Breeding chickens in the country is a significant help for the family budget. Although the bird is quite unpretentious, to know about the nuances of its content, of course, is necessary. In particular, chickens require careful care. How to feed young growth correctly? Let's talk about it below.
Features of feeding in the first days of life
On the first day of life, young appetite is usually not very good. However, it is still necessary to try to feed the newborns. Usually small chickens are fed small chopped, hard-boiled chicken eggs, as well as cottage cheese. Experienced cookers do not advise giving rough food during this period. "How to feed a day old chick?" - the question is actually very important. The fact is that the death of young animals at this time is associated mainly with malnutrition and, as a result, with an upset digestive system.
On the first day of life, young growth should also be soldered with special preparations designed specifically for this purpose. For example, it may be a Baytril product, which must be added to water. This will protect the chickens from E. coli and strengthen their immunity. Above all else, daily chick preparations can increase your appetite.
Feeding chickens before ten days of age
A very good solution during this period can be special feeds designed specifically for young animals (for example, “Start”). Starting from the age of three days, you can add boiled crushed corn or millet to the diet. A glass of cereal is poured with two glasses of water, brought to a boil and left to steam for 1 hour. Food prepared in this way is cooled and laid out on a litter box (4-5 times a day).
Starting from 5 days of age, you can add finely chopped clover, nettle, or woodwort leaves to the diet, as well as raw carrots grated on a fine grater. The mixture thus prepared is given between the main feedings. To teach young growth to greenery is a must. In this case, later it will be possible to save on vitamin supplements. Among other things, starting from the fifth day of life, fish oil (0.1-0.2 g per chicken) should be added to the morning mixes. So 3-10-day-old chickens are fed. How to feed the younger young, consider below.
Chicken hooks up to two months of age
From the tenth day of life, youngsters begin to give mishaps, consisting of:
- Boiled, mashed potatoes.
- Boiled and chilled fish (possible from waste).
- Steamed compound feed.
- Grated raw carrots.
- Finely chopped nettle leaves.
- Boiled meat bones (1 tbsp. For ten chickens).
- Finely ground shell (1 tsp. For ten chickens).
The first five ingredients are mixed in equal proportions. You need to give such food four times a day. Moisten the mixers with fish or meat broth (unsalted).
Feeding two-month-old chickens
So, two-month-old chickens. How to feed correctly? Starting from two months and ending with four months of age, young animals are given mixes of the following composition:
- Crackers (or sifted compound feed) passed through a meat grinder - 30%.
- A mixture of crushed bones (fish and meat) with eggshell - 1%.
- Boiled potatoes - 30%.
- Shredded carrots and nettle leaves - 20%.
In winter, grown chickens can also be fed grain. For the manufacture of mixes you need to take only fresh products. Starting from the fourth month, chickens are transferred to an adult diet.
Broiler chickens. How to feed correctly
Young meat breeds, unlike egg breeds, are slightly more adapted to eating feed with a high protein content. In addition, they eat these chickens more often. Until the seventh day of life, they are fed with mash ups every two hours. At the same time, they try to make the night interval as short as possible. In order to achieve this, the first feeding is done as soon as possible, and the last - as late as possible. Mixtures are given plenty until the chickens are full. In autumn and winter, germinated grain should be added to the diet.
Very often broilers are given a yeast mix. For its preparation, baker's yeast, mashed potatoes, carrots, greens are put in heated water and kept for six hours. Such mixers are eaten by youngsters more readily than ordinary ones. Thus, the question of how to feed broiler chickens comes down to ensuring a sufficient amount of protein and protein in food, as well as increasing the appetite of the bird itself.
What should be the feeders
Very small chickens are eaten from a plywood sheet, which has a one centimeter high rim around the perimeter. Agitators for older youngsters are laid in feeders, which can be made independently. To do this, you need to knock down a long box of approximately 3 cm deep and 6 cm wide from the tare boards. A rotating round handle should be attached to the ends at the top. In this case, the chickens will not be able to climb into the feeder, or sit on top as perched.
We hope that we have fully enough answered the main question of the article: “How to properly feed chickens?” The diet and frequency of food bookmarks depend primarily on the age of the young, as well as its breed.