Hubbard has been breeding poultry for over 90 years. They also bred a breed intended for cultivation in subsidiary plots, Master Gray. Chickens, also known as Master Grizz, are meat and egg.
Selection work
Currently, two subspecies of birds belonging to this breed are distinguished. The company is engaged in the selection of chickens Master Gray M. They were obtained as a result of crossbreeding with redbro M. chickens. But these are not all the achievements of Hubbard. Also, chickens called Master Gray S were obtained from Master Gray roosters and
Redbro S chickens.
As for the cross breeding at home, this causes certain difficulties. Breeding often produces other chickens. A hybrid often produces offspring of those breeds that were used to obtain it.
It is better to buy chickens in proven farms so that after the first molt it does not turn out that you have a completely different cross. But the birds are quite tenacious: under normal conditions of life, no more than 2% of young animals should die.
View description
Master Gray chickens belong to meat and egg breeds. They are distinguished by amazingly fast weight gain. Their plumage is gray-white, in color they can resemble a cuckoo.
Adult hens Master Gray can weigh up to 4 kg, roosters reach 6 kg. Such a mass is gained without the introduction of various additives in the diet. Among their relatives, they stand out due to their size. At the same time, they can be grown in the same conditions as ordinary poultry. They are not too picky about conditions, temperature. The usual balanced diet suits them , they do not need various chemical additives.
Benefits
Chickens Master Gray, even when mixed with other birds, have a more intensive mass gain. So, on average at three weeks of age, chickens weigh about 570 grams. By the month their weight reaches 1 kg. At the age of three months, young hens already weigh 2.5 kg. In this case, the feed consumption for a set of such a mass is from 2 to 3 kg for the entire period.
At the same time, at 5 months they can begin to lay eggs. On average, about 220 pieces can be obtained per year.
Each egg weighs about 70 grams. It is clear that in young chickens they will be a little lighter, and in mature birds they can be found weighing 90 g.
Conditions of detention
Chicken breed Master Gray is unpretentious. It adapts to almost any climatic condition. True, the birds of this breed must provide a well-groomed and necessarily clean place. It is also important to ensure that there is no dampness or moisture in the place where the chickens are kept. The poultry house should have a window providing ventilation. It is advisable to arrange it so that it faces the south side. But at the same time remember that there should not be drafts there.
The optimal height of the chicken coop is considered to be 1.8 m. It should be moderately warm, bright and, of course, clean. The most comfortable temperature is 2-27 0 C. Under all these conditions, the probability of survival of young animals is 98%. This suggests that Master Gray is quite tenacious.
The description of the breed and the conditions of detention should also include information that for every 10 m 2 there should be no more than 20 chickens. It is advisable for them to organize perches. For this, you can use bars with a diameter of about 5-7 cm.
In winter, the house must be insulated. Thanks to this, hens will be carried in the cold season. On the earthen floor, it is necessary to equip a deep litter of chopped straw, wood shavings, sawdust, dry leaves. Its height should be at least 15 cm. Every week it needs to be loosened, mixed with each other and a layer about 5 cm high added. Due to this, it should become almost 0.5 m by the end of winter. In spring it can be used as fertilizer for greenhouses. In chicken coops with a wooden floor, it must be regularly updated.
Breed productivity
On average, it was estimated that each Master Gray chicken produces more than 200 eggs per year. The better organized the conditions for keeping and feeding birds, the more likely it is to get higher productivity. So, one of the prerequisites is the organization of nests.
For these purposes, you can use wooden boxes in which you need to lay straw, wood shavings or hay. They must be dry. The dimensions of the nest should be approximately the following: depth - up to 35 cm, width - about 30 cm. Before entering it there should be a small sill (about 5 cm).
Necessary Tricks
Many people who are just starting to grow poultry do not know that a "bath" is needed for any chickens. So the house is called a box or other container into which a mixture of sand and ash is poured. With the help of such a “bathing” birds cleanse themselves of parasites located on their skin. Chicken Master Gray is no exception.
It is important to ensure that they do not have lice. And on perches and floor strips there should not be a red tick. Chicken meat and egg breeds must be observed. Each house should regularly inspect them.
Care of places of detention
Before breeding poultry, it is important to deal with all the nuances that can be encountered by those people who have Master Gray chickens. The description of the breed helps to figure out how the birds should look and to figure out how to keep them.
Before purchasing chickens, it is necessary to prepare a room and equipment for them. So, in addition to the usual cleaning and dust removal, it is important to disinfect everything. For equipment use a hot solution of
soda ash at a concentration of 3-5%. You can disinfect walls, floor tiles, and floors in several ways. So, for these purposes, use one of the proposed solutions:
- 2% caustic soda;
- 3-5% xylonaphth or creolin;
- 3% formalin.
In addition, all walls and ceiling must be whitewashed with a 20% lime solution. 12 hours after treatment, the room is ventilated.
Feeding
If you want the bird to grow quickly and start to hasten in a timely manner, you need to know how Master Gray chickens should be kept. Feeding them should be full and age-appropriate.
So, the diet should include greens, vegetables, grain, crushed eggshell, chalk, fish and bone meal. But for better growth, it is better to use ready-made full-fledged feed. So, at the age of 2 months they can be fed PK-2. And from 8 to 20 weeks, the PK-4 feed will be optimal.
It is also necessary to monitor nutrition so that Master Gray chickens rush well. Reviews indicate that for the formation of a full-fledged shell, hens should receive special minerals. For this, shells of used eggs can be used, as well as crushed shell or ground limestone.
But even if hens rush normally without the addition of these substances, this does not mean that they do not need to be added to their diet. They help improve digestion, and therefore, more efficient use of feed. Moreover, almost 1/5 of the mineral mixture should contain gravel. True, it is important to avoid its large varieties.
It is advisable that chickens always have access to mineral nutrition. It should be in shallow feeders or troughs.
Reviews of poultry farmers on breeding and keeping
Before buying chickens, it is important to find out what difficulties in keeping Master Gray chickens can cause. The characteristics of the breed provide complete information about all the requirements.
For example, they have higher immunity than broiler birds. But you should not keep them in dirty unprocessed chicken coops. At the same time, they have a lot of advantages compared to ordinary birds. For example, even on regular balanced feeds they gain weight much faster. True, their mass growth rate is lower than that of classic broilers, but they are not so whimsical to the conditions. In addition, they are distinguished by good egg production.
But many say that Master Gray chickens are poorly bred at home. If there is no problem with their cultivation, then obtaining offspring of this hybrid breed can be problematic.