The Hungarian company BabolnaTetra has been breeding poultry for almost half a century. Among their achievements are hens tetra. Representatives of the breed gain weight well, grow quickly, start to lay their eggs early.
Bird appearance
The new hybrid is gaining weight fast. Roosters weigh about three kilograms, and hens weigh about 2.5. The body of the bird is slightly elongated, harmoniously folded. The head is small with a yellow beak. The crest is red, leaf-shaped. The abdomen in layers is small, round in shape.
The wings are of medium length, tight to the body. Paws are not very long, proportional, yellow.
Chickens tetra have a reddish-brown color. In roosters it is much brighter than in laying hens.
Temper
The nature of the bird is calm, balanced. Layers get along well with representatives of other breeds. Tetra chickens are moderately active, slightly awkward. Roosters are not pugnacious, although they can arrange fights for superiority among themselves, but this happens very rarely. If the males begin to arrange fights, then they are rejected.
Tetra loves a walk. Representatives of the breed are developing new territories with great interest. Despite their curiosity, they will not fly over the fence.
According to farmers, chickens tetra are not shy, they easily come in contact with people. They are very friendly, helpful.
Productivity
Tetra can rightly be called a toiler. For a year, a laying hen is able to produce up to 300 large quality eggs. She starts egg laying early: at 4.5 months, poultry farmers can already enjoy the first egg. First, eggs weigh about 50 grams, and after a few weeks their weight reaches 70 grams. The shell is brown.
In rare cases, there is a delay in the development of the breed. This is due to poor nutrition: too high-calorie and vitamin-poor foods negatively affect egg production and poultry development.
Incubation
A feature of the tetra chicken breed is the lack of instinct for incubation. When breeding a new hydride, breeders became interested in obtaining chicken with a high egg production rate, good weight and tasty meat, and did not think about instilling the instinct instinct for the bird.
Hungarian chickens do not hatch eggs, therefore, deciding to breed this breed, you should immediately take care of the incubator or purchase chickens, whose incubation is well developed. You can also put chicken eggs under a turkey.
Bird feeding
According to the description, chicken tetra does not require special conditions for keeping. Usually they are kept in the same way as representatives of other meat-egg breeds. However, the tetra has its own characteristics, and the first thing you should pay attention to is the diet. Layers, as already mentioned, give up to 300 eggs per year. For their formation, it is necessary to provide a diet rich in vitamins and microelements.
Poultry farmers believe that the best feed for this breed is feed. It is not cheap, and not always you can find a really high-quality product. For this reason, many make up the feed themselves, given the characteristics of the laying hens.
Some manufacturers add premixes to the menu, contributing to the accelerated growth of the entire population.
The diet of chickens should be varied. It includes:
- corn;
- millet;
- oats;
- wheat
- cake;
- waste from the table;
- trembling
- grass, fish, meat and bone meal ;
- bran.
Be sure to have vitamins, mineral feeds in the diet. It is useful for chickens to give chalk, a shell. In each chicken coop, they put a separate feeder with these feeds and make sure that they do not end. During the day, the bird will eat minerals.
The menu must have root vegetables, fresh herbs. In the winter season, it is recommended that the bird be given wet mixes. They must be warm. Feed is given to the bird in such an amount that it is eaten in one feed.
The characteristics of the tetra chickens show that this bird has good immunity. However, with improper feeding, laying hens can become sick. To prevent this, it is necessary to provide the bird with access to clean water. If it is in the tank, then the water is changed at least twice a day, and the drinkers are washed. You can use nipple drinkers.
Some poultry farmers practice feeding eggs to chickens. However, according to reviews, this often leads to subsequent biting of eggs.
The description of the tetra chicken breed says that this bird can eat a variety of foods. She is given half-grain mixers, and the other half is vegetables, herbs, flour, vitamins and various premixes.
An equally important component of the menu is dry grain. You can give ready-made grain mixtures, or you can make them yourself by mixing oats, millet, corn, barley. When mixed, the percentage of corn should not be large (10% is enough). This is due to the high starch content, from which chickens develop obesity.
In the cold season, the portion is increased. For this period, you should take care of the grass. Nettles, tree leaves, grass with leaves are usually harvested for chickens. Everything is crushed and dried under a canopy. Sprouted grain can be used.
For the normal functioning of the body, chickens are introduced to the diet with cottage cheese and other dairy products, meat wastes. All this can be given separately from the main feeding, or can be added to the mishmash.
Content
Hungarians are unpretentious breeds. They perfectly tolerate heat, cold. This bird can live in an unheated chicken coop even in severe frosts, while laying hens will lay eggs.
Despite the frost resistance of the breed, high humidity is unacceptable in the chicken coop, where the hens will be kept. And the temperature should not fall below 1 degree of heat. To keep the bird warm, they monitor the dryness of the litter in the barn, periodically replacing it with fresh.
At any time of the year you need a walk. The bird likes to walk, rummage in the ground, in the snow. The fence can be made low, as the bird flies very rarely.
Molting period
The characteristics of tetra-n and other breeds are similar only to the molting period. Typically, the chicken changes its feather in the autumn and spring. The molting period lasts about five weeks. At this time, the laying hens provide a diet with a high content of vitamins, fish oil is introduced.
During molting, the bird does not stop laying eggs. Because of this feature, the breed is very much appreciated. Productivity persists for three years, then it begins to decline. By this period, you should take care of the young generation, bringing it to an incubator.
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
According to the reviews of poultry farmers, Hungarian chickens are characterized by an ideal ratio of meat and egg. They are unpretentious, inexpensive, easy to care for.
The disadvantages should be attributed only to the lack of instinct of incubation.
Disease
Tetra have good immunity. Because of this, they rarely get sick. If you disrupt the diet and organize the contents incorrectly, then the bird can become infected.
Most often, tetra is sick with parasitic diseases. If parasites are found, chickens are drunk with anthelmintic drugs, a periodic examination of chickens is performed.
Sometimes chickens suffer from coccidiosis. This infection is associated with the use of poor-quality feed, stale water. Clinically, the infection is manifested by the appearance of brown droppings, the bird is disheveled, the appetite disappears. Usually these hens are not treated, but sent to soup.
If young animals or chickens become infected with the disease, then treatment is carried out until the age when the individuals can be sent for slaughter.
To prevent coccidiosis, it is necessary to monitor the quality of water, give chickens only high-quality feed. Periodically, infection is prevented by introducing special drugs into the diet. They can be purchased at any veterinary pharmacy.
According to the reviews of poultry farmers, tetra is one of the best poultry. The breed representatives have quality meat, excellent egg laying. Layers have an attractive appearance and, importantly, good health. The breed is bred not only in a private compound, but also in poultry farms for egg production.