Chickens Brekel: description and characteristics of the breed, diet, conditions of detention

Dietary chicken meat, eggs are necessary for a person, but of high quality. No wonder breeders and farmers choose chicken breeds that would produce products with excellent taste. But the decorative effect of Brekel chickens plays an important role in the popularity of the breed among farmers.

History of Appearance

The origin of the breed is rooted in the distant past. The first specimens of bird hybrids appeared more than fifty years ago. The breed was bred by crossing native chickens by Belgian peasants.

But already in the 19th century, lovers of the breed even founded their own club.So the official standard of a thoroughbred bird was deduced. Production declined in the first decade of the 20th century, which almost led to the destruction of the elite bird. But the hybrid was revived, which led to an increase in the number of individuals.

Due to the fact that the bred chickens are based on the native chicken of Belgium, the breed is classified as a Belgian species. They value it for eggs with a snow-white and even shell.

Description of Brekel breed

Although other types of crosses have replaced the Belgian Brekel, the breed remains at the peak of popularity. And the point here is not only in excellent egg production, but also in the decorative appearance of the poultry.

Bird Exterior

A feature of chickens is that, despite their small growth, they can boast:

well developed wings close to the body;
squat, horizontally planted torso, where the chest is convex and the stomach is developed;
raised tail, under which the ends of the flight feathers are hidden;
short, densely feathered neck;
grey paws, underdeveloped shins;
small head with comb and wide forehead;
strong and sharp beak, which has a gray-blue color with a transition to light colors towards the tip.

The color of the bird is interesting. Chicks are born with black plumage and golden down on top. Adults have silver or golden feathers.

The Silver Breckel has white feathers on its head, neck, and upper back. On white there are rare blotches of black. But on the sides, the breast stripes of black and white resemble a sailor suit.

Golden Brekels are dominated by dark and light red stripes.

Among other colors of the breed are lemon, blue, white gold.

The difference between a rooster and a chicken

You can distinguish a female from a male in a thoroughbred bird, like in all chicken breeds, by:

Comb. In males, it is larger, with 5-6 petals and stands straight. In addition, long earrings adorn the head. In chickens, the rounded comb is tilted to the side.
The size and shape of the tail. Male individuals boast abundant tail plumage, which hangs beautifully in pigtails. It is enough for chickens to have a small fan of feathers behind.
Masse. Roosters are larger, more muscular than graceful, fragile hens.
Plumage around the neck. The "collar" of males is more magnificent, more voluminous. Chickens have a smooth neck, with feathers pressed against the skin.

Even with an inexperienced eye, you can tell in the Brekel breed where the rooster is and where the hen is.

Hatching instinct

Chicken hybrids do not have maternal feelings, therefore, having laid eggs, they do not seek to sit on them to breed. The Belgian Brekel lacks instinct, so it is necessary to put a hen of another purebred breed on the eggs. They use an incubator to get offspring.

Productivity

It is worth raising thoroughbred chickens, as you can get from the Brekel bird:

Eggs with even white shell up to 220 pieces per year with an average weight of 50-60 grams each;
delicious meat with tender brisket weighing 2.2-3 kilograms.

It is worth noting that hens start laying at 5 months, reaching sexual maturity at 4.

A bird gains maximum weight by 8-12 months of life.

Temperament

In a flock of chickens, roosters are calm, rarely show cockiness. But they can attack the enemy if they feel a threat to their family. It is difficult for a bird to get along with other breeds of layers.

Chickens of the Belgian breed are "talkative", curious. The bird breed is prone to an active lifestyle, flying, which requires special maintenance.

Feathered specimens treat humans calmly when treated gently.

Advantages and disadvantages of the breed

Before purchasing crosses for breeding, you need to know all the advantages of a thoroughbred bird. Kur Brekel can be distinguished by:

high egg production;
delicacy meat;
stability of egg production;
decorative appearance;
unpretentious care.

The disadvantages include the fact that the hens have no instinct for planting eggs. A bird will be aggressive towards a person if the owner is rude towards pets.

Conditions and care

Active Brekel chickens need special living conditions. Birds must not be locked in cages. It is contraindicated tightness, lack of freedom.

Poultry Requirements

They build a chicken coop for keeping hybrids, taking into account the required area for 2 individuals of one square meter. For flight, active individuals need a ceiling height of 2 meters or more. Don't forget the sloping roof with gutters.

The house must be warm so that the air temperature in the room does not fall below 15 degrees. Before the onset of cold weather, the house is checked for cracks. The walls are insulated so that the room does not blow through.In floor insulation, a layer of straw is used, mixing it with sawdust or peat. To create dryness in the chicken coop, it is better to make the floor with a slope, then excess moisture will drain into one place where it can be easily removed.

In order for constant ventilation to occur, an air vent with a restrictive valve is equipped. It is better if a canopy is attached to the main room. Then you can constantly ventilate the house.

Chickens love to sit on perches and perches, so they need to be arranged in large numbers and different lengths.

For laying eggs, a special place is separated in the form of an open locker with shelves.

Constant lighting will increase the duration of egg laying in Belgian chickens. Within 12-14 hours, chickens need light, preferably infrared type.

Walking Janitor

With the right arrangement of the yard for walking, Brekel birds can be released there at temperatures below 5 degrees below zero.

Choose a place for walking on the south side of the chicken coop. In the house they make manholes with ladders for the bird to fly out. They are open in the summer in the morning. They enclose the territory of the courtyard with a net, and it is better to cover it with a roof from above so that the chickens can hide from the rain. It is necessary to monitor the dryness of the bedding in the yard in autumn and spring. And in the summer, grass should grow on the walking area, which the bird will feast on.

Installation of feeders and drinkers

The feeding place for thoroughbred crosses is equipped with feeders and drinkers that stand on the floor. They need to be washed daily. At the same time, the litter is removed as it gets dirty, but always once every 5-6 days. Nearby put bowls with pebbles, shells.

Needed to protect chickens from parasites ash box. It is filled with sand mixed with wood ash.

Shedding season

Brekel chickens stop laying during molting. When changing old feathers to new ones, you need to make sure that the bird:

received plenty of vitamins and nutrients;
not supercooled;
not hurt;
was protected from aggressive neighbors.

Attention from the human side will allow the chickens to survive a difficult period.

Change the herd

The advantages of the Brekel breed include the fact that chickens retain egg production for 3-4 years. Only then do they begin to replace old crosses with young ones. Use chickens for meat, which is eaten. It is delicate, has a peculiar aftertaste.

Diet

Feeding of the hybrid breed of poultry is done 3 times a day at the same hours. It is necessary to make such a menu that it combines nutrients with vitamins.

Adult birds

From 1.5-2 months, chickens are transferred to an adult diet, in which among the allowed products they distinguish:

wheat or bran;
barley, oats;
corn, peas;
sunflower meal;
vegetables;
meadow grass, nettle;
whey.

Prepare for every day in the morning a wet mash of grain, feed in the form of granules. The lunch menu includes a mixture of boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, nettles, clover. In the evening, dry food is desirable. It includes grain and grass.

In the daily diet of thoroughbred chickens include a shell or chalk, meat and bone meal, not forgetting about table s alt. In summer they give fresh grass.

It is desirable to prepare green brooms for the birds for the winter, adding chopped herbs to feed mixtures. Replace greens in cold weather with cabbage, Jerusalem artichoke.

Chickens

The born Brekel chicks are given semolina with a boiled egg. Add low-fat cottage cheese, yeast, meat and bone meal to the diet. Young animals need to be fed 4 times a day. Be sure to add ascorbic acid to food.

Features of reproduction

The disadvantage of the Brekel breed of chickens is that females cannot be placed on eggs. The mutation that occurs in hybrids has deprived the birds of the parental instinct. Therefore, to increase the livestock, you will have to use an incubator.

For bookmarking, select large specimens of eggs that were laid no more than 5-6 days ago.

Eggs up to 20 days old in appliances. Hatching occurs on the 21st-22nd day. The first 5 days the chickens are in the incubator, where they dry out. They are then taken away, leaving them viable.

You can put eggs from Brekel hens to other hens to breed.

Frequent illnesses

Infections such as salmonellosis, bronchitis, smallpox are manifested by improper care of the bird, non-compliance with the rules for keeping chickens. Young animals should be vaccinated at 2 months of age to avoid diseases.

Females of the breed suffer from salpingitis, inflammation of the oviduct as a result of early onset of puberty. When an egg passes through a narrow channel of a young laying hen, tissue injury occurs. The bird starts to get fat, stops laying eggs.

Prevention of bird disease is the delay in the start of egg laying by artificial means. To do this, reduce daylight hours, give food with a low calorie content. For adult chickens, it is important to give vitamin complexes and complete food on time. Inflammation will not develop in a clean, ventilated area.