Breeding of laying hens can also be done at their summer cottage. If you live in a village or in the countryside, this is a great opportunity to do this business. To do this, you only need to build a suitable room for the bird, take care of it and observe the feeding regime.
In raising hens, you need to know the basic rules, one of which is bird feeding. This largely determines how many eggs your hen will produce per year. High egg production of chickens occurs from about 26 to 49 weeks of life. Age plays a significant role in the choice of bird nutrition.
How to feed hens
Laying hens at any age should be fed evenly and regularly, avoiding overfeeding or underfeeding. It is advisable to feed the bird at the same time 2-3 times a day. Morning feeding is best done immediately after the chickens wake up. In the evening, the bird is fed an hour before it begins to perch.
More nutrients are added to the diet for young hens than for older hens. In the morning, it is preferable to cook food from wet mash, and in the evening they give whole grains. It is better to diversify it, and not give one one. The amount of mash should be such that the chicken can eat it in 30-40 minutes. Otherwise, acidification of the product will occur. Leftover food is removed to prevent mold growth.
In summer, the food for laying hens is somewhat different from the winter one. At this time, a significant part of the feed is fresh herbs. You can give finely chopped watermelon rinds. They make eggs tastier. Chopped nettles are given regularly.
In winter, feed with the addition of mash yields less than in summer. At this time of the year, they are cooked in warm meat or fish broth, and they can also be cooked in warmed whey. Part of the grain feed is recommended to be given germinated. To do this, the grain must be soaked in warm water and spread in a thin layer on a cloth in a warm room. In a few days, sprouts will appear.
Products included in the feed for laying hens
Layer feed should contain fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. If the food is balanced enough, the egg production of the bird will increase. Ready-made compound feeds for laying hens play an important role in this. The approximate consumption of this feed per bird per day is 120 grams. Legumes, cereals, fish and meat and bone meal, vegetables, bran, cottage cheese and milk, chalk, feed phosphates, salt, fine gravel and sand are used to prepare feed for layers. To increase egg production per 1 kg of flour feed, add 30 g of yeast diluted in warm water. We must not forget about drinking water. And in the morning it is recommended to give chickens a weak solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, use any utensil, except metal.
An approximate diet for one layer is as follows. A mixture of flour and grain - 50 g each; vegetables - no more than 50 g; dry protein feed - 15 g; crushed shell - 5 g; bone meal - 2 g; salt - 0.5 g; greens - 30 g.
