Walking the young - one of the prerequisites for the development of a healthy and productive herd. The organization of this process requires compliance with certain rules. What age is optimal for walking and how to make a corral on your own and ensure the safety of chickens - you will find the answers to these questions in our material.
What age is suitable for walking
Provided that it is warm and dry outside, the first walks of the chickens can be organized as soon as they reach the age of five days. On the street, chicks must be placed in a sunny place. These walks should last no more than 2-3 hours.
Gradually, the time spent on a walk can be increased. Already at two weeks of age, youngsters may be outside the room from the morning until the onset of evening coolness.
Important! The optimal time to start walking the young is the first of June.
How to organize a walk
Cells with young stock should not be placed on bare ground. Chickens can breathe dust and start to hurt. It is better if walking will be organized on the grass, fields after harvesting grain or wooden boards will be used as flooring.
Placing the young in the open air, you should definitely take care of the feed and enough water. It is important to ensure that the food always remains fresh, because on the street any food spoils much faster.
Water should be changed several times a day to avoid intestinal infections in young animals. The number of feeders and drinkers should be sufficient, otherwise the chickens will remain hungry.
Did you know? The skills and reflexes of a one-day chicken meet the identical skill set of a three-year-old child!
How to protect chickens for a walk
Chickens should remain safe, because they are very vulnerable due to their age and inexperience.
It is worth remembering the following rules when organizing walks for the young:
- young chicks are very vulnerable to direct sunlight. Therefore, the paddock should be equipped with a canopy of boards or plywood. A bush can serve as an “umbrella” for chickens - chicks will happily hide in its shadow from the scorching sun;
- sick and weak chickens should be let out for a walk separately from the main herd;
Learn how to walk for chickens.
- paddock should be completely fenced;
- until the young chicks are completely covered with feathers, they should not be released on raw grass;
- Chicks should be taken out for a walk in calm weather. This will protect them from diseases;
- walking should be organized in such a way that predators have no chance of reaching the herd.
How to make walking for chickens: video
Important! Egg-laying chickens grow much slower than meat breeds, so even with the same number of animals they need a smaller area of walking.
How to make a pen for chicks
Before embarking on the construction of the pen, you must decide:
- with the breed of chickens, as each breed has its own dimensions and speed of development;
- with the number and age of the herd;
- with the material used.
Aviary should be built from durable and high quality materials. It is important that the barrier does not have sharp and thin parts that can be dangerous to the young.
Tool and materials
You will need the following materials:
- slate sheet for roof;
- 8 boards (4 for 1500 mm and 4 for 1000 mm);
- 4 bars with a thickness of 20 mm;
- mesh or durable textiles;
- hammer and nails;
- Screws and screws.
Did you know? There are breeds of chickens that, due to the nature of their anatomy, never lay eggs.
Step-by-step instruction
Construct the aviary, follow these steps:
- Fasten the boards together with screws. This will be the frame of the future pen.
- Using a bar, set the height of the box.
- From wooden slats make a frame.
- Tamp the fabric on the slats, carefully stretching it so that it does not sag.
- Obit from the sunny side of the pen with a ready frame of slats and fabric.
- Make a roof for the aviary of slate and fabric. Slate will protect in bad weather and will cover from the scorching sun. And the fabric will allow the necessary amount of sunlight to penetrate into the pen.
- For the manufacture of wickets, use slate residue.
Such a pen can also be made mobile, that is, it can be moved from place to place. For this, the wooden frame is simply covered with a cloth. By setting up the pen in this way, provide for the possibility of free access to the aviary for changing water and feed.
Learn how to properly make a drinking bowl for chickens with your own hands, how to prepare compound feed for chickens, what to give to chickens, how to give greens to chickens, how to cure sneezing, wheezing, coughing in chickens and chickens, how to treat diarrhea in chickens.
Fresh air is vital for young birds. Fortunately, the arrangement of open-air cages for walking is not a complicated process, which almost every owner can do.
Video: chick house
Where to live chickens: reviews
Chickens can not be planted with adults, they will drive away from the trough and hens, and rooster. And an adult cock in general can trample a young chicken to death. Even older chickens before the start of egg production can not be combined with adults. It is better to settle chickens in the house after the room is kept empty, without any bird at all, for at least a month.
Good luck!
I do them now chicken coop - almost ready. Then lay out a photo in the relevant topic. Around the chicken coop is planned walking fenced net-rabitsoy. I also think about a special place for the improvement of older chickens.
