Since ancient times, poultry farming has been extremely popular with our peasants. Chickens and ducks required little care, in the summer they found food on their own, and the eggs and meat obtained from them were a valuable source of protein, which was so necessary for a difficult rural lifestyle.
Unlike other sectors of the economy, poultry farming is a universal solution. Most breeds of the same chickens can provide you with meat and egg with equal success. This is largely due to centuries-old selection, since most people at all times required precisely universality.
Which chickens to choose?
Unfortunately, in our time it is difficult to find a breed of chickens that would fully meet this simple requirement. Despite the fact that in Soviet times zootechnics in all other branches of livestock breeding were aimed precisely at breeding breeds with universal characteristics, in poultry farming preference was exclusively given to laying hens. Remember the "blue hens" on the shelves? Their extremely low taste qualities were largely associated with the "non-core" direction of the bird.
Fortunately, there are wonderful Kuchin anniversary chickens, the breed characteristics of which are extremely high. Their characteristic red eggs immediately catch their eye already in the incubator, and in the future Kuchin chickens show their best.
A bit about the percentage of hatchability
Almost all breeders say that you shouldnāt trust what is written in books about ā75% of chickensā. As a rule, in the incubator and under the chicken, this indicator rarely exceeds 50%. However, this feature is perfectly compensated by the characteristics of the youngest: the chickens are large, mobile and strong.
Unlike other chickens, chicks hatch not from the blunt end of the egg, but from the sharp one. And even in general - from the very middle. Important! Almost at each conclusion, there are chickens in which the yolk cord is wrapped around the paw. If Kuchinās jubilee chickens are hatched, then there is no problem: the mother hen will fix the problem. In the case when the incubator acts as a brood hen, you will have to carefully monitor the hatching chicks in order to prevent death in the very first hours.
Other features
Do not be scared by looking into the incubator! Itās as if a beige sea appears in front of you, in which to find two identical chickens is practically impossible. A variety of beige and brown shades simply defies description! Chipmunks are common, which have three parallel black stripes on the back. In general, only one āruleā is clearly observed: monochromatic chickens in this breed do not exist at all.
Why did it happen?
The thing is that Kuchinās jubilee chickens are a kind of āfusionā of several breeds of meat and egg birds at once, so in infancy all the abundance of genes that chickens inherited from their ancestors is manifested. Yes, and adults can be quite different in color: their plumage can be yellow or almost red. For this reason, the Kuchin jubilee breed of chickens is very often mistaken even by experienced poultry breeders for other birds.
Only by the age of one month the chickens begin to sort out somehow, since systemic differences are manifested. So, the hens will always be smaller, and feathers edged with a black border will appear on their back. The roosters have a red back, with a slight reddish tint.
Growing young
Do not think that such a motley "audience" requires a reverent attitude. Kuchin jubilee chickens are incredibly good, if only because their young animals are very simple and pleasant to care for. Again, differing from other "stupid hens", these babies are extremely savvy.
Already on the third day, the chickens perfectly associate your hand not with the terrible beast that invaded their nest, but with the source of food. Thus, all your offerings will be immediately tasted for edibility. In general, the problem of transferring to āadultā food is completely absent.
Other nice features
In addition, there are no stresses associated with adaptation when moving to another room. So, if hens of other breeds get used to a new house for a very long time, sometimes even after a week of panic fear of moving away from it, then the Kuchin jubilee breed of hens is extremely bold: young birds get used to the premises after a few hours, quietly begin to go for a walk and look for food.
The main difference from the common breeds is the fact that this bird almost never presents unpleasant surprises to its owner. So, laying hens lay eggs only in a strictly defined place, and do not spread them throughout the chicken coop; they always sleep on the perches, without distorting the keel bones overnight on the floor. Of course, you will be required to provide them with these same poles.
By the way, what will happen if a chicken of the same Russian white breed decides to lay an egg in the same nest as its counterpart? There will be a serious brawl, during which the birds may well break both eggs. And the Kuchin jubilee breed of chickens is so peaceful that two layers can sit in the same nest without making any attempts to distort each other.
When to plant?
At about three months old, we strongly advise you to plant all the extra males. The fact is that they simply interfere with the hens to eat. If you add more feed, then the birds will overeat, and this will extremely negatively affect the ability to lay eggs. As a result, you will get overfed chickens that are not able to rush, and as many āmagnificentā cocks that will not be suitable as ālandscapersā.
If you grow them separately, then as early as seven months you can slaughter roosters: their meat is soft and tender, and the skeleton is compact and quite thin. Healthy chickens can begin to rush from six months already.
A little about egg laying
The eggs of these chickens (as we already said) are large, reddish-colored, with a very strong and dense shell. In the literature there are references to the fact that in one year one layer is capable of producing up to 180 eggs. In practice, a figure of 220-240 pieces is more common. Important: in the first two molts Kuchinās jubilee chickens (photos of which are in the article) continue to rush beautifully. Only at the age of two to three years, during this time, egg laying ceases.
Even if the chickens were āhatchedā by the incubator, the maternal instinct in them is strong: more than half of the birds remain to incubate eggs. They are extremely responsible for hens, so periodically drive them from eggs so that the chickens do not forget to eat. Even in the cold spring, one chicken can easily raise up to three dozen chickens, and in summer this figure can grow even more.
It is very important not to overfeed the birds, especially closer to three years. The individuals grow fat extremely quickly, start to rush badly. In addition, deaths may begin due to illness. So you need to feed these chickens without being carried away by the portion sizes.
Meat breeds of chickens
However, do not underestimate the meat breeds of chickens. With the photos that are in our article, you can make a general idea about them. What are the main differences between these birds? Firstly, they grow rapidly, and almost all the food consumed is spent on building muscle mass. Of course, some laying hens of meat breeds can lay a relatively decent number of eggs per year, but still their volume is insignificant.
In appearance, it is also quite simple to recognize them. Chicken meat breeds have a powerful chest, short legs and a general roughness of the exterior. Cochinhin chickens are very good . Their appearance is very remarkable: short and powerful legs, plumage, more like black wool. However, redheads are also often found. Chickens and males grow very quickly, gaining a large amount of meat mass. Weigh 5-6 kg, great for growing broilers.
Brahma
This breed is an excellent example of how to make decorative toys out of beautiful and productive birds. Once the bramah cockerels reached a mass of 7 kilos only in half a year! Unfortunately, the main selection (contrary to common sense) went only along the line of breeding beautiful birds. As a result, brama continues to be considered meat chickens, but their mass rarely exceeds 3-4 kilograms.
However, there is one positive feature: unlike other meat breeds, chicken of this breed lays up to 120 eggs per year. They are large, have excellent taste. In addition to these two breeds, in our country there is practically no meat-oriented chickens. However, the situation with egg breeds is much better.
Egg hens
Russian white. One of the oldest selective lines, the breeding of which actually began at the end of the XVIII century, but the breed was officially approved only in 1953. Hens and roosters of pure white color, with bright red scallops. The constitution of the birds is rather dry, the legs are long. They begin to rush at the age of 160 days, about 200 eggs are laid per year.
Leggorn
Almost all egg breeds of chickens in our country were formed under the influence of these birds. The formation of the Leghorns themselves took place several centuries in a row, in Italy. From there, over time, they moved to the USA, where the further formation of the breed took place. In 1925, birds were brought to our country.
The breed is good in that 300 laying eggs are laid each year. Birds weigh about 2 kg, begin to sweep at the age of only 140 days.
Loman Brown
Of course, the Brown chicken breed is not too common in our country, but every year these birds are becoming more popular. In fact, this is not even a breed in the classical sense of the word, but a cross. That is, they are obtained by crossing other varieties. At home, it is impossible to breed chickens with the desired characteristics in the incubator, and therefore you have to buy new individuals each time.
The characteristics of the Browns are unique: their eggs are large, cream-colored, with a dense shell. During the productive period, laying hens lay more than 330 eggs per year! Rush start at approximately 140 days.
We hope that the description of the breeds of chickens, which is given in our article, will help you make the right choice.