Cross chickens. Growing chickens at home for beginners. Hybrid chicken breeds

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

Successful breeding of chickens of any kind depends on the right breed, conditions of detention, feeding, personal desire to breed poultry. One of the most popular breed groups are chicken crosses. These are poultry hybrids obtained by crossing different breeds. Such a process is complex and is carried out only by specialists according to strictly established rules.

Crosses are obtained by crossing roosters of one breed with hens of another. On an industrial scale, population lines are usually crossed. This process differs from the usual interbreeding in complexity. This uses not only natural insemination, but also blood transfusion.

Getting a hybrid

When obtaining a cross of chickens, breeders rely on one or more traits that the resulting bird should have. This is maturity, growth rate, egg production. New breeds are bred using two or threebreeds. In the first case, breeders get a simple line of chickens, and when using three breeds, a synthetic one. When these two lines are crossed, hybrids are obtained.

Such work is done in order to get productive offspring that surpass their parents in terms of given indicators.

Crosses of poultry

Cross represents the parent herd from which hybrid offspring are obtained. Poultry crosses come in several options: two-, three-, four-line. Sometimes a number is indicated in the name of the cross, which can indicate the number of lines used to obtain the breed.

Modern egg and meat breeds are four-line hybrids. They are bred to improve egg and meat productivity.

Bringing egg crosses

All crosses of chickens of the egg direction are divided into white and brown according to the color of the egg shell.

White hybrids are the result of crossing different lines of white leghorns. Brown shells in chickens, in the appearance of which not only leghorns, but also Rhode Island and other breeds took part. In this case, the leghorns transmit egg production to the resulting offspring, but the shade of the shell is lost.

Crosses of chickens from which eggs with brown shells are obtained are in great demand. This is due to the fact that the bird is not subject to much stress, resistant to heat, cold.

Breeds of egg hens

Hybrid breeds of chickens bred by foreign breeders are considered the best. Among them are the followingbreed.

White:

• "Loman White";
• "Hi-Line";
• "Dekalb White".

Brown:

• "Lohman Brown";
• "Hi-Line Silver Brown";
• "Isa-Brown".

Domestic breeders also have extensive experience in obtaining crosses. Among the best breeds stand out:

• "Start-1";
• "Crystal-5";
• "Borki";
• "B-121";
• "Progress";
• "Volzhsky" and some others.

One hen of any of these breeds can produce up to 330 eggs per year, which means the bird will lay an egg every day, taking short breaks. Of course, in order to achieve such results, it is necessary to properly feed and maintain the bird. If you do not fulfill the maintenance requirements, then the chicken will give no more than eighty percent of the eggs from the genetically laid. However, raising chickens at home for beginners of foreign breeds can become deplorable. This is due to the fact that at first the lack of knowledge affects, and the cross does not survive. For beginners, domestic selection is more suitable: "Slobozhansky-3", "Borki-Color".

The breeds of the egg direction have many features. Their main advantage is large eggs and excellent egg production, but despite this, they are poorly fattened. An incubator is needed to get a batch of young animals, as hybridshave virtually no brooding instinct. However, with the right content, egg-laying begins by five months. It is for her that egg crosses are kept. Breeding these breeds for meat is unprofitable due to poor development.

Meat chickens

Asking the question "what does it mean cross-country chickens", many assume that these are breeds of meat broilers. They are able to gain up to a kilogram of pure meat in just forty days. With proper feeding, no more than two kilograms of feed is consumed per bird.

Many years of growing chickens at home for beginners and professionals requires theoretical knowledge.

Broilers should only be kept outdoors. This is the most advantageous placement of the bird. At the same time, they are in close quarters to accelerate the build-up of muscle mass. However, domestic farms are adapted for growing birds in cages, and not for outdoor keeping. Especially for such conditions, breeds adapted specifically for cellular content were bred. These include the Ross 308 of an improved type, as well as the SK Rus-6. For domestic poultry farming, the COBB-500 cross and some other breeds are used.

The meat direction differs from the egg direction in a large mass, short legs. The bird has sparse plumage. Chickens start laying eggs after six months of age. For a year, one bird is able to lay up to a hundred eggs weighing about 70 grams. Despite all these qualities, meat-oriented crosses are distinguished by the fact that they incubate eggs well.

Breeds of meat birds

Among the representatives of the crossmeat direction distinguish the following types:

1. "Cornish". The weight of the bird is 3-4 kilograms. In a year, she lays up to 110 eggs weighing up to sixty grams.
2. "Brahma". The average weight is 4-5 kilograms. Egg production averages one hundred eggs per year weighing up to 65 grams.
3. COBB-500. Feature of the breed in precocity. By the fortieth day, the weight of the chicken reaches 2.5 kilograms.

Leghorn, Lohmann, Hubbard breeds are common in households.

Meat and egg crosses

When crossing different lines of birds, meat-and-egg crosses were obtained. They are distinguished by their large mass and high egg production. However, these data are slightly lower than for birds of a purely meat and egg direction.

Chickens of representatives of crosses develop quickly enough, like meat ones. From the age of five months, the bird begins laying eggs and can lay over two hundred eggs, weighing about 65 grams. The advantage of growing meat and egg breeds is that the hens have a well-developed brooding instinct.

Best meat and egg breeds

Among meat and egg crosses, the following breeds are considered the best:

1. Australorp. The weight of the bird is 2.7 and 3.5 kilograms. A chicken can lay up to 170 eggs a year, weighing about 55 grams.
2. "Adler silver". The weight of roosters is 3.5 kilograms, of chickens - 2.6. Egg production - 180 eggs.
3. "Golonecks". The weight of roosters is up to 2.5 kilograms, and chickens - half a kilo less. In a year, crosses are able to demolishabout 150 eggs weighing about 60 grams.
4. "Kuchinsky Anniversary". Roosters weigh almost four kilograms, and chickens - about three. In a year, a chicken can lay up to 180 eggs weighing 60 grams.
5. "Rhode Island". The weight of roosters is up to 4 kilograms, and chickens - up to three. Egg production - up to 180 eggs per year.
6. "Orlovskaya vociferous". The weight of a rooster is up to four kilograms, of chickens - up to three. Egg production is about 100 eggs per year weighing up to 80 grams.

On private backyards, breeds such as "Borki", "Belorus-9", "Lohmann" are often found. These crosses are capable of producing up to three hundred eggs per year.

Chicken coop

For a small family, it is enough to have 10 birds. You can keep ten chickens of different breeds in separate chicken coops.

Any chicken coop for 10 chickens should be warm. The minimum temperature that should be in the room is -2 degrees.

In order for chickens to be able to lay eggs stably, it is necessary to organize lighting in the chicken coop: provide windows and electric lamps.

Each breed has its own density requirements. Broilers are kept indoors at a stocking density of no more than three hens per square meter. Egg breeds do well at a density of four birds per square meter. When keeping chickens in winter, you can increase the planting density to six goals. This way they will endure the cold better.

Before you start building a chicken coop for 10 chickens, you need to choose a place where it will be located and make building drawings. The height of the room should be such that a person can easily walk there without bending his head. The warm part of the chicken coop should be about 2.5 meters in area. The bird must be able to walk. To do this, a canopy, fenced with a net, is attached to the warm part. Its area should be about 3 square meters. m. A hole with a diameter of about 50 cm is made between the barn and the walker so that the birds can pass freely. Perches and nests are placed inside the chicken coop. Three nests are enough for ten hens.

Chicken business

You can breed chickens at home not only to meet your own needs, but also to earn money from it. First of all, you should analyze all the pros and cons. And only then open your own small home business. Breeding chickens in the initial stages requires only great desire and start-up capital.

First of all, it is worth considering what crosses of chickens will be grown. In parallel with the choice of breed, you should prepare all the necessary documents for legalizing the business. If you develop a business plan, you can get a subsidy for farming.

The next step is to choose a place where you plan to keep the birds. If you plan to make a small profit, then you can organize a mini-farm on a personal farmstead, if its area is large enough. In other cases, you can rent a room or a piece of land.

Then the purchase of young animals is done and the sale of finished products is sought. When calculating the budget, it is necessary to take into account the costs of medicines, feed,veterinary service. It is not profitable to constantly buy young stock, it is much more profitable to breed chickens from your own eggs. To do this, you need to think over a place where young animals of different ages will be kept and purchase an incubator.

If you follow the technology of growing and feeding chickens for a year with 50 individuals, you can get a net profit of 50 thousand rubles. If possible, it can be increased by selling not only eggs, but also young animals.

Breeding chickens is an interesting and simple matter. These birds can be kept not only for their own needs, but also to sell products in the market, in cafes, restaurants, shops.