Feeding chicks in the first days of life at home

Raising excellent layers and strong roosters from newborn chickens is a troublesome business. But if the recommendations of experienced poultry farmers are followed, even a beginner will be able to master it. The most pressing question for novice farmers: how to feed chickens from 0 to 1 month.

About newborn chicks

Newborn chicks, like all babies, are very vulnerable. If they happen to hatch naturally, then the breeder will take all the care of them. The broom will not only warm and protect the offspring from any dangers, but also teach its children to drink and eat. The poultry farmer only needs to provide the chicken and its chicks with a safe chicken coop in order to protect them from birds of prey and animals.

It is not recommended to place chickens in a common chicken coop - it is unsafe, adult relatives can also harm them. In addition, young chicks do not have resistance to diseases that adult birds with developed immunity can easily tolerate.

If the chicks hatch in an incubator, then the farmer will have to take care of the chicks. Immediately after the babies are born, the breeder needs to provide them with a balanced diet, as well as provide proper care for the development of the chicks. Brooders are very popular now - special cages with optimal conditions for keeping chickens.

Newborn Chick

When to feed day old chicks

Some farmers are sure that after birth the chicks replenish the energy losses with the remains of the yolk, so they do not need additional feeding. Others believe that feeding the baby after hatching is simply necessary. The fact is that chickens assimilate the remains of the yolk at different rates, it all depends on the characteristics of the organism. This process can take from 2 hours to a day. Newborn chicks that receive food within 15 hours of their birth survive 25% more often than others.

Mode reception stern at young from birth before 1 months (at day):

• 1 week - 8 times;
• from 10 to 30 days - 6 times.

How to teach your chicken to eat and drink

Small chicks, after drying, are quite ready to drink and eat on their own. The hen teaches chicks to peck food from the very first day of life. Hatchery chicks need to be shown how to eat. It's simple, you just need to knock with the tip of a knife on the rump in the feeder. Then pick up the food at the tip and drop it. The chickens will repeat and learn to peck at food.

Teach drink chickens also not difficult, at dependencies from kind drinking cup:

1. Nipple. This type has gained particular popularity in automated poultry farms. Today many farmers purchase nipple drinkers for poultry houses. It is easiest for chicks to deal with such sippy cups, because babies are naturally very curious. They are attracted by the colored grains of food, shiny and black dots and even the eyes of their fellows. This means that the shiny nipple tip will certainly interest them. It is only necessary to install 3600 nipples, as they react even to a weak push of the beak;
2. Vacuum. Usually used for keeping chickens in the household. Allows you to keep the water level constant for a long time. To get curious chicks interested, the farmer needs to throw tea leaves into the water. The chickens will begin to peck at the black particles and immediately learn what to do next.

Day old chicks

What to feed day old chicks

Feeding newborn chicks

When asked how to feed newborn chickens, experienced farmers answer that the very first feed must be prepared by hand. Namely, boil one hard-boiled egg, then finely chop its yolk. You can add carefully ground shells and a little semolina (so that the yolk does not stick together). Then you can supplement the menu with kefir (fresh). It will help build a healthy gut microflora and promote good digestion in chicks.

Feeding day old chicks

Farmers without experience often ask how day-old chicks can be fed at home and whether they can peck millet.

The diet of a one-day-old chick is more varied. He can now peck on millet, crushed oatmeal, crushed wheat, barley.

Day-old chicks should eat small meals every 2 hours. There should be enough food, but not in excess, so that the little ones do not throw it around.

Each cereal should be fed separately from the other, as the chickens will peck on the one they like the most. This means that they may not get the full range of micronutrients they need.

In a couple of days, cereals alone will not be enough for feeding the birds. We need to think about how to feed day-old chicks additionally.

Cottage cheese should be included in the diet of chickens, as it is rich in calcium. It is better to give it in the morning, mixing with cereals. All dairy products are very useful for the growing chicken, they saturate his body with probiotics.

On day 3, you need to include greens in the diet: plantain, clover, nettles and bummer. This will protect the tender organism of the chick from all sorts of intestinal diseases.

For the 5th day, the chicken menu can include green onions, zucchini and carrots. From this age, you can also give meal, cake and minerals.
Broiler chicken can be given special compound feed from 3-4 days. The farmer at this stage should already take care that the meat-oriented young animals begin to grow rapidly and gain weight.

From the end of the 1st week, the percentage of cereals in the feed should be increased, on the 10th day they should make up the bulk of the menu.

Feeding day old chicks

Many poultry farmers prefer to give during this period a special nutritious feed for chickens - "Purina" or "Sun", for better growth. This mixture contains all the necessary grains, trace elements and vitamins.
It is important to correctly calculate the portion size so that the little ones do not go hungry or overeat. After all, well-fed chickens can poke around in food out of curiosity, suddenly they find something tasty. Therefore, farmers need to know how many grams are due per chicken per day.

Recommended feeding rates for chicks of egg breeds from 0 to a month

Poultry farmers often ask how to feed their chicks in the early days of broilers. The farmer should take care that the meat-oriented young animals begin to grow rapidly and gain weight.The answer is simple - you need to feed broilers with compound feed.

Just remember that the proportion of water: feed should be 1.7: 1. The water temperature should be 18-22 degrees C.

Consumption table of compound feed by age (per day)

How to water newborn chickens

After the chicks are dry, they need water. Chicks especially drink a lot in the first hours after hatching, as they need to replenish the volume of fluid in the body. Babies should be given distilled or boiled water (30 ° C) to drink.

It is very useful to add 3-5% glucose solution, vitamins to the water for newborn chickens. This will protect the chicks from digestive problems. If you don't have glucose at hand, you can replace it with sugar (1 teaspoon for 0.5 liters of water).

Tips from experienced poultry farmers

Before, than newbie acquire chickens, desirable some questions to discuss from experienced poultry farmers:

1. What to do if a day old chick doesn't eat or drink anything. If the chicken is weak and cannot peck food on its own, then it must be removed from its fellows. If he is sick, then he will not infect other birds. It is also necessary for reasons of his own safety, he will not be trampled by stronger chickens. The poultry farmer will have to feed such a chick himself with a pipette yolk mixed with milk. In addition, a weak chicken should be given vitamins that raise immunity and have a tonic effect (Chiktonik, Multivit, Catosal);
2. What temperature should be in a brooder for day old chicks? The temperature in the cage for regular day-old chicks should be 30 ° C, and for broilers it should be 2 degrees higher.

The importance of proper chick nutrition from day one cannot be overemphasized. Any improper feed intake can affect the health and development of the little chick.