Laying hens: care and feeding

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Currently, not only rural residents, but also urban ones - in their dachas - are breeding chickens. Many who want to do such a business have a question about how to properly care for these birds. The main factors to pay attention to are feeding, lighting, humidity and air temperature.

Laying hens usually start laying eggs at 5 months of age. At the same time, a rooster in a herd is completely optional. However, in order for chickens to hatch from eggs, it is, of course, necessary. In any case, to obtain a good result, first of all, it is necessary to provide adequate lighting in the chicken coop. If in summer it is quite enough and natural, in winter it is impossible to do without the use of additional lamps. The chicken coop should have at least 16 hours of light a day.

Laying hens, whose care consists primarily in proper feeding, also do not tolerate high humidity very well. It is necessary to ensure that this figure in the barn does not exceed 45%. As for feeding, it should at least be plentiful. The egg production of chickens directly depends on this. Feedthey need at least twice a day.

When using dry food, the amount should be approximately 120 g per day per animal. If mashes with the addition of grass and root crops are used, this dose is increased to 170 g.

Laying hens, the care of which differs in some nuances, in the event that a certain temperature is maintained in the room, with less food consumption, they will be carried with the same performance. It is best if the air in the barn warms up to 21o Celsius. The diet of young and adult laying hens is somewhat different. The last thing you need to include in the mash is as much protein as possible. Diet replacement should be done well in advance - no later than 19 weeks of age.

At this time, laying hens, who are fed with green mixtures very useful in terms of fortifying the diet with vitamins, should receive at least 40 g of grain per bird per day. In addition, during this period, the diet should be diversified with products containing animal protein: cottage cheese, skim milk, etc. It will also be useful to add meat and bone and fish meal to the mash.

The presence in the diet of a sufficient amount of minerals is also a very important condition. Therefore, laying hens, the care of which can only be called correct under all conditions, along with the main feed, must receive chalk, limestone and table s alt in sufficient quantities. As for the latter, its daily norm should beno more than 0.5 g per chicken, otherwise the birds will be thirsty. If the dose is too high, the laying hen may even get poisoned.

Some summer residents instead of chalk and limestone include eggshells in their diet. It is also very useful for fussy feeders like laying hens. Caring for them, as you can see, is quite difficult. However, their breeding in the household, including in the country, is considered economically justified. Such a business can pay off within a year and a half after the start. Of course, this is subject to all technologies and content rules.