Almost every villager seeks to take some pet for rearing. Broiler chickens in this regard are quite profitable species. They are obtained as a result of crossing the lines of chickens of Pervomaisky, Pantsirevsky, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and others. The work to create a specific breed is expensive and time-consuming, therefore new large varieties of poultry farms are engaged in new varieties, which later sell chickens. A distinctive feature of this bird species is that subsequent generations received from broilers themselves do not possess the necessary useful qualities, i.e., another round of breeding activity is required.
What breeds should be taken for cultivation? Broiler chickens of such crosses as ROSS-78, KOBB-500, ROSS-308 are considered very promising, but the conditions of a particular farm should be taken into account. The ROSS-78 line has a high early maturity, i.e., it is possible to get a carcass weighing about 2.6-3.0 kg on the 35-40th day (subject to mandatory feeding and keeping standards). ROSS-308 has stable performance, at the age of 7-8 weeks, the bird gives a mass of one and a half to two kilograms. KOBB-500 has an optimal slaughter period on day 40-43, when the mass of carcasses reaches 2.4 kg. The bird of this breed has a large brisket, strong legs, and high palatability of meat.
Under what conditions can a successful cultivation take place? Broiler chickens are usually purchased at the factory from one to ten days old. The older the young, the more expensive it is, because the probability of mortality is reduced. In the first two weeks, the chickens need to be provided with a large cage with daily cleaning and a temperature of 30 ° C. The probability of illness and death depends on the quality of the feed, water and conditions, therefore, efforts at this stage need to be spent a lot.
In the third week of development, broiler chickens, the cultivation of which can already be carried out in a special pen, are kept at temperatures from 25 to 28 ° C, and closer to a month old - at 21-22 ° C. The lighting intensity during this period should be at least 2 W per square meter of nursery, but the chicks should also have a shaded place where they can sleep.
What else does high-quality cultivation depend on? In the first five days of life, broiler chickens should receive pre-feed, which contains corn, barley, wheat, milk powder (skim). Industrial nutrition options dissolve well in water, which allows young animals to quickly absorb food. At the age of 5-30 days, broilers are fed with special formulations, which include: fish and grass meal, yeast, calcium, feed fat, sunflower meal, as well as substances from pre-feed.
Feeding broiler chickens in the second month of life with finishing nutrition allows them to gain weight effectively due to the high content of corn (45%) and sunflower meal (17%), wheat and barley (13% and 8% each). In addition, the use of food waste such as crushed shells, potato peelings, dry bread, etc. is allowed. After broilers reach the recommended masses, it is advisable to hammer them, since further feeding does not increase the weight of the bird.