Adler chickens are silvery. Breeding and maintenance
When choosing chickens for homestead farming is betterpay attention to those breeds that are meat-egg. They are the most practical. A bright representative of this group is the Adler silvery breed of chickens.
History of appearance
If in 1965 there were about 46 thousand of them, pieces, then in 1975 - already 110 thousand, and in 1990 - 2,644 thousand. But at the end of the last century, their number began to decline rapidly. It is believed that there are a little over 1 million heads left in Russia.
Exterior
Externally, birds stand out with their wide body. At the same time they have a rounded head of medium size, a leaf-shaped straight small crest, a yellow curved beak, round eyes. The neck is medium in length, and the lobes of the ears are relatively small and colored red.
Adler's silvery chickens differ in direct andwide back, legs of medium length, small tail and wings pressed to the trunk. The backbone of the breed is well developed, fairly strong. Their breasts are also wide. Feathering of birds is white, it is friable. True, they are distinguished by black inclusions. Dark terry feathers should be on the wings, steering - on the tail. Also black painted pigtails.
Features
Adler's egg laying is considered average. In the year the chickens give about 170-190 eggs, the weight of each of them usually does not exceed 60 gr. Shell eggs are cream.
Roosters, as producers, are considered active. For every 15-20 hens, only one such representative is sufficient. In the conditions of household plots, they can be kept for 3-4 years. They begin to carry eggs at the age of 6 months.
The Adler silver bear can weigh up to 2.8kg, roosters can grow to 3.9 kg. At the same time, the color of plumage is similar, they differ only in size and shape. At the age of 60 days the hens weigh about 870 grams, and the males - 1.1 kg. In the first year of oviposition, you can expect to receive about 200 eggs. In subsequent periods, it is slightly reduced and remains at the level of about 170 pieces. In the first month, eggs are small, but over time their size increases.
By the way, many say that the Adlerthe silvery breed of chickens is now swept better than in the first decades after its removal. At the same time, birds begin to grow smaller. This is a natural process, always in small chickens egg production was higher than for large hens.
Conditions of detention
Chickens adler silvery are not whimsical toconditions of feeding and life. The combination of a good egg lay, fleshiness and simplicity of content makes them one of the best options for breeding in household plots. They perfectly tolerate both heat and cold.
But even with their content, a number offeatures. For example, it is undesirable for chickens to take their first egg before the due date. This can cause the pain of the bird. Ideal is the period from 5 to 9 months.
Adults are unpretentious not only for the weather,but also to the living conditions. True, if they do not have a roost, and they are located on the floor, it is important to make them a bedding. Peat is considered the best option - it is suitable due to its excellent absorbent properties.
Good masters should also take care of the chickens' ability to "swim" in dry ashes or sand. With the help of such so-called "baths" they can get rid of parasites.
Feeding
In order that the Adler chickens are silverycorrectly developed and quickly grew, it is important to choose the right nutrition. It must be right and balanced. If in summer, birds can freely get most of the substances they need, they should be taken care of by the owners in winter.
Many poultry farmers are satisfied that they live exactlyadler silver chicken. Reviews of people who grow them, leave no one indifferent to these white hens. After all, they are very trusting. It is easy to teach the hens to peck from their hands and run to the owner for a call. Feed adult birds need twice a day.
In their diet must be grains of different varieties. For example, laying hens need wheat and barley. Also they can be fed with waste, pumpkin, greens, potatoes. In small amounts, it is desirable that their diet include shells, chalk and bone meal.
Reproduction
To breed this breed without specialincubators at home is very difficult. After all, the instinct of hatching eggs is not developed in them, 1 out of 10 hens passes into the hens, but even this does not always happen. Therefore, an incubator should always be at hand. With its help, by the way, you can get a very high yield of chickens - at the level of 95%. But on average it is about 85%.
But on the other hand, poultry farmers have fewer problems with how to return the poultry to the main herd.
Hatched chicks should be kept separate from the main stock. The place for them is chosen dry and warm. In good weather, on the 5th day after hatching, they can be walked on the site.
The withdrawal of the young
In order to replace the breeding herd,Chicks preferably not before the end of May. This is said by many of those who have an Adler silvery breed of chickens growing. Feedback suggests that an earlier brood may cause chickens to begin to carry eggs at the age of 4-4.5 months. Such early maturation can badly affect the state of their health. After all at this age layers are not yet fully developed.
Compliance with the above dates is favorablethat chickens will develop in the most suitable conditions with a natural reduction in daylight hours. Ideal for home-grown chickens grown in this way. Adler silver breed is physically strong and enduring. But ripe early chickens may suffer from prolapse of the oviduct, in addition, they are more prone to various diseases.
Feeding young animals
When growing poultry, it is important to respectestablished rules. So, only hatchlings in the first few days are fed 5 or even 6 times a day. Over time, the number of feeds is reduced to 3-4 times. By this point, the kids should be already 4 weeks old.
In the diet of birds under the age of 48 weeks shouldto enter corn and wheat. It is also desirable that they consume a significant amount of potatoes, greens, carrots. In small quantities, they need bone and fish flour, shells, waste and chalk.
Specificity of the breed
Many do not know, but chickens have a well developed nervoussystem. Therefore, a benevolent attitude to this bird is a guarantee of its excellent mood, and therefore well-being. This all in a complex contributes to a good growth, development, increased productivity of birds.
Separately, many note the behavior of the roosters of thisrocks. They can be called gentlemen. When feeding, they cry out to all the chickens. They start to peck food only after all the ladies stop eating. They also act in cases when they discover something tasty. This is what experts call one of the reasons that the roosters of this breed are not much more laying hens.
It is also interesting that they teach chickensto sweep. They do this in the following way. The rooster himself climbs into the nest and sits in it like a hen. After this, he begins a specific "interested" cry to call the chickens. Young animals converge with interest and observe the behavior of the cock. So the Adler chickens of the silvery get used to be carried exclusively into the nests. They will not lay eggs in the grass, under fences or in other places that are not adapted for this purpose.
Crossbreeding
Having received Adler breed, scientists-breeders onthis did not stop. They found that when crossing chickens with cocks of rodland or New Hampshire, you can get an autosexual offspring. He already at the age of twenty can determine the sex of the color. In future males, fluff light, and chickens - fawn.
This division contributes to better chick keeping and more efficient use of feed. Young birds are more evenly weighted, and this significantly facilitates their processing and subsequent marketing.
Features of meat-egg chicken
Among poultry farmers, those speciesbirds, from which you can get a double benefit. The combination of a good egg-laying with a fairly quick set of weight contributes to the fact that many people engaged in subsidiary farming choose meat-egg hens. At the age of two months, they usually weigh about 1 kg. In addition, they are distinguished by their unpretentiousness to the conditions of keeping and feeding. Although it is desirable that their diet was balanced.
Meat-egg chickens are highly protectedlivestock and excellent taste. Now about 20 different breeds are popular, among which are Adler silver, Moscow, Poltava clay, Kuchin jubilee. It is important to understand that from each of these chicken can be obtained from 150 to 200 eggs per year.
Meat Birds
They became the breeding base for the creation ofnew breeds. For example, when they crossed, the Jersey giant, the Plymouth, the English and German-style langsha, and many others were withdrawn. Cereals of the Cornish breed are widespread everywhere. A mixture of their two types with plymutroki allowed to obtain chickens with a huge growth rate, excellent meat qualities combined with low feed costs.
In just 7-8 weeks, chickens reach a weight of 2 kg. This despite the fact that for every kilogram of growth is not more than 3 kg of feed.
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