More and more people are looking for ecological solutions. That is why raising chickens is becoming very popular. How to breed poultry?
When deciding to breed hens, you need to determine the size of the poultry house. To make the birds comfortable, there can be maximum 2 hens on 1m2. This is very important especially in winter when they spend all their time indoors. The entrance to the poultry house should be located on the eastern side. It is worth installing a window in it, thanks to which there will be access to natural light.
The poultry house should be a warm place with no drafts or dampness. The poultry house should be a warm place with no drafts or dampness. The poultry house should be cleaned very often.
The poultry house must not lack litter. It should be sawdust or sawdust mixed with sand. The litter should be cleaned regularly from droppings. Perches should be made of planed boards. They can be round with a cross-section of 4 cm or rectangular with a cross-section of 5.5 cm (the shorter side should be 4 cm wide). They should be placed at a height of more than 15 cm and less than 1 m. Under the roosts, you need to install plastic plates for droppings (they must be easily removable).
The nests should be placed in a darker confinement. These should be 30 x 40 x 30 cm boxes lined with hay. One nest is for every 3 hens. For feeding, cylindrical containers with automatic refilling will be the best. One drinker with a capacity of 1 l should be allocated for 10 hens, and 8 cm feeders for 1 laying hen.
It is very important to create an enclosure where the hens will feel safe. Such an area should be fenced off with a net. It is worth securing such a fence also from above (against predatory birds). If there are no birds of prey in the area, the top netting can be omitted. The fence should be 2 m high, so that the hens do not escape. The run should be divided into two parts, so that the turf has time to regenerate.
Proper feeding of hens translates into the number of eggs laid. Feed should be balanced and distributed in a crumbled form. Complete feed in the form of pellets or crumbles does not require additional supplementation. Mixed cereals are most popular in home rearing. Hens can be given boiled potatoes (without salt), grated carrots, and beets. In the run it is worth to sow grass regularly, so that they have something to nibble on. Increased amount of feed should be given to hens during the period of bearing and moulting.
For home breeding of hens is recommended only hardy species of birds. Most often chosen are crimson, the carrying capacity of which is about 180 eggs per year. Increasingly popular in home breeding are green-legged hens. An egg from these birds costs 1.8 zlotys apiece. You should not buy laying hens from chicken farms, because they are bred in confinement and are not adapted to life in the wild. They have high nutritional requirements.
Main photo: Natalie Rhea/unsplash.com
