What can you feed broilers at home.

Feed broilers at home by mass production of chicken meat is put on stream. Numerous poultry farms use special technologies that allow them to obtain maximum output in a short time. The main role is played not only by the conditions of keeping but also by proper, rational nutrition. Knowing what to feed broilers, you can get a weighty and tasty carcass at home. If you try, then with minimal costs and more appetizing than on the shelves.

What can you feed broilers at home: feeding schemes and feed consumption

Usually, feeding broilers at home is somewhat different from the technologies adopted in large poultry farms.

The diet is usually more varied. Every owner tries to please their birds with fresh greens or vegetables, even though broiler chickens are recommended to be fed exclusively with compound feed. In addition, all kinds of mash, self-made grain mixtures, and even compound feeds made at home are in use.

If you properly balance the diet in terms of energy value, the specific weight of the most important nutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates), as well as vitamins and minerals, then this approach will have a positive effect on the taste characteristics of the carcass and will allow you to save on the purchase of ready-made compound feeds, which are often sold of dubious quality.

If not, you can lose the entire herd overnight – broilers have a very sensitive immune system that instantly reacts to nutritional errors.

When fattened, broiler chickens, regardless of gender, grow quickly, but cockerels usually weigh more.

The features of feeding broiler chickens at home include:

1. Constant access to fresh and clean water. It should be at a comfortable temperature: birds are reluctant to drink warm water, and they get sick from cold water. Ideally: +18…+22°С. At least 1.7 units of water are needed for each unit of feed.
2. Maintaining feeder hygiene. After feeding broilers, the feed is removed, which prevents the development of putrefactive processes and the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
3. Stable temperature and light conditions. Before slaughter, the temperature should be at least +10…+14°C, for the smallest it is maintained at +27°…+33°C. If these parameters are neglected, metabolism is disrupted, and broilers lag in weight gain.
4. Meat crosses are not suitable for being kept outdoors. It is better to limit their physical activity to one room or cage, so you will minimize energy loss, and it will be possible to feed the chickens correctly.
5. After the first week of keeping, the chickens are given separate feeders with river sand or small pebbles. Mineral components promote effective digestion and assimilation of feed.

Frequency of feedings broilers

At home, it is very important to accustom broiler chickens to a certain feeding regimen and strictly adhere to it. By dividing the daily norm into several meals, it is easy to control feed consumption.

Typically, broiler breeders provide tables containing information on weekly, daily, and average daily weight gains, as well as feed conversion.

Feeding standards vary for different breeds, but the approximate daily ratio depending on age and weight looks like this:

1. Up to about 5 days, the chickens are fed 8 times a day. The first time a broiler should eat is no later than 12-15 hours after its appearance. On the first day, the compound feed is left in constant access. In total, the feed consumption is 15-21 g per head. Usually, a chicken weighs about 116 g.
2. Up to 18 days, broilers rapidly gain weight. It is important not to miss this period when the genetic potential for large gains is revealed. With balanced feeding, they grow up to 638 g. Feed is added gradually, starting with 25 g and ending with 89 g per one broiler chicken. The number of feedings is gradually reduced from 6 times to 4 times per day.
3. Then, up to 37 days, the period of intensive weight gain lasts. By the end of it, each chick reaches an average of about 2 kg. Feed consumption is increased to 158 g per head. The combined feed distribution regime is twice a day.
4. The final stage is finishing fattening. Usually, it takes no more than 45 days to grow a broiler. Although some originators recommend slaughtering chickens at the age of 42 days: calculations of how much feed is needed later indicate a loss of economic benefit and do not justify the overall costs of growing broiler chickens at home. The growth potential inherent in the birds is about 2.4 kg, and the daily feed rate is up to 169 g. The feeding regime is two times a day.

Feeding ration for broilers

Depending on physical capabilities and time availability, broiler feeding can be built according to three schemes. The least expensive ones do not always lead to the desired result. Therefore, before feeding broiler chickens, it is important to decide not only on feed and feeding rates but also how much time you are willing to spend on their growth.

The simplest feeding scheme is a two-level one. It is the least labor-intensive and is usually used at home, where there is no possibility to automate the process of distributing feed to broilers. Feeding is based on the use of ready-made compound feed. In this case:

• from the moment of appearance and up to a month, starter complete feeds are recommended;
• after one month of age and before slaughter – finishing.

With the growth of volumes and production of broiler chicken carcasses for sale (within farms and small poultry farms), the fattening scheme becomes more complex and becomes three-stage. That is:

• For three weeks from the moment of hatching, it is recommended to feed broiler chickens with starter feed;
• during the next two weeks – fattening or growth;
• from 35 to 45 days – give finishing feed.

The most complex is the four-stage feeding scheme. It best suits the physiological needs of large meat crosses of chickens and is used in large poultry farms. To raise broiler chickens at home using this scheme, you will have to stock up on feed or their recipes for self-preparation. After all:

• for up to five days the chicks will have to be fed pre-start;
• then, up to 18 days, a start will be required;
• in the period 19-37 for broiler chickens fattening mixtures are needed,
• after – finishing.

Feeding standards depend on the nutritional value of the feed, the selected scheme for keeping broilers for meat, and their age; it is better to use those recommended by the originators.

From 0 to 5 days

The first stage of broiler fattening is the most important. The digestive system needs to be adjusted, and the body needs to receive an impulse for accelerated muscle growth.

During this period, it is recommended to feed broiler chickens with pre-starter feed, which contains nutrients in high concentrations. As a rule, they are easily dissolved in water and are well absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract of chicks. They contain cereals with a high specific gravity of mono- and disaccharides: oats, wheat, barley, and corn, necessarily soybean meal, as well as fish meal.

The diet must contain a high proportion of proteins. Therefore, chickens are often given boiled eggs, cottage cheese, and grain mixtures or combined feeds are moistened with fermented milk products. The recommended structure of feed is grain or flour so that chickens can peck them.

From day 6 to day 18

From the second week, the composition of the feed changes. Broiler chickens are gradually transferred to starter feed. The composition is not much different from pre-start, but the ratio of components changes.

As a rule, the feed should already contain feed yeast and fats, necessarily grass, meat and bone, and fish meal. Instead of grass meal, at home, greens and grated root vegetables are gradually introduced into the diet of broilers. At this age, chickens switch from flour (grains) to granulated feed.

At this stage, broilers are necessarily given premixes. Biologically active substances (vitamins, minerals, amino acids) contribute to the harmonious development of the body and the disclosure of the genetic growth potential. If this is not done, muscle mass increases at an accelerated rate, and bone tissue does not have time to form. As a result, the chickens “fall on their feet.”

From day 19 to day 37

Closer to the third week, the gastrointestinal tract of broilers is fully formed. They develop an appetite and their need for food increases. It is during this period of fattening that the maximum intensity of weight gain is observed.

What you shouldn’t feed

Unfortunately, broilers eat everything that gets into the feeder without discrimination. To avoid health problems, you will have to control their diet. It is strictly forbidden to give spoiled feed, with traces/smell of mold or rot.

It is not recommended to feed chickens:

1. Raw potatoes. The solanine they contain can cause death to livestock.
2. Beetroot or its tops. It has a laxative effect. Can cause diarrhea.
3. Sweet or fatty food waste. Regular use leads to obesity, while in broiler fattening it is important to achieve accelerated muscle growth.
4. Exotic and too sweet fruits. The reason is the same.

How to reduce feed consumption during fattening

Broiler fattening can be done using ready-made compound feeds. However, at home, in addition to obtaining a carcass, the task of maximum savings is often faced. High-quality industrial rations are usually quite expensive. Then food waste, grain, and grain mixtures, and green and succulent feeds come to the rescue.

It is important to purchase feed additives in advance – premixes containing vitamin and mineral components, amino acids, and medicines. Coccistatics and antibiotics will be very useful – the immune system of broilers needs such measures more than that of ordinary chickens.

Among the measures to reduce the cost of broiler fattening, as well as to support the health of livestock at home, the following are given:

1. Feeding with wet mash. Using boiled and mashed potatoes, grated root vegetables, chopped greens, and food waste mixed with grain or compound feed significantly reduces the cost of broiler fattening. Concentrates cannot be completely excluded. This leads to a decrease in weight gain.
2. Yeasting of wet mashes promotes better digestion and therefore reduces feed consumption. Usually, feed yeast is added to boiled and mashed potatoes. Although you can prepare a mash from a grain mixture with root crops and greens (a total of about 15 kg will be required). To do this, add yeast (0.2-0.3 kg), pour warm water (15 l), and leave for 6 hours in a warm place.
3. Use of dairy products: skim milk, sour milk, ryazhenka, buttermilk, whey. They are added as a wet base for mashes. They contain animal proteins and calcium, which are necessary for broiler growth.
4. Green feeding. The grass is chopped or hung in the form of brooms. This is an additional source of vitamins and a factor in strengthening the immunity of broilers.

The most important aspect of feeding broiler chickens at home is cleanliness. Constant hygiene control: regular disinfection of feeders and drinkers, change of bedding, prevent the risk of loss of livestock, and, therefore, allow you to save significantly on their fattening, without including the facts of loss in expenses.

Causes of poor appetite

During the fattening process, it is necessary to carefully monitor how much feed the broiler eats. If you understand that the chickens’ appetite has worsened, you need to look for the reasons and eliminate them, otherwise, you will not see any weight gain. In the worst case, malnutrition is fraught with an increase in mortality among birds. Often the reasons are as follows:

1. Stale feed. It is recommended to pour food at the same time and remove it after 40 minutes. Monitor the quality of the feed components: the appearance of mold or rot on the grain or in vegetable additives is fraught with serious health problems for chickens.
2. Lack of water or poor quality of water. Change it more often, leaving it freely accessible.
3. Helminths. Broilers are recommended to be treated periodically against parasites.

To prevent various diseases that broilers are susceptible to, it is recommended to periodically give them the appropriate veterinary drugs. After all, health problems are the first reason for a decrease in appetite. Consult a veterinarian, make a schedule, and do not neglect prevention.

Of course, there are many nuances in feeding broilers at home. Experiments do not always bring results. If you have no experience in fattening chickens, it makes sense to use the recommendations of breeders and feed correctly balanced complete feeds.