Every beginner poultry farmer knows the saying about chickens that do not always survive. Why is the mortality rate among chicks so high? These statistics clearly demonstrate that in most cases the chickens of the first days of life do not die from diseases, but from poor diet and nutrition.
The main goal of keeping chickens is to get strong and healthy livestock at the output, with good egg production rates (for layers) and weight (for meat breeds). That is why the correct care of the hen is also a lot of important point. After all, the health of the bird depends on what the offspring will be. A strong and healthy bird can only be obtained with proper maintenance and feeding, especially in the first days of life. As you know, all the problems from childhood ...
Proper diet
On the issue of feeding or not feeding only hatched chickens, farmers disagree. Doubt contributes a supply of nutrients that the chicken gets even in the egg from the yolk sac. But this reserve is only enough for the first 5-6 hours, it is actively spent on the formation of the digestive system of a small organism.
The conclusion is obvious - the chicks need to be fed. Only feed for day-old chicks should be special.
What to give for the first time?
The simplest clue as to the care and feeding of day-old chickens will be the observation of the brood in natural conditions. Already in the first 4-5 hours, a hen leads his young to an introductory walk in foraging. Its main components will be seeds, insects, greens and sand. It will be reasonable to adhere to the natural diet of birds, of course, adapting it to the peculiarities of the children's body of chickens, their conditions of housing and feeding, the first 3 weeks.
For example, insects are replaced with yolk and curd, and seeds - with cereals. The basis of feed for chickens from the first days of life should be boiled hard boiled and finely chopped yolk. To it we add cottage cheese and small grits: semolina or corn. Milled oat-flakes are also suitable.
Groats are needed so that the yolk and cottage cheese do not stick together, and the chickens can easily peck and digest food. The composition of the first feed on 10 chicks daily chicks:
- 1 medium yolk.
- 3 tablespoons cottage cheese.
- 2 tablespoons of cereals.
How to feed just hatched birds?
Healthy chickens, like all cubs, are characterized by increased activity. They are constantly moving, digging litter and something vyklevyvayut. By the way, pecking food from the first days of life, they learn from the laying mother. In the chickens from the incubator on the 1st day of keeping there are problems with feeding. In this case, it is necessary to show them how this is done using an "example". Knock the tip of the knife on the scattered grits, lift it at the tip and drop it.
Chickens will begin to imitate you and will easily learn to peck at food. Like all babies, newly hatched chicks need frequent meals in small portions. So the first day of feeding chicks every two hours, including at night. At each meal, chickens are given a separate type of cereal.Otherwise, they will start to bite off only those seeds that they like and will not receive the necessary microelements.
The diet of babies should be varied. Feeders fill less than half, so that domestic chickens can eat all the food, otherwise they will start to scatter it. Before filling up fresh food, remove the old one so that it does not rot. The height of the feeder should be such that the chickens can reach the feed, but could not get into it with legs.
Once in the feeder, they will fill the food with garbage and excrement. And eating such a mixture is fraught with eating disorder, which can kill the whole brood.
Important! Chickens should not climb into the feeder and drinker. Dirty water and feed - a favorable environment for the spread of intestinal diseases, bacteria, microorganisms.
Baby food
The most useful small, 1-2x-daily chickens are special compound feeds "nulevka", they are finely ground and contain vitamins, amino acids and vegetable fats. As the main ingredients in them, as a rule, use wheat, corn, barley, peas.
1-2 tablespoons of feed per day are calculated for one chicken. Start feed is easy to prepare at home. Ingredients for 1 kg of the mixture:
- 3 full glasses of corn.
- 1/3 cup barley.
- 1 cup of wheat.
- 1/2 cup low-fat kefir.
- 1 cup of cake.
All components are finely ground and mixed, so it will be easier for chicks to digest and absorb nutritious food.
Content up to 3 weeks
What are the features of feeding and chickens in the first 3 weeks? For 1-2-day-old chicks, it is very important to follow the rule: "Constant heat and no drafts." An excellent “nest” for them is a large, dense box over which a heating lamp will hang.
The initial temperature should not be below 26 degrees, then it is gradually reduced and adjusted to room 18-20 degrees. As a feed in 1-2 days, it is optimal to give small chopped yolk with cottage cheese and small cereals: corn, semolina, barley and millet.
Also suitable ground oatmeal and special starter feed "nulevki". They feed the chickens with fresh kefir and low-fat yogurt. From 3-4 days chicks can be given a whole egg with protein and added to the feed crushed egg shells, removing all films. It's time to teach kids to the green, for which small shred nettle nettle, plantain, dandelion, alfalfa and clover.
The green component should not be very much so that the chickens' fragile stomachs get used gradually. On the 5-6th day, the grown-up chickens are fed less frequently: every 3-4 hours. On the walls of the box hang bunches of herbs for self-plucking. It is time to increase the mineral component of the feed by adding wood ash, crushed shells and fish meal to the sand.
After the 10th day, night feeding is taken away and chicks are allowed to walk. If the birds are forced to do without walking, they can begin beriberi. Then they stop growing and get sick. In this case, they must be evaporated with vitamins A, D, E (1 tablet of trivitamin per 10 heads) and give fish oil (0.1-0.2 g / day per bird).
Two weeks old chickens can include boiled vegetables in the diet:
- carrot;
- potatoes;
- zucchini.
Of which prepare a wet mash. For replenishment of protein, low-fat broth, finely chopped meat and food waste are suitable. Also, stale white bread, soaked in kefir and crumbled.
For chickens from 2 weeks to 1 month they buy special food "Growth" or prepare its analogue at home. You will need 1 kg of feed:
- 2.5 cups of corn.
- 1 tablespoon of unrefined vegetable oil or feed fat.
- 2/3 cup wheat.
- 3 tablespoons of powdered milk.
- 1 bunch freshly cut grass.
- 2 tablespoons of fodder yeast.
- 1/3 cup fish meal.
Features
On the first day of life, the chickens digestive system is still imperfect and is only being formed, this is due to the peculiarity of their structure. Therefore, at this stage, the chicks are fed with kefir or lean fat yogurt, populating their digestive tract with beneficial microflora and contributing to the active development of the digestive system.
The chicks, the first days after hatching, still do not know how to drink on their own, they are watered with a pipette or a small syringe. Food disorders are very dangerous for small chicks, the probability of death is very high. That is why for the prevention of intestinal diseases babies are given a weak solution of potassium permanganate (pale pink). All chickens before bed should be fed.
Ensure that their goiter is full. If suddenly you notice a weak, sick-looking and empty goiter of a chick, suck it away from the rest. What is convenient:
- He will not infect the rest.
- It will be easier to treat.
- The rest of the chickens will not trample him.
- He will be able to fully eat and get stronger faster.
Important - If a weak chicken has appeared among the livestock, it is deposited in a separate box.
Important points in the formation of the diet of young animals
Feed for day-old chickens should be as much as possible adapted, balanced and contain all the vitamins and minerals they need. Repeat and understand What components are necessary for the growth of healthy and strong birds:
- Proteins - yolk, whole egg, cottage cheese, lean meat broth.
- Mineral components - minced eggshells, wood flour, crushed shells, fish meal.
- Groats - millet, semolina, corn, barley, rolled oats.
- Greenery - dried nettle, clover, plantain, alfalfa, dandelion.
- Vitamins - fish oil, vitamins A, D, E.
- For microflora - kefir, low-fat yogurt.
- For the prevention of intestinal disorders - solution of potassium permanganate.
Dear poultry farmers, experienced and beginners, remember that newly hatched chickens, like children, need to be treated with care. Create them a warm "nest", protected from drafts. Often feed the chicks adapted for babies feed, in small portions.
Carefully monitor their health, drink with medication, if necessary, separate the weak individuals separately. Then you will definitely achieve 100% survival of your chickens! Good luck and strong livestock!
Learn more about the rules of breeding chicks here.
