Household owners often breed chickens. The popularity of this type of economy is justified by the desire of a modern person to have ecologically clean meat and eggs on the table. At the same time, bird care is not so difficult and even beginners can do it. When forming your own poultry house, the main thing is to choose the right breed of poultry. The Moscow black breed of chickens is especially popular with experienced poultry farmers. It has a number of positive qualities that are highly valued by farmers.

History of the breed

The Moscow black breed of chickens was bred by breeders of the Bratsevskaya poultry farm and scientists of the Department of Poultry of the TSKHA. It was registered in 1980. The aim of the scientists' work was to create a universal meat and egg breed, unpretentious to the conditions of detention. DTo create the most versatile breed, the following were crossed:

  • Brown Leghorn;
  • New Hampshire chickens;
  • Yurlovskaya vociferous.

The resulting hybrids were crossed again. In the course of the work of breeders, several subspecies were formed, the improvement of the breed continues to this day.

Moscow black breed of chickens

Description of the Moscow black chicken

Moscow Black is a meat and egg breed, suitable for both industrial breeding and private breeding. It has a calm, balanced character, is capable of laying eggs even in the most extreme conditions for chickens.

Appearance

Foxy Chick (breed of chickens): description

These thoroughbred birds have distinctive external features:

  • chickens are pure black in color, some have copper-colored head and neck;
  • roosters have a brighter color: golden-copper plumage is present on the head, neck, back and shoulders;
  • the body is elongated, strong musculature, developed wings and tail;
  • the chest is wide and protrudes forward, the neck is of medium length, the head is large;
  • the crest is small and erect, the beak is curved, the lobes are red;
  • the iris of the eyes is orange.

Productivity

Productivity depends on the conditions of detention. With a lack of light and feed, the number of eggs decreases, and with excessive feeding, Moscow black chickens are prone to obesity, which also affects egg production.

Important! Gutted laying hen carcass weighs about 2.5 kg, rooster - 3.5 kg. These indicators, on average, are only half a kilogram lower than that of broiler chickens.

Layers of this variety begin to lay at the age of six months. With proper feeding, one hen brings 210-250 eggs a year with an average weight of 60 g. The shell color is different: from beige to brown. Under stressful situations, there is no decrease in egg production, like in other breeds.

Moscow black chicken eggs

Conditions of detention

The Moscow chicken is unpretentious in care. These birds have a calm character, easily adapt to new conditions, and are suitable for keeping both in cages and in the general poultry house.

Orpington (breed of chickens)

According to the reviews of Russian farmers, the Moscow black breed is most adapted to our harsh climatic conditions. Thanks to their dense plumage, these hens are not afraid of even 30-degree frosts in an unheated chicken coop.

Important! In order for the chickens to continue to lay in winter, the temperature in the hen house should be close to 0 ° C. In an unheated room, this can be achieved with a thick layer of bedding.

Straw, sunflower husks, small hay, dried leaves, peat, sawdust are best suited as bedding.In winter, it is recommended to use the latter. The thickness of the litter in the summer should not exceed 20 cm, and in the winter it is best to lay half a meter of dry material. Due to the vital activity of microorganisms, this litter will generate heat up to 32 ° C.

It is best to prepare litter in summer, taking into account 15 kg of material per year per bird. It must be stored in a dry place and carefully monitored so that there is no dampness and mold.

Chicken bedding

Feeding

Up to 2 weeks, chickens are given specialized feed for chicks or finely crumbled boiled eggs. After 2 weeks, they begin to gradually accustom themselves to a coarser compound feed with the addition of greens, vegetables and cottage cheese.

The Moscow black breed of chickens is meat and egg, so these birds require significantly more feed than chickens of the same direction. Although these birds are not picky about food, they need to organize the right diet to achieve maximum productive results.

On a note. Basis: mixed feed with hay flour. In summer, it is best to replace hay flour with succulent food (herbs, vegetables and fruits).

For making wet mash, it is best to use a grain mixture of wheat, corn, barley and other cereals. Next, boiled vegetables, fruits, whole grains are added. In order to avoid obesity of poultry, it is imperative to add bran to the mash to make the feed less nutritious.

Important! It is not recommended to often feed chickens with boiled potatoes. Since they are less mobile, obesity of the internal organs is possible, which will lead to the death of the bird.

Do not forget about the minerals that layers need. Be sure to include chalk, shells, fish oil, premixes, tetravik in their diet. Small stones of limestone are needed to improve the digestion of poultry.

With cellular content, the diet includes animal products: larvae, pieces of dried meat.

Important! In a day, 1 poultry of meat and egg direction needs on average 140 g of feed and 300 ml of liquid.

The bird should be fed 4 times a day, while most of the grain mixture should be given at night, since it is in the dark that chickens form eggs. In the morning, give a third of the grain mixture intended for the day. For lunch, chickens are offered a wet mash, which the birds must eat within 30-40 minutes. If after this time there is something left in the feeders, then everything must be removed. At about 4 pm, the chickens are fed with herbs, vegetables or fruits. Give the remaining 2/3 of the grain mixture overnight

Important! It is imperative to provide the bird with access to clean water. In winter, instead of water, chickens are offered clean snow.

Features of poultry breeding

Due to constant breeding work, breed black layers, according to scientists, have completely forgotten the instinct of incubating eggs. Although this fact is disputed by experienced farmers. They argue that the hens of this breed are caring mothers that can sit on eggs even in winter. Since this variety is still very young and not all the characteristics of the Moscow black breed of chickens have been thoroughly studied, it is still not clear which statement is true. In any case, only practice and observation of these birds can resolve all disputes.

Moscow black chicken with brood

Araucana (breed of chickens)

Experienced farmers with an incubator at home can use it to raise their young. Sexual maturation of hens of this breed occurs much later, therefore eggs for the incubator are taken only from layers that have reached 8 months. The egg must be fresh, no more than 4 days old.

For self-selection of chicken eggs, an ovoscope is required, which shines through the eggs with a thin beam. An egg suitable for an incubator must have:

  • the air chamber at the blunt end is at least 2 mm high;
  • absence of foreign inclusions in the yolk;
  • The yolk should have a slightly blurred outline and be exactly in the center of the egg, and when tilted, move to the side.

In the absence of an ovoscope, the egg can be illuminated using a powerful lamp of 100 W or more.

Important! The suitability of an egg for an incubator can be checked in the old old-fashioned way: put eggs in a bowl of water. A fertilized egg should float on the surface like a float, an empty one will drown.

Also, when choosing eggs for an incubator, you should pay attention to the shell: it must be dense, have a marble or porous surface.

The hatchability percentage of this breed is about 95%. After the birth of the chicks, it is imperative to feed them within the first 8 hours, this action will increase the immunity of the babies by 35%.

Important! It is worth paying attention to the drinking bowls for chickens, as babies should not get wet, otherwise they may catch an infection.

After 2 weeks, the chickens are gradually fed with chopped barley or wheat grains and carrot pieces. Chicks are completely transferred to the adult diet at the age of 40 weeks.

Breed advantages and disadvantages

The Moscow black breed of chickens has become popular due to the following qualities:

  • calm character;
  • endurance and adaptation to any conditions;
  • good immunity;
  • high productivity;
  • unpretentiousness in food.

True, such a versatile breed has a number of disadvantages:

  • the egg-laying period begins from six months, which is 2 months later than for hens of the egg direction;
  • with overfeeding, chickens are prone to obesity;
  • the instinct of hatching eggs is lost;
  • the sex of the chick can only be determined at the age of 1.5 months.

Chickens of the Moscow Black breed are famous not only for their unpretentiousness, but also for their delicate dietary meat. Therefore, every farmer should try to get to know these delicious chickens better.