How to feed the chickens in the first days of life

Proper, organized chick feeding - the main factor that will ensure a good level of development and growth of the bird. The death of chickens in the first days is usually the result of not any diseases, but namely errors in feeding and selection of the diet. When forming food for chickens, their breed, age and activity level should be considered.

The importance of proper feeding for newly hatched chicks

Growing chickens at home for beginner poultry farmers may seem like a dreary occupation. But if you properly organize the temperature conditions and prepare a balanced diet for them, the birds will quickly grow and develop.

In the case when chickens are born naturally, their mother hen will mainly be in charge of their care. But if they are from an incubator, then the cultivation, care and feeding will be exclusively on the shoulders of the poultry farmer. The most crucial period is the first six or seven days of the bird’s life. Further, the chickens quickly grow up and mature.

It is known that newly hatched chickens do not know how to eat. For the first couple of hours, their vital activity is supported by residues of important elements in the gall sac. Then you need to put them a trough and learn to use dry food.

The quality of the formation of the digestive system of small birds depends on how quickly they learn to peck feed. The nutritional reflex is formed after the first grains eaten by the chick. If you do not allow the little chicks to eat food in the first hours of life - there is a lack of nutrients,which can be the root cause of serious health problems in the future.

Young chicks are quite sensitive to light and temperature conditions. The temperature for them in the first days of life must be maintained around the clock at 29-30 degrees. After 5-6 days, it can be gradually reduced to 26-28 ° C. And then, every two weeks, still decreases by 3 degrees. In this case, at the age of three months, the chickens will feel great at a normal temperature of 18-19 ° C. Small chicks that are actively running around the box or cage are a sign that the temperature is right.

What to feed the chickens in the first day of life

It is already known that it is necessary to feed the chickens immediately after their birth. Now you need to understand how and what to feed the hatching chicks in the first days of their life. In principle, the same food that adult birds eat will suit them, it only needs to be ground up beforehand. But at first it is better to form a diet of grain, greens, dairy products and, of course, do not forget about vitamins in the first days of life.

What to feed the chickens for the first time

The first feed is prepared with your own hands. This is a chopped yolk of one egg, which must be boiled beforehand. Already you can add to it cleared from the film, well ground in the shell and quite a bit of manna (so as not to stick together the yolk).

How to feed newly hatched chicks

Then you can gradually supplement their diet with fresh kefir, which regulates their digestion and forms the correct microflora in the intestine. At first, the nestling does not know how to liquid matter; therefore, it needs to be helped and nourished with a pipette or a small syringe. A good option is corn grits. It is small, which is convenient for newly born young chicks, and very useful for their development.

Features feeding daily chickens

Now let's figure out how to feed day-old chicks at home. The diet of birds of this age is more diverse. Millet, barley and wheat groats, ground oatmeal flakes should be added to the diet.

It is necessary to feed a daily small chick every two hours and always in small portions. Food should be enough, but you can not give it in excess so that they do not scatter it.Groats are given separately, because the young chicks will begin to choose the one that they like, and therefore will not receive the full range of trace elements they need.

After 2-3 days, the croup for normal growth of birds is not enough, therefore it is necessary to gradually introduce food and other products. For example, cottage cheese, which will saturate the body of the chick with calcium and nitrogenous substances. It is better to give it in the morning, mixing with the main cereals.

In general, any dairy products are only good for chicks. Later, near the water, you can pour fresh whey or yogurt into a separate drinker. Kids will eat them with pleasure, and their body will be saturated with probiotics.

On the third day in the diet should appear greens. Clover, nettle, lamb, plantain, even dandelion - all this is an excellent defense of the body of young chicks from various kinds of bowel diseases. On the fifth day, add here another and green onions.

Broiler chickens for 5-6 days already give a special feed, because at this stage you need to take care of the rapid growth and weight gain.

How to feed weekly chicks

Chicks can already be given a mixture of cereals. Wheat, barley, corn and oatmeal are mixed in equal parts. You can supplement the food with dairy products and herbs. Feed the young need to have less, but the portions should be more. Should focus on 4-5 feedings per day.

Novice poultry farmers often wonder Is it possible to give little chicks bread? Experts say that it is possible, but only when the young growth will be more than seven days. Bread is soaked and added to boiled cereals. Chicks of ten days of age can already eat boiled fish (not salted), grated carrots (raw) and boiled pounded potatoes mixed with soaked bread.

It is no less important to know how to feed the chickens for the prevention of various diseases.

Preparations are selected according to their age:

• From 2 to 5 days of life. On 1 l of water take 1 ml of "Baytril" or "Enroksila".They will make the chicks more resistant to infectious diseases.
• From 5 to 12 day. Stimulate the growth of young stock will help "Nutril-Se". On 6 l of water take 3 g (1 tsp.) Drug.
• From 8 to 10 day. To improve the overall development of chickens, Baycox is added to water (1 ml of the preparation is taken per 1 l of water) and Coccidiovit (1 g per 1 l of liquid).

Feeding Monthly Chicks

To determine how to feed the monthly chicks at home, will help the fact that at this age the young are already released for walking. Which means the basis of their nutrition will be different grass and greens. Young chicks will actively receive natural vitamins for growth and development of the body. Since the chickens at the age of a month look quite large, they need to be given coarse grains so that by the age of one and a half months they can fully eat whole grains and there is no question what to feed them in two months.

When the chicks are six weeks old, they have to spend most of the day on the run. They should have a separate feeder with fine gravel or regular sand. Also there should be drinkers regularly filled with clean water. Thus, the poultry farmer will maintain the condition of the birds in the right balance, they will grow quickly and not get sick.

Important points in shaping the diet for young

There are several important standard rules that should be followed when raising young birds:

• Troughs are filled to no more than one-third. Otherwise the feed will be trampled by birds.
• The remnants of feed are always removed from the feeders before the new one is filled up, otherwise it will rot.
• You need to constantly ensure that all chickens eat food. If 1-3 chicks rarely go to the feeders, it is necessary to separate them from the rest of the birds and feed them with a mixture of egg yolk and milk with a pipette. When the chicks are getting stronger, you can return them to the rest of the chickens.
• Water in drinking bowls should be regularly updated clean and fresh.
• In order to prevent diseases, a solution of potassium permanganate can be given to birds a couple of times a week.
• The feeder and the room where the birds live should be cleaned regularly and disinfected.You can use a 5% formalin solution or a soap solution.

Properly setting up and responsibly observing the diet, the poultry farmer will be able to grow strong and healthy chickens. It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the breed of chickens, to ensure a balanced diet, to monitor the quality of food and their freshness. Poultry farming really requires a lot of effort, but it is dedication that will help achieve high performance.