Chickens in suburban plots are kept by many. This bird is very unpretentious and in most cases productive. One of the most popular breeds among summer residents, villagers and farmers is May Day. It was bred by crossing Yurlovsky chickens, Rhode Island and Vinadont. This work was carried out in the 40s of the twentieth century at the state farm named after May 1 of the Kharkov region. Hence the name of the breed.
A bit of history
During WWII, the May Day chicken breed was reduced to only 54 individuals. However, she was not completely lost. The 10 best laying hens and four males were selected for the tribe. As a result, by 1947, the number of May Day chicken increased to 180 individuals. By 1962, up to 56 thousand heads were already kept in different farms. Today, May Day breed is bred almost everywhere.
May Day breed of chickens: description
The main features of this bird include:
- short and wide head
- long body with convex breasts,
- not too well-developed pink-like crest and bright earlobes,
- wide, flat back.
The plumage of May Day chickens is usually white. Black feathers are present on the tail and on the mane, which makes the exterior of this bird very peculiar. Light color is the main sign of such a bird as the May Day breed of chickens. The standard also implies the presence of short legs in both laying hens and cockerels. The skin is a sign of a slightly yellowish natural color.
Economic value
The breed of May Day chickens belongs to the meat-producing direction. The weight of the layers can reach 2.3 kg, the cockerel - 3.2 kg. The advantages of this bird, farmers include primarily its endurance and good maternal qualities of the brood hen. The number of eggs laid in these chickens directly depends on the quality of feeding. With a lack of proteins, the productivity of this breed is significantly reduced. Chickens begin to lay eggs in much smaller quantities. However, everything quickly bounced back with an increase in the amount of feed given.
The fairly high productivity of laying hens is also a characteristic feature of such a poultry as the May Day chicken breed. Eggs per year, one individual can lay in an amount of about 160-200 pcs. Their shell has a pleasant brown tint. The mass of one egg reaches 60 g.
The advantages of May Day chickens include, among other things, fast weight gain and excellent health. They are resistant to cold, do not reduce egg production too much in the winter, and are excellent for breeding in central Russia.
May Day breed of chickens: reviews
Owners of personal plots have developed a very good opinion about this bird. First of all, its high productivity and endurance are noted. Poultry farmers praise the rapid growth of these chickens and their neat marketable carcasses. Judging by the reviews, the egg production in this breed with proper feeding is even higher than stated. The chickens of the May Day breed are heavy, characterized by activity and vitality.
What should be a barn
A shed for breeding a bird such as the May Day chicken breed can be built from any material at hand - boards, timber or sleepers. But in any case, the house will need to be insulated. Inside the barn must be dry and light. The presence of drafts is highly undesirable. Otherwise, May Day hens, in spite of good health, will begin to catch a cold.
On the floor of the shed you need to pour straw, hay or sawdust. If it is not intended to heat the house, their layer should be sufficiently thick - up to 40 cm (in winter). In this case, in the house, even in the coldest days, the temperature will remain positive. A window must be arranged in the barn.
Poultry equipment
Of course, the May Day breed of chickens, the description of which was given above, requires the creation of suitable conditions for development. The barn for them is normally equipped with perches, feeders and nests. You also need to provide a place for storing concentrated feed and bring down a table for the preparation of mash in winter. Hooks (or just nails) are usually hung over it for a grater and other tools.
Perches can be made of 40x40 mm timber. A pole of the same section is also very suitable for this purpose. Perches are nailed at a height of about 80-100 cm from the floor. You can fix them either directly to the walls, or lean on racks of timber of the same section.
Nests are made from plank or plywood. Since May Day chickens differ in average size, houses with dimensions of 30x30x25 cm or even slightly less are suitable for them. The entrance to the nest usually has an arched shape and a width of 20 cm. Before it, you need to nail a narrow sill board to prevent eggs from falling out.
The bottom of the nest is laid with straw. Typically, egg houses are located at the height of perches. You can nail them directly to the wall. It is highly recommended not to place perches and nests under the windows. Although the May Day breed of chickens is quite unpretentious, this can cause chickens in colds. Feed is stored in bags, in jars or barrels.
What should be the feeders
Of course, giving food to chickens from a basin or directly from the floor is not the best solution. In the barn must be installed feeders of a special design. They knock them out of the boards. The latter are positioned at an angle to each other in the form of the letter V. From the bottom, you need to nail two transverse beams. This way you get the legs. Two beams are nailed and on each side of the feeder from above (on the end boards). On them (on metal pins), a pole should be attached along the entire length of the boards. It should pass strictly in the center. It is not necessary to fix it rigidly. The pole should rotate freely. All the poultry, without exception, loves to climb into the feeder with legs, including May Day chickens. The characteristic of this breed with respect to temper and cleanliness is also positive. But the chicken, as they say, is the chicken. She will climb into the trough necessarily. The pole will prevent this. To sit on it and add to the feces of the bird the bird also fails due to rotation.
Walking for chickens
According to reviews, on the street May Day bird can be released including in the winter. Of course, a special place is equipped for this. To have a walk is on the south side of the barn. Since chickens are quite mobile birds, it should be quite large in area. You can fence the walk with an ordinary mesh-netting. In summer, feeders and drinking bowls are also installed here.
Feeding May Day Chickens
The breed of May Day chickens , like any other, requires good feeding. Therefore, the diet should be quite diverse. The egg quality directly depends on the quality of feeding. In the morning, it is advisable for the bird to give wheat, to which a little chalk can be mixed. For lunch, they usually give a mash of vegetables, herbs and root crops. They also add bran and a little salt. Fill the mixers with meat broth, or ordinary boiled water.
Breeding
Puberty at May Day chickens occurs in 180 days. By this time, hens can already weigh 2.5 kg, males - 3.5 kg. One cockerel should have up to 5 hens. A healthy, mobile, active bird with a good appetite is selected for the tribe. The disadvantage of manufacturers are long legs.
The May Day breed of chickens, reviews of which are only good, has another important plus. Layers are considered very good and caring mothers. Fertilization of eggs and young growth in May Day chickens are very good. Often chickens of this breed are summer residents and villagers hatch in incubators. Chicks are born yellow.
How to feed chickens
May Day breed of chickens (photos of which are presented on this page) is characterized by the fact that it always gives very mobile and viable chicks. However, the diet for them, as well as for chickens of any other breed, should be selected correctly. According to the reviews of the owners, at first it is better to feed the chicks up to six times a day with millet, cottage cheese and a boiled egg. If they were bred in an incubator, keep them in a box covered with a grate on top. An incandescent bulb must be inserted into it for heating. To keep the chickens warm, you can also put warm water bottles in a box. The temperature in the home of the chicks in the first days of life should not be less than 30 degrees. Each subsequent week it is reduced by three degrees.
Food can be poured on plywood. Be sure to install the box and the drinker. Suitable for this purpose is the usual polyethylene cover from a glass jar. But it is better to use a special design drinking bowl. In no case should the chickens get wet. Without chicken, they can very easily catch a cold.
After the chicks are five days old, you can begin to give mishmash. They should consist of boiled porridge, potatoes and bread. Be sure to mix green fodder - quinoa, nettle, carrot tops, etc. Experienced poultry farmers advise giving chickens earthworms in their reviews. It is very useful to add a couple drops of fish oil to the mixers. Also, the chicks are given chalk, salt (in very small quantities) and crushed shells.
Cereals and wastes from the table are usually given to chickens at the age of one month. Boiled potatoes will also be very useful for them at this time. In two months, May Day chickens (appetite reviews which are also good) are transferred to an adult diet.
Chicken with Chicken
Such chicks usually develop better than hatchery ones. The lunge in the brood, which the hen cares for, is also much less. However, in this case, the chickens of May Day chickens should create appropriate conditions. Immediately after hatching, the temperature in the chicken coop should be at least 20-22 g. (by the floor).
Chickens Care
In the poultry shed, it is necessary to install basins with ash. "Bathing" in them, hens get rid of parasites. Care must be taken to monitor the health of the bird. If the chicken sits without moving for a long time, resting its head under the wing, does not eat and does not give a voice, it must be removed from the barn in a quarantine box. The comb in sick hens becomes cyanotic or icteric, and the plumage is ruffled.
Eggs from nests should be removed in a timely manner. The May Day breed of chickens, like most birds of a meat-egg orientation, has a well-developed maternal instinct. When I see eggs, I can tune in to incubate them and reduce egg production.
It is extremely undesirable to allow strangers into the barn. At the sight of strangers, May Day chickens can get scared and freaked out. It will also negatively affect egg production. The owners themselves should treat the bird calmly and benevolently.
Bad laying hens are best removed from the herd. This will save on feed. Of course, you definitely need to monitor the cleanliness in the chicken coop. In winter, the shed should be lit additionally. This will minimize egg production. The length of the "bright" period of the day should be at least 14 hours.
Useful Tips
May Day breed of chickens, the content of which is a simple matter, nevertheless requires some knowledge and skills from the poultry breeder. Therefore, we will give some recommendations below, following which, possibly, will increase its productivity:
- In order to prevent the development of infections, the walls of the shed should be coated with slaked lime before settling May Day chickens.
- Perches and nests are usually arranged in the darkest corner.
- In the nests, it is desirable to put blenders (white pebbles of an oval shape). This will reduce the risk of peeling eggs.
- At the entrance to the chicken coop and at the manhole, it is advisable to install small ladders so that it is more convenient for the bird to enter.
- It is necessary to add not only chalk and bait to the feed, which increase the growth rate and egg production, but also small pebbles. Pecked by chickens, they contribute to grinding food.
- Feed May Day chickens, like any other, should only be high-quality fresh food. It is not allowed to add sour, moldy or rotten products to the mixers.
- Chickens are minced more thoroughly than adult hens.
What you need to know
A summer resident who decided to get such a bird as May Day chickens on his site (reviews about them are really very good) should have an idea about the following things:
- With excessive consumption of dry grain by chickens, they may experience blockage of goiter. The same problem arises when eating not too finely chopped root crops and not drinking enough. Goiter blockage can be determined by the behavior of the bird. In this case, the chicken sits, laughing, breathing heavily, periodically opens its beak and refuses to feed. The goiter of a sick bird needs to be washed. For this, a tube is inserted into the beak and 100 ml of a weak solution of soda or potassium permanganate is poured. Then the chicken’s head is lowered and the contents of the goiter are gently squeezed out. Such washing is done in 2-3 doses.
- Hatchery chicks need special care. If during hatching they squeak very loudly, it means that the ambient temperature is too low for them. If the chicken broke the egg correctly (from the blunt end), but cannot get out of it, it needs a little help, breaking the shell.
- Newly chickens that have just been purchased in a nursery or on the market need to be given a little chloramphenicol (0.4 g per 100 heads) for prevention.
- With an intestinal upset, chickens are given strong tea, a decoction of St. John's wort or oak bark.
As you can see, caring for such a bird as May Day laying hens is a simple matter. However, some rules should still be followed. First of all, chickens need to be well fed. It is also important to keep the house clean. If you follow all the recommendations, you can grow large healthy chickens and get a lot of eggs from them.