Chickens in the country: how to grow in the summer, maintenance and care, breeding, is it possible to keep them

Cultivation of chickens in the country is widespread due to the possibility of obtaining fresh eggs and meat. Most breeds of birds are unpretentious in care, and you do not need to have special skills to keep them. For chickens to be productive, it is enough to create a favorable environment in the poultry house.

How to start keeping chickens in the country

When planning to start breeding birds in a summer cottage, you should first think over and take into account all the details. First of all, you need to decide on the goal. If a poultry farmer wants to keep chickens for only one season, it is enough to provide standard conditions.To breed a large livestock for a long time, you should think about building a capital building.

To keep birds in the country, you will need to correctly correlate desires and opportunities. At the planning stage, it is worth understanding the exact number of individuals raised, preparing a chicken coop project and choosing a location for the building.

Which breed to choose

When choosing a suitable variety of birds for keeping in the country, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the breeds and the features of care. When choosing, consider the following rules:

1. There are several categories of birds, and meat and egg breeds are considered a universal option. Meat-only hens do not show good egg production, and laying hens are not a suitable source of meat.
2. Beginner poultry breeders often breed outbred chickens, which as a result do not produce a large number of eggs, despite good stamina. In comparison with thoroughbred birds, it is less profitable to breed this living creature.
3. If you do not plan to stay in the country all the time, you should give preference to breeds that are unpretentious in care and can do without the participation of a poultry breeder for a long time.
4. Among the common breeds and crosses, many choose those that can be kept for one season. This category includes fast-growing broilers and high-yielding crosses of the egg direction.

Buy laying hens or raise chickens

For breeding chickens, you need to purchase them. Poultry breeders are offered 2 options - to breed chicks using an incubator or buy young ones. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, so you should make a choice in advance, having familiarized yourself with all the nuances.

Buy young stock

Buying young stock is the most reliable way to get laying hens. As a rule, individuals at the age of 5-6 months are bought for the subsequent production of eggs in order to be sure of the survival of the livestock and early productivity.

Poultry farmers often purchase laying hens for seasonal use at summer cottages. Before the onset of the first cold weather, birds are allowed to meat.

It is recommended to buy young animals at proven large poultry farms. If you buy from individuals, there is a high probability of encountering infected chicks.

Chicken breeding

The main advantage of hatchery chick rearing is its low cost. For breeding, you will need to purchase only incubator equipment. However, this method has significant drawbacks. First of all, this is the uncertainty of chickens by gender.

A large number of roosters can hatch from one clutch while there is a need for laying hens. Also, the disadvantage is not the maximum percentage of survival of chicks. Normally 80-85% of chicks survive hatching in an incubator.

Place for poultry house

Building a chicken coop in the right place has a positive effect on the development and productivity of birds. Laying hens should be comfortable inside the house, so you should plan in advance all the nuances of construction. First of all, you need to study the landscape at their summer cottage. The chicken coop is not allowed to be located in the lowlands, as this will lead to the accumulation of precipitation, leaching of manure, the spread of diseases, and dampness inside the premises.

If possible, it is worth placing the building on a slight hill with a slight slope to the south. This arrangement will help the rain run off, keeping the ground around the house dry.

If you can’t find a similar place in your summer cottage, you need to build a crushed stone pillow with a thickness of 15 cm or more under the building. A layer of clay mixed with broken glass is placed on the crushed stone to protect against the penetration of rodents.Then crushed stone is re-filled and poured with a concrete base. The final step is to fill the embankment with a layer of bitumen.

Coop heating and natural light are also important, so the windows and doors of the coop should be located on the south side. The optimal direction of construction is from east to west. You need to locate the poultry house in a secluded place, away from noise and people. Laying hens feel more comfortable in calm conditions with minimal noise.

Next to the house, you need to build a walking yard, in which the birds can go out on their own at any time. Being outdoors is one of the important conditions for high productivity. The area allocated for walking is fenced off with a low fence, and covered with a net on top to protect against birds of prey.

A canopy is being built on the territory, under which birds can hide from rain and sun. If grass will grow on the walking yard, you do not need to mow it, as the birds will feed on it. Supplemental green food helps save on nutrition.

Containment facility equipment

Inexperienced poultry farmers when breeding chickens are limited only to the construction of the premises, which is a mistake. Interior equipment plays an important role in the development of birds. Perches should be provided in the chicken coop, which serve as a device for rest and sleep of individuals. With a livestock of more than 10 units, you need to make several perches. Reduce the number of roosts as winter approaches as the birds will huddle together for extra warmth.

You can make perches from beams, even branches and improvised materials. When creating perches, the following requirements must be considered:

• the structure should not sag under the weight of the birds;
• sharp corners need to be processed with a planer so that the chickens are not injured;
• The length of the perch for an adult bird must be at least 25 cm;
• Optimal perch placement is 50 cm from the floor, 25 cm from the wall and 35 cm from another perch.

In addition to perches, chickens need to build nests in which they will lay and contain eggs for breeding. For the manufacture of nests, you can choose any container that is suitable in size. The recommended dimensions of the nest are 40 cm high and 60 cm wide. A soft layer of straw or sawdust is laid on the bottom of bird nests.

Also, the internal equipment of the chicken coop includes devices for feeding and watering birds. To prevent food and water from mixing with dirt, you need to make containers of a closed type and install them at a low height.

Feeders and drinkers are recommended to be installed against the wall and securely fastened to reduce the risk of overturning structures by birds.

To keep the birds clean, you need to put them in baths with stove ash. The hens will crawl inside on their own and clean their feathers, getting rid of skin parasites. Any capacious container is suitable as a bath for chickens.

Equipment of a chicken coop is not complete without the use of lighting fixtures. Indoors, you can mount standard or infrared light bulbs. It is important to take into account that the birds do not see well in the dark, and if the light is suddenly turned off, they may not have time to take up perches.

This problem can be solved by installing a dimmer, which provides a smooth and gradual turning off of the light bulbs in the room. In the absence of a dimmer, you must first turn off the main light and leave the duty light, and when the chickens take their places, turn off the lights completely.

How to care for chickens

Standard care for laying hens is simple and requires minimal effort. If the house is equipped with all amenities, the following rules must be followed:

• constantly inspect birds to monitor their condition and notice signs of disease development in a timely manner;
• disinfect and sanitize the premises to destroy pathogenic microorganisms;
• add food and water to specially prepared containers, as chickens need constant access to food;
• ventilate the chicken coop to eliminate bad odors and circulate fresh air, which is especially important in summer when the ambient temperature is high.

What do broilers need

Breeding broilers does not require special knowledge, and even a novice farmer can raise birds. When keeping individuals, it is necessary to create favorable environmental conditions. From the first day of life, chicks need to build cages or bedding from sawdust and straw. The temperature regime in the room with broilers should be at the level of 26-33 degrees in the first week and 18-19 degrees with further growth.

Lighting in a broiler house must be on 24/7. Too bright light can lead to pecking, so it is better to use low power lamps. It is also important to keep the broiler rearing area clean on a regular basis.

To reduce the risk of intestinal infections, feeders and drinkers should be cleaned periodically. Broilers should be inspected periodically, provided with a balanced diet, and chicks should be removed in a depressed state.

What and how to feed correctly?

Proper nutrition is an important part of caring for chickens. The food should be balanced, varied and rich in vitamins. When using compound feed, it is poured into the feeders as it is consumed, and other food is given to the birds 3-4 times a day.

It is important that chickens do not overeat, as this leads to obesity and negative he alth effects.

The main percentage in the nutritious diet is proteins, which are found in fish and bone meal. To compensate for the lack of fat, corn grits and oats are included in the diet. Vitamins A, B, D play a special role in the diet.An increased amount of vitamins is found in vegetables and legumes.

Common problems

Common problems in breeding chickens are the disease and death of birds. Often this is due to improper care or adverse environmental conditions. In order to avoid mistakes, you should first study the instructions for keeping birds and take into account the characteristics of a particular breed.

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