these types of chickens require a lot of attention. Requirements apply to both food and contents.

Reviews and comments

(8 ratings, average: 3,12 out of 5)

Sergey 04/21/2015

Thank you very much for the detailed article. I’ll try to raise a couple of dozen broilers this summer using your tips)

Tatiana 09/21/2015

But in vain the author of the article about broiler eggs somehow wrote incomprehensibly. Broiler eggs are very good: they taste no different from regular chicken eggs, but are much larger. Chickens lay like regular chickens - about 200 eggs per year. Very often chickens lay eggs with 2 yolks. At our grandmother’s market there are regular buyers for these eggs.

Nina 10/27/2015

It is better to feed poultry with compound feed from one manufacturer, because they make different feed compositions and when switching from one to another, broilers may become upset. By the way, raw potatoes help very well with loose stools.

We have been keeping broilers for ten years in a row. Of course, not everyone always survives, year after year. We take daily allowances, feed them with special “Prestart” food for two weeks, then for three weeks with “Start” food, then for 2-3 weeks with “Finish” food. Be sure to take vitamins for the first 5 days (special first aid kit for chickens). After 2 weeks of age, you can mix feed from wheat, corn and a little corn into the feed.

Anatosha 11/10/2016

How should I give potatoes?

Nikolay 05/18/2017

A lot of useful information!

Add a comment

In addition, this is a fairly cost-effective activity. Even if you don’t engage in breeding as a business, but grow only for yourself, it is still very profitable. Payback of costs occurs in just two and a half months. This is how long chickens are kept until slaughter.

What breed and age should I choose to raise a chicken?

Very popular meat crosses:

Cobb-500,
Loman,
Ross.

In Russia, broilers bred by the Smena poultry farming enterprise are in demand. About 50% of all livestock on the market are supplied by this factory. You can learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of each cross in the article “Review of broiler chicken breeds”.

It is up to you to decide what age to choose chickens. Most people, due to the low price, settle on one-day daily allowances. They take a lot of them. But it's very troublesome. Since they have not yet completed the formation of the gastrointestinal tract, they do not have a thermoregulation system. They are afraid of drafts, dampness, hypothermia and overheating.

It is best to buy ten-day-old broiler chickens. And do it in poultry factories.

What features to look for when buying chickens

To select good chicks you need to have experience. The following tips will help you with this. And then it's a matter of practice.

Choose cheerful and active ones.
Healthy chicks react quickly to extraneous sounds. So, make some noise. Tap the box or cage where they are sitting. The ones that run towards the sound are the ones you need.
Good chicks have a toned tummy, a nice and even fluff, and a clean butt.
The wings are not spread apart, but adjacent to the body.
Chickens of the Cobb-500 and Ross-308 crosses have special features. They may have a slightly enlarged tummy. The color of the beak and legs is blue.

How to determine the sex of a chicken

When you buy chickens, you usually want to buy hens. To distinguish them, spread your wings and look at the feathers.

If it is a chicken, then the feathers will be of different lengths.
If it's a cockerel, then it's the same length.

General requirements for premises

Before buying chickens, you need to decide on the place where they will be located and how they will be kept there. There are two placement options - floor and cellular. In accordance with this, the poultry house is prepared. But there are also general requirements.

The chicken coop should be warm. The air temperature must be regulated. It is constantly measured and reduced as the age of the young animals increases. The temperature decreases from + 30 degrees at the beginning of fattening to 18 - 20 degrees by 4 weeks of age.
Good ventilation and, as a result, no dampness. Dry air will prevent the spread of infection.
Purity. This is the most important condition of maintenance.

Lighting requirements

The light regime during fattening is very important. The poultry house is illuminated around the clock. Only its intensity is adjustable. It changes according to the age of the young.

Table No. 1. Poultry house lighting modes depending on the age of the young animals.

The feeder and drinking bowl must be illuminated at all times. Above them you need to hang a low-power lamp (15-20 W) with a reflector. The chickens see it and drink water and peck at food around the clock as needed. Then, not far from the feeder, in a poorly lit place, they rest, spending a minimum of effort. Thanks to this illumination, they move little. As a result, they quickly gain weight.

Cellular growing method

From the name itself it follows that the bird is kept in a cage. For broilers this is quite acceptable. Since their main task is to gain weight faster and in full. And for this, walking is not required at all.

In addition, the advantage of such content is that it prevents the spread of possible diseases. For example, when placing several batches in different cages, if one of the birds gets sick, chickens from other batches will not be affected.

For the comfort of young animals, no more than the following should be placed on one square meter of cage:

16 pieces - little chicks,
8 pieces - month-old chickens.

The cages are equipped with trays in which droppings accumulate. Therefore, they are easy to clean. Feeders and drinkers are located outside the cage. As a result, less feed is consumed, since the chickens do not throw it away.

This method is identical to keeping ordinary birds in a chicken coop.

The only difference is that broilers are more sensitive to the light and heat conditions in the chicken coop. Therefore, it is necessary to provide additional heaters and lighting lamps there.

The floors in the chicken coop must be warm, preferably wooden. You need to pour lime on them in a thick layer (1 kilogram - 1 square meter of floor). It will absorb excess moisture and at the same time disinfect the room. And already lay bedding on it. It can be straw, hay, peat, sawdust. It needs to be changed often to keep it clean.

It is the carelessness of the owners that is the main cause of diseases in chickens. Everything must be clean: the room, the water, and the food.

The main and indispensable condition for keeping broilers is cleanliness.

Fattening

To achieve high results in the meat productivity of broiler chickens, placement alone is not enough. You also need to feed them properly. Without this, it will be impossible to bring the chicken to maximum results.

The main condition for fattening is strict compliance with all requirements of feeding technology. It is best to print it out and keep it in front of your eyes as a reminder. And, of course, once again do not forget about cleanliness.

About water quality

Chickens should always have fresh water. In the first days, the chickens are given boiled water. It is cooled first. Then you can switch to benign raw. When using water from a water pipe, it should be allowed to settle before use. This is done so that the chlorine comes out.

About feed quality

Food can only be freshly prepared and of good quality. Under no circumstances should you feed sour leftover food, odorous cottage cheese, wilted greens and limp rotten vegetables.

It is good to add boiled and crushed fish or meat bones to feed mixtures. You can prepare crushed eggshells in advance. To do this, the shells are calcined in the oven and crushed.

Information for your information

Chickens do not have a developed sense of smell. They are indifferent to smells. But there is a feeling of disgust. For example, if the trough is dirty with droppings, they will not peck food from it.

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