The popularity of meat and egg chickens among farmers is due primarily to their versatility. Homestead owners breed both old breeds of this productivity line and new ones. Somewhat more complicated than for laying hens, and simple than for broilers, care is what distinguishes such hens (meat-egg breeds). Which variety to choose? The answer to this question is rather complicated. After all, such breeds were bred by a lot of breeders. Therefore, further in the article, we will consider what features the most popular meat and egg hens differ in.
Which bird is more profitable to grow?
The best meat-egg breeds of chickens today, according to many farmers, are:
Rhode Island;
Kuchin's anniversary;
Moscow white;
new hampshire and p;
Orpington;
Adler silver.
These are the most productive breeds of meat-egg hens. Description and photos of just such layers will be presented in the article. We will talk about each of these breeds in detail.
Rhode Island: history, description
This meat-egg breed, popular in Russia, was bred in the USA in 1840-1850. As her parents, she used kokhinkhins, Malay Reds, Leghors, Wyandots, and Cornish.
The plumage of Rhode Island chickens is very dense. That is why they are well suited for content in Russia. This bird tolerates cold well. The color of the plumage in Rhode Island is brown. Over time, the color of these chickens fades slightly.
Rhode Island Productivity Indicators
These chickens are appreciated by farmers, of course, first of all, because they gain good weight and carry many eggs. In terms of productivity, many homeowners consider this bird one of the best today. The egg production of the rhode islands is about 160-180 pcs. in year. From some chickens, with good care, you can get 210-215 pcs. The eggs themselves in this breed are quite large. Their weight can reach 55-60 grams.
With good performance indicators, this breed differs with respect to meat. Adult hens of rhode island reach a weight of 2.5-3 kg, males - 3.2-3.8 kg.
Features
The chickens of meat- and- egg breed of p -island reach sexual maturity by 6-7 months. They rush year-round. These chickens do not stop laying in winter even in an unheated barn. Young growth of this breed is distinguished by endurance. Lung in the herd of Rhode Island almost never happens. These chickens are not too demanding on feed. The diet for them is usually the same as for poultry of meat breeds (concentrates - mishmash - concentrates). However, during maintenance, the owner of the homestead should be sure that hens do not overeat. Too much food will not affect the rate of weight gain, but the bird will carry very few eggs.
In terms of productivity, rhode islands are superior to many other meat-egg breeds of chickens. The photo of the cockerel , presented on the page above, demonstrates its strong constitution. But this bird has one more undoubted advantage. One of the characteristics of the Rhode Island breed is that it is simply excellent genetic material. It is these hens that are used by breeders to breed new highly productive meat and egg hybrids most often.
Kuchinsky anniversary chicken
Selection of this bird lasted for as long as 43 years. It was bred by domestic specialists based on the genotype of 4 foreign breeds. Later, the resulting sufficiently productive hybrid was additionally crossed with Lebanese chickens.
The plumage of the Kuchin anniversary has a brown or golden. Her body is quite compact, but it is very strong. The plumage, as in the rhode islands, is thick among the representatives of this breed. Therefore, Kuchin’s jubilee chickens are well tolerated in winter, practically without reducing egg production. But still, the air temperature in the barn with the content of this rock should not drop less than +3 C.
Productivity indicators
Kuchin's anniversary chickens gain weight in 2.7-3 kg, males - 3.4-3.5 kg. Their egg production is 180-200 pcs. in year. The breed of chickens of the Kuchin meat-jubilee anniversary only slightly reduces productivity in this regard only during molting. The eggs of these layers are about 60 grams. This bird, like the Rhode Island, is unpretentious to feed. They contain it according to the standard technology used for chickens meat-egg direction of productivity.
Features of the Kuchin anniversary
To the advantages of this breed of chickens, in addition to unpretentiousness and high productivity indicators, farmers also attribute the fact that they practically have not lost their maternal instinct. Kuchin's anniversary chickens incubate on their own.
Chicks of this breed can be distinguished by gender already at the age of one day. In dried cocks, the color of the wings is always lighter than the body. This breed, among other things, has earned good reviews from farmers for its relative early maturity. Kuchin's anniversary eggs begin to lay at the age of about 6 months.
Moscow white chicken
This highly productive meat-egg breed was bred on the territory of the USSR in the middle of the last century. As parent for her, May Day, white Plymouthrock, white Russian were used. Species of these chickens are:
pure white plumage;
strong physique;
dense plumage.
Chicken Productivity Indicators
In terms of egg production, Moscow White is practically in no way inferior to the Rhode Islands and the Kuchin anniversary. From one such chicken, you can get up to 180 eggs per year. The weight of a laying hen of this breed is gaining 2.4–2.5 kg; males - 3–3.4 kg. Moscow whites reach puberty at 6 months. The eggs of these chickens weigh about 55 grams. The color of the shell they have is white.
Features of the breed white Moscow
Like Rhode Island, this bird is often used to produce new productive hybrids. For example, a broiler that was bred by crossing Moscow white with new hemp and ramie weighs about 1.5 kg at the age of three months.
The peculiarity of the hens of this breed is that they sometimes carry an “egg in an egg”. The maternal qualities of the Moscow white are almost lost. Therefore, young animals must be hatched by farmers involved in their cultivation in incubators.
New Hampshire Chickens
This meat and egg breed first appeared in the United States in the 30s of the last century. It was developed specifically for medium and small farms. That is, New Hepshires are just great for keeping, for example, in cottages.
About the shade of the feather, these chickens are brownish. The New Hampshire bird looks somewhat squat. Her body is oblong and strong enough, and her legs are short. The plumage of these chickens is very dense and dense.
Productivity
The meat-egg breeds of chickens described above are notable for good egg production and weight gain. New Gepshirs in this regard are practically white in Moscow, Rhode Island and Kuchin’s anniversary. The body weight of laying hens of this breed can reach 2-3 kg, cockerels - 3.2-3.8 kg. In the first year, hens of New Hampshire lay about 200 pcs. eggs weighing 55 grams. Later, this indicator begins to decline. Laying hens reach puberty by 6 months.
How is the breed different?
As with the Kuchin’s jubilee, the gender of New Hampshire chickens can be determined at a very young age. In the cockerels of this breed, a white fluff is noticeable on the wings. In the hens, the feathers in this place are brown. According to the rules, the New Hampshire rooster is supposed to be changed at least once every five years. Otherwise, chickens will not meet breed standards.
The Mantera instinct in these chickens is developed. But not all individuals land on their eggs.
Chicken breed meat-egg orpington
This bird was bred in England by breeder William Cook at the end of the 19th century. Orpington was initially officially recognized only with black plumage. Later fawn hens of this breed were obtained. Today, there are already about 10 varieties of orpington in color.
Looking t hens of this breed are more massive than many other meat-egg. Short-legged, like New Hampshire, they do not look. The plumage of these chickens is dense, so they are well suited for breeding in the Russian climate.
What is different in productivity?
Orpington hens have about 180 eggs. in year. Males of this breed gain weight up to 5 kg. The body weight of adult laying hens is usually 3.5-4 kg. Since chickens are quite large, and their eggs weigh quite a lot - 60-65 grams.
Other characteristics
The maternal instinct in these chickens is developed just fine. Chickens are usually born healthy and viable. However, they gain weight, unfortunately, rather slowly. The peculiarity of this breed, according to many farmers, is gluttony. To speed up the weight gain of young people, the owner of the infield has to spend a lot on food.
Gluttony, of course, can be attributed to the shortcomings of this breed. However, at the same time, orpington chickens, in comparison with other varieties, have one important advantage. The fact is that these laying hens do not reduce egg production for usually as long as three years. Also, the advantages of this breed, many farmers include very tasty, juicy and tender meat.
Adler silver
If we talk about what are currently the best meat-egg breeds of chickens , then, of course, we can not mention Adler silver. When breeding this bird , highly productive May Day and Russian white chickens were used. Later, New Hampshire and Yurlov roosters were also included in the selection work.
The main advantage of Adler silver chicken is endurance. Lunge in the herd of this bird is almost never.
Representative Performance Indicators
One adler silver chicken can carry up to 180 eggs per year. The body weight of adult males of this breed is usually 4 kg, hens - 2.7 kg. Adler silver eggs weigh about 60 grams. These chickens reach puberty at the age of 6 months.
What should the owner know about?
When growing Adler silver chicken, the farmer must take into account some of its features. For example, youngsters of this breed can begin to race at the age of 5 months. This cannot be allowed. Otherwise, the productivity of the bird in terms of egg laying will be low in the future. The early masonry of Adler silver is primarily explained by overfeeding. Too much protein in the diet of chickens of this breed when grown on eggs should not be.
Silver Adler gain weight very quickly. And sometimes they are grown as broilers for meat. In this case, feeding chickens, of course, is worth the most high-calorie food.
These hens carry fewer eggs than representatives of many other breeds of the same group. However, the undoubted advantages of Adler silver can be attributed to the fact that it has not reduced productivity in this regard for 4 years. In the process of selection, the maternal instinct, these hens, however, have completely lost.
Instead of a conclusion
These are the best meat-egg breeds of chickens that exist today . Photos and their name were presented to the reader in our article. Caring for such a bird is usually straightforward. You can get quite a lot of eggs and meat from it. Perhaps that is why in most cases, the owners of household plots prefer to keep such universal chickens on their backyards.