For any poultry farmer, regardless of the size of the farm, the issue of choosing the right breed of chickens is acute. Meat chickens give good weight gain, their meat has excellent taste qualities. Layers are bred to obtain large eggs in large quantities. There are chickens (they are called meat and eggs) that combine these qualities. Among the most popular is the Adler silver chicken breed.
Origin of Adler silver chicken breed
The breed was obtained by breeders of the Adler poultry farm. Their goal was to create a large, fast-growing bird with stable egg production and tasty meat. For this purpose, a multi-stage crossing of several breeds was carried out.
The main difficulty was to achieve the optimal ratio of all the required qualities. The descendants of the Russian White chicken of the first and second generation (after mating with the Pervomaiskie) had high egg production, but low meat indicators. Among several generations of these chickens, individuals with high viability were selected and crossed with New Hampshires. The latter significantly improved meat quality.
The third and fourth generations were crossed without adding fresh blood. The best individuals were selected from among them, including by exterior – a new look of the future breed began to form. The next generation received a portion of the genes of the white Plymouth, which further improved meat qualities. The sixth generation was crossed with Yurlov roosters. Their offspring underwent the process of backcrossing with the fifth generation that remained pure, which allowed them to consolidate egg production. And already among their offspring, individuals corresponding to the standard were selected. This is how the Adler Silver chickens appeared. About 10 years were spent on the work, and in 1965 the new breed was presented to the world.
Description of the breed
Adler Silver is perfectly adapted to our climate and tolerates cold winters well. Even if you take an adult, it will easily tolerate a change of environment and diet. These chickens are generally distinguished by high viability, which is manifested in everything: from the survival of chickens to the resistance to diseases in adult birds. The egg-laying period is up to four years, which is an order of magnitude longer than that of other layers. At the same time, the quality and quantity of eggs do not decrease during this period. Adler silver chickens have flattering characteristics.
Among the main advantages:
- Unpretentiousness;
- Endurance;
- High productivity;
- Friendly character.
The head is neat, round, and proportional to the body. The beak is yellow. The earlobes are smooth and red. The comb is medium-sized, straight, leaf-shaped, with five uniform teeth. The eyes are round and copper-colored. The neck is not long, the ornamental feather is moderately developed. The wings are pressed to the body. The tail is small, and rounded, with curved pigtails. The shins are powerful and medium-sized. The metatarsus is widely spaced and yellow. Females are smaller, and have a more graceful head; the comb is smaller than that of males. The feather color is Columbian. With a predominantly white color, the flight feathers, pigtails, and ornamental neck feathers are black.
The following signs lead to the culling of an individual:
- Overdeveloped tail, long braids;
- Too large, hanging to the side comb;
- Thin long neck;
- The body is positioned too high.
Productivity characteristics
Adler silver laying hens are distinguished by their excellent productivity. A healthy adult lays about 180 large eggs (up to 60 g) per year. Egg production depends on weight – the less it is, the more (up to 200 pieces per year) the hen lays. The eggs are light brown. The silver-laying hen is ready to produce eggs at the age of six months. Sometimes they begin to lay earlier, which is undesirable for health.
Representatives of this meat and egg breed quickly gain weight. One-year-old females weigh about 2.5 kg. Adler silver roosters of the same age reach a weight of 4 kg. These birds can also be raised as broilers, providing them with special food. Good results are obtained by mating Adler hens with other meat and egg breeds (except for those that were involved in the breeding). The offspring gain weight very quickly, the meat has excellent taste qualities. This applies only to the first generation, the following ones do not give such results.
Content Features
To successfully raise Adler Silver chickens, it is worth considering several nuances.
- Birds tend to lay eggs early, which can lead to illnesses and even loss of productivity. To prevent laying eggs before the age of six months, artificial developmental delay is used. The simplest method is to hatch the young at the beginning of summer. In this case, the bird develops with a shorter daylight period and makes its first clutch on time. The second method is to limit nutrition and artificially shorten the daylight period.
- Adler chickens tolerate cage keeping well but feel better when free-range.
- The floor of the chicken coop must be covered with moisture-absorbing bedding. It is necessary to provide the chickens with the opportunity to take sand and ash baths.
Breeding
Breeding this breed is associated with certain difficulties. Adler hens have a dulled maternal instinct, so they do not hatch eggs. Fertility does not suffer and is almost 100%. You can breed chicks using an incubator. It is better to lay eggs in early May so that the chicks appear by summer. Let us remind you that in this case, the development of the hens will occur with a shortening daylight hours. If there is no incubator on the farm, but there are layers of other breeds, you can put eggs under them. This is done “behind the back” of the hen so that she does not notice the forgery.
Feeding Features
High egg production directly depends on a balanced diet. In addition to cereals, the diet should include vegetables and mineral supplements. The “diet” of chickens and adults is different.
Proper nutrition from the first days of life is the key to strong immunity and high productivity, so only high-quality feed is chosen for chickens. Day-old chickens are fed with an egg, hard-boiled and rolled in semolina (so that it does not stick to the paws). From the second day of life, greens are added; then grated vegetables (carrots, pumpkin, beets) are gradually introduced. It is useful to add baker’s yeast to the feed in a small concentration.
Feeding is frequent. The first 10 days – every two hours. Then reduce to 7 times a day. Up to one month of age, chicks should not be given whole grain. Meat scraps and worms are a valuable source of protein. Vitamin and mineral supplements are required.
For chickens over 4 weeks old:
- Feeding 3-4 times a day;
- Increase the grain content of feed;
- They give several types of grain: ground millet and barley;
- Be sure to place a container with gravel and sand, to which lime additives can be added.
Adult Adler Silver:
- Feeding 3-4 times a day at equal intervals;
- Dry food predominates. Each chicken should eat about 45 g of wheat and 35 g of barley per day;
- Dry food is given at the first feeding (early in the morning) and at the last (as late as possible);
- In the middle of the day they are given vitamin feed and wet mash;
- In the cold season, wet food is given warm in small portions so that the bird has time to eat before it cools down;
- Greens and vegetables (potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, corn) are added to the feed;
- As a mineral additive, they use oil cake, fish, or bone meal, as well as chalk or shell rock (to strengthen the shell).
The Adler silver breed always has good reviews. This is due to its high adaptability and productivity. These birds have strong immunity, are unpretentious in feeding and care, and high egg production is maintained for several years.
