Breeding poultry at home is troublesome, but at the same time exciting. The main thing is to know how to properly care for chickens, because it is during this period of development that the bird is very delicate and vulnerable.
Day-old chicks should be kept dry. The temperature for the first five days should be at least 30 ° C. But as the bird grows (by the 45th day of their life), gradually reduce the temperature in the room to 18 ° C. When raising chicks without a brood during the first seven days of their life, the duration of daylight hours should be at least 20 hours. This can be organized using the backlight. Such a length of daylight hours is needed so that the chicks can clearly see the food and the drinker with water. Then reduce the "daylight hours" to 18 hours, and after that you can generally be limited by the natural duration of daylight hours. If the chickens are close to the brooding hen, the optimal daylight hours are 16-17 hours. In addition, you need to properly feed the young. Hard-boiled chicken eggs, chopped through a sieve, low-fat cottage cheese, oatmeal, finely crushed corn, and wheat are considered a suitable dish. Remember, the more varied the diet, the better the chicks will grow. In the first ten days of life, babies should be fed 5-7 times a day, gradually reducing the number of meals (monthly chicks should be fed three times a day). When the chicks are 4 days old, enrich their diet with greens: they contain fiber and vitamins, which are so important for the health of the chicks. In addition, it is important that the chickens receive adequate amounts of minerals. From the first days of the chicks' life, add eggshells crushed into flour to their feed, and from day 5 - crushed chalk, well washed and boiled sand. Also, 0.5% of the dry food should be table salt: dissolve it in water and add the salt solution to the food. Feed two-month-old chickens with herbs, boiled potatoes, beets and carrots, etc. Up to thirty days of age, water the young from a vacuum drinker. You can make it yourself: drill holes with a diameter of 5 mm in a clay jug (these holes should be located at a distance of 10 mm from the upper edge of the jug). Fill a clay container with water, then cover it with a saucer and turn it upside down. Place the drinker on a flat surface, preferably on a plank. Chickens will not be able to climb into such a drinking bowl with their feet, and therefore the drinking water will always be clean. In the morning, pour fresh whey, kefir or yogurt into the drinking bowl, and then fill the container with water. Fill the drinker for half an hour with a weak solution of potassium permanganate twice a week.
