Chickens-broilers: growing for meat. Feeding, living conditions

From the point of view of economic expediency, the cultivation of precocious poultry meat breeds is not just profitable. As in a private farmstead, and in a farm, this allows you to quickly get a large volume of product that enjoys consumer demand. The most popular among the mass buyer is used by broiler chickens. Growing on meat of this kind of poultry is possible both on an industrial scale and on an ordinary private farmstead. To avoid failures and misses, it is better to understand the details of how broilers are grown for meat.

A practical source of quality meat

In everyday life, broilers call a bird (less often rabbits), which is grown only to produce a meat carcass. However, experts strictly distinguish: there is a breed of meat direction, and there are meat crosses, and the term "broiler" refers specifically to the crosses. As a result of carefully calculated interbreeding, the goal of which is to obtain a fast-ripening and quickly gaining mass of offspring, are broiler chickens. Cultivation for meat is the only goal of their creation. Chicken meat crosses at the age of two months give a carcass weighing about one and a half kilograms.

Of course, the meat can be grown and chicken meat breeds, they also gain weight, qualitatively fatten, but with equal conditions of feeding and content show more modest results.

Chickens-broilers in a private subsidiary farm

Contrary to the widespread misconception, in the usual subsidiary farming, too, it is possible to grow broilers. Perhaps, while the weight of the carcass will differ from the factory one, but when the poultry is fattened for its own needs, the difference in 100-200 grams is not significant.

Unlike laying hens, broilers do not need roosts, one can not think too deeply about warmed-up kuratniki, because the life of such chicken does not exceed 80 days. Longer to feed it is simply unprofitable, because after this age the bird significantly reduces the rate of muscle mass build-up, and the intake of fodder increases. How does the broiler chickens grow in private farming? Growing on meat in most cases is made from purchased young animals, and there are reasons for that. Eggs, from which later the hybrid chickens of meat crosses will be released, are practically not found on sale, it is easier to purchase daily or chickens.

Purchase, placement and fattening of chickens

One of the most urgent questions - where to buy? Broiler by default can only be sold on farms where they crossbreed different breeds to obtain meat crosses. However, if we recall that broilers are called not only crosses, but also breeds of meat direction, then chickens can be purchased in the breeding farm and even among private enthusiasts engaged in breeding purebred.

Immediately after purchase, the chickens are placed in brooders where it is recommended to set a two-level temperature regime. If, on the one hand, the brooder is warmer and the cooler on the other, the chickens are able to move to a more comfortable place. Thus, the owner receives a simple and unambiguous signal to add or reduce heating. This simple method allows you to reduce the possibility of death of young animals in advance because of overheating or hypothermia.

What from the first days of life should there be chickens-broilers? Growing on meat requires close attention to the diet, so the best option will be a specialized pre-start compound feed from 0 to 7-10 days. On this diet important functions of the digestive system are laid, chickens get a good health reserve. It is important to remember that any, even the most thoughtful mash, is hopelessly losing pre-start feed for the ideal balance of all the substances necessary for the development of chicken.

Natural broiler chicken breeding

If we are talking about meat crosses, it is worthwhile to understand in advance that quality offspring can not wait. However, thoroughbred breeding of a good breed of poultry in a private farm is quite possible, it is enough to acquire a healthy parent family. In the process among the chickens it will be possible to choose the most caring hens and entrust them with the replenishment of the fattening stock.

A qualitative hatching egg from chickens of good meat breed can also be bought in breeding farms, especially if they have temporary surpluses. Having your own incubator makes it possible to reconcile with the lack of talent of the hens in the parent chicken family, but otherwise the content and feeding is no different from the care of the purchased chickens.

Conditions: chicken coop for broilers

For the fattening of meat birds, there is no need for a system of roosts and nests, as in a hen house for laying hens, in addition, chickens simply do not have time to enter the reproductive age. Therefore, for broilers are quite suitable moderately spacious rooms with feeders and drinking bowls, the content is outdoor or in mesh cages.

If you plan to breed broilers at home, regardless of the choice of direction (getting chicken meat breeds or fattening young meat crosses), you need brooders for chickens. It is possible to equip the "chicken" from improvised materials, the main thing at the same time is to observe the temperature regime and an acceptable level of humidity. The first two weeks of life the temperature of the air in the room should be about 30 degrees, then you can reduce it to 25 degrees, in a month - to 20-23 ^o C. It is advisable to avoid drafts - they can cause the mortality of livestock.

Ways to reduce feed costs on a private farmstead

The least trouble is with the compound feed that corresponds to the age of the bird, but broiler breeding at home can be built partly on cheap feed. However, during the first week of life it is better to use special mixed fodder. Firstly, at this age chickens eat very little, so the costs will be small. Secondly, proper feeding in the first week of life lays the foundation of health.

On a private farmstead, chickens of meat breeds grow well on grain mixtures, where you can add greens, vegetables, kitchen waste. But free-range paddock is better restricted: the less broiler chances to run, the better they gain weight.

Breeding broilers as a small business

As a small business, it may be interesting to breed chickens of meat breeds, but not crossovers, since it takes a lot of effort to breed the cross, it's not simple breeding work, but almost jewelry actions with genetic characteristics. In purebred breeding it is convenient to use an incubation egg, then it will be possible to achieve the maximum number of chickens even in the absence of good hens.

Trade in young can bring even more profit than growing for meat. It is possible to sell daily chicks, but more expensive chickens are sold, the price can vary significantly depending on the breed (so, from a day to a month can cost 45-60-100 rubles per head).

Organization of a poultry farm

If it is possible to open a real poultry farm, this requires a solid investment and a special approach. However, in the presence of a good business plan, such an enterprise can bring a stable profit, especially if it is possible to acquire its own food base.

The direction of work depends on what kind of product the poultry farm will work on. Broiler as a final product is a fast turnover of poultry generations, the use of productive meat crosses, and a full cycle of production is desirable - from feed to delivery of chicken meat to customers.

What and how to feed broilers

Special feed for broilers - that's the best kind of diet for a bird, which is grown for meat. Norms of feeding at the same time can be prescribed in grams, but experienced owners recommend feeding in plenty. The larger the daily ration - the greater the weight of the broiler at the time of the slaughter. But with the self-compilation of a full-fledged diet will require compliance with the norms of nutrients needed for rapid fattening of the bird.

To quickly build muscle mass you need food rich in protein. If the basis for taking crushed grain, then it must be enriched with meat and bone meal and fish meal, this increases the protein content in the mixture. Adding greens and vegetables supplies the broiler organism with vitamins and fiber, which promotes good digestion. It is more difficult to provide the bird with microelements, so it is better to apply premixes, they contain the necessary set of all substances that ensure a good metabolism and contribute to the most complete assimilation of feed.

Errors in the content of poultry meat

Many inexperienced owners make mistakes in the content and feeding of the bird, and at best this leads only to an unsatisfactory result - the meat carcass is of poor quality, with an unsatisfactory fat content. If the diet is the same for the whole bird, regardless of its direction, then the result will be quite average - the layers will be worse to bear, and the carcasses of broilers will be very far from ideal.

Another common misconception is the attempt to feed the bird with boiled vegetables. Such a mushroom is difficult to keep fresh, in warm weather the fermentation processes can begin already half an hour after cooking.

It is also not recommended to keep meat broilers for longer than 80-90 days. The amount of feed that the bird consumes at this age is quite large, and the rate of growth is constantly decreasing. In addition, molting is approaching, during which the chicken loses a few weight. Overexposed broiler can suffer simply because of its heavy weight, it is difficult for him to move around. It is better to establish the turnover of chicken generations in order to receive meat products on time.

Helpful Tips

The problematic maintenance of broilers in a private economy is quite possible, especially if you feed your fowl with compound feed. It is important to remember that different kinds of mixed fodder are not interchangeable, for poultry meat, a composition with an increased protein content is intended.

It is more convenient to purchase chickens in relatively small batches at monthly intervals, the groups will reach the deadly age in turn, which facilitates the processing of products.

Seasonal content of broilers is the most beneficial, this allows enriching the diet of a bird with fresh grass, cheap vegetables and fruits. Thanks to the seasonal content, it is possible to slightly reduce the cost of poultry fattening and the warming of the house.

If the broiler has reached such a size that it can be sent to a frying pan, it is more profitable to hammer it than to spend money on treatment. You just need to make sure that this is not a dangerous illness for a person.