Chicken breeding technology and management methods

Chick breeding is an important part of the poultry industry. For farmers, it is very important to master chick breeding technology. It not only requires certain professional knowledge, but also requires patience, care and responsibility. Let’s talk about chick breeding technology and management methods.

1. Chicken selection

High-quality chicks are the first step to successful breeding. Choose chicks that are healthy, lively, uniform in size, and have neat feathers. It is best to purchase chicks from a regular hatchery or farm to ensure that the source of the chicks is reliable and has undergone strict vaccination and disease screening.

2. Preparation for Brooding

Before the chicks enter the house, adequate preparations must be made. The brooding room should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and the temperature should be maintained at 33-35 degrees Celsius and the humidity at 60%-70%. Prepare sufficient waterers and feed troughs, and ensure the water source is clean and the feed is fresh.

3. Temperature control

Chicks are very sensitive to temperature. During the first week of brooding, the temperature should be kept within the above range, and then gradually reduced by 2-3 degrees Celsius each week until it is close to room temperature. Pay attention to the behavior of the chicks. If they huddle together, the temperature is too low; if they open their mouths and gasp, the temperature is too high.

4. Drinking Water and Feeding

After the chicks enter the brooding room, clean warm water should be provided as soon as possible. In the first few days, an appropriate amount of glucose and vitamins can be added to the water to improve the immunity of the chicks. When feeding, choose nutritious and easily digestible feed for chicks, feed small meals frequently, and feed 6-8 times a day.

5. Lighting Management

Reasonable lighting helps the growth and development of chicks. In the early stage of brooding, 23-24 hours of light should be maintained. As the chicks grow, the light time should be gradually reduced until natural light is used.

6. Ventilation

It is very important to keep the brooding room well ventilated to remove harmful gases, reduce humidity and reduce the occurrence of diseases. But be careful to avoid cold wind blowing directly onto the chicks.

7. Disease Prevention

Vaccinate the chicks in time according to the immunization procedure, disinfect the brooding room regularly, closely observe the mental state, diet and feces of the chicks, and isolate and treat them in time if any abnormalities are found.

8. Environmental Sanitation

Clean the waterer and feed trough every day, change the bedding regularly, keep the brooding room clean and tidy, and create a good living environment for the chicks.

9. Common Misunderstandings

Premature weaning: In order to save costs, some farmers lower the temperature in the brooding room prematurely, causing the chicks to catch cold, their resistance to decline, and they become more susceptible to illness.

Overfeeding: People think that the more the chicks eat, the faster they grow. However, this results in indigestion and even intestinal diseases.

Neglecting vaccination: Thinking that chicks do not need to be vaccinated because they look healthy, once an epidemic breaks out, the losses will be heavy.

Failure to clean the environment for a long time: Thinking that as long as the chicks can grow normally, the hygiene of the brooding room can be less particular, which leads to the breeding of bacteria and increases the risk of disease.

Drug abuse: Blindly using drugs when seeing any abnormality in chicks may not only fail to cure the disease, but may also cause drug residues and drug resistance in chicks.

In short, raising chicks requires patience and carefulness. Only by avoiding these misunderstandings and doing a good job in every link can we ensure the healthy growth of the chicks and bring a good start to the chicken farming business.