How is the prospect of raising柴鸡 (free-range chickens)?
Abstract: This article discusses the prospects and techniques of raising free-range chickens, including related aspects of green plants. Next, the editor will provide you with detailed answers.
Let's talk about how to raise free-range chickens today?
Raising free-range chickens is a low-investment, eco-friendly business that allows chickens to forage and grow freely in traditional free-range methods, with restrictions on the use of various feed additives and hormones to ensure the freshness of chicken meat and eggs.
The editor will start with the two biggest issues of "epidemic prevention and control and breeding costs" from the breeding perspective, with some additional information on other aspects!
Epidemic Prevention and Control Issues with Free-Range Chickens
The biggest issue in raising free-range chickens is the problem of mycoplasma and coccidiosis, and those who have been breeding for a long time may have paid attention to the issue of leukemia.
To cultivate a batch of young chickens with good uniformity,达标 antibody levels, and standard body weight, we need to pay attention to every detail during the brooding period.
The purpose of vaccination is to provide biosecurity for chickens. Even if our young chickens have been vaccinated, their antibody levels may not rise due to repeated coccidiosis and glandular gastritis during the brooding period.
At present, most farms do not pay attention to the antibody levels of chicken flocks, except for cage-raised laying hens where some people conduct antibody tests. Most people may understand the significance of antibody testing, but for various reasons, they still give up on monitoring antibody levels.
As mentioned earlier, the issue of coccidiosis in free-range chickens, our chicks are generally around 3 months old, coinciding with the plum rain season. If we use ground brooding, the humidity in the chicken coop increases, and the incidence of coccidiosis increases.
If we use cage brooding, we can avoid contact between chickens and feces and control the humidity in the chicken coop through ventilation. A key factor in the onset of coccidiosis is contact between chickens and feces, and excessive humidity in the chicken coop, which leads to an increased incidence of coccidiosis in chickens.
During the plum rain season, it is difficult to change the litter, making it hard to reduce the humidity in the chicken coop. Repeated small intestinal and cecal coccidiosis can cause severe damage to the intestines of young chickens, leaving the肠道 with holes. What kind of mucosal barrier can our intestines have? The bacteria and mycotoxins in the intestines directly enter the body, so can our chickens stay healthy?
Damaged intestines lead to reduced digestion and absorption of feed, increasing feed consumption and resulting in poorer growth of chickens.
The problem of mycoplasma is relatively healthier. By controlling the internal environment of chicks, reducing the ammonia levels in the chicken coop, and increasing ventilation, the incidence of mycoplasma in chickens will relatively decrease. If we still use the previous brooding methods, such as ground or netting raising, the chicken coop will have heavy ammonia, thick dust, and uneven temperature control, leading to an increased incidence of mycoplasma.
In recent years, the issue of glandular gastritis, which has a high incidence rate, is often caused by vertical transmission of mycotoxins, leading to gastritis in chicks at 1 day old, with feces resembling fish intestines. After dissection, the chicks' gizzards are eroded. To control gastritis, we must start from 1 day old, otherwise, there will be some chickens standing still with feces resembling fish intestines.
The feeding rate of the flock is not up to standard, and by about 15 days, the uniformity of the flock decreases, weight gain stops, the mortality rate increases, and the intestines are unhealthy. Subsequently, due to mycotoxins causing gastritis, the chickens' constitution deteriorates, vaccine immunity does not achieve the desired effect, and various diseases occur.
Cost Issues in Raising Free-Range Chickens
Free-range chickens can reach 2.5-3.5 pounds per bird and be ready for slaughter in 90-100 days, but to ensure the quality of the meat, they are usually raised for 4 months, with the cost of raising one chicken being about 15 yuan.
How is the Prospect of Raising柴鸡 (Free-Range Chickens)?
The specific calculation is as follows: Raising one ecological free-range chicken for 4 months to market, weighing about 2.5-3 pounds, requires 6 pounds of feed, which can be grains (rice, corn, wheat, sweet potatoes, soybean meal, leeks, carrots, and leafy vegetables), costing 6 yuan at 1 yuan per pound, 3 pounds of yellow mealworms, with a self-breeding cost of 1.5 yuan per pound, totaling 4.5 yuan, 3 pounds of fly larvae, self-bred with chicken manure at 0.5 yuan per pound, totaling 1.5 yuan, 5 pounds of vegetables at 1.5 yuan (self-grown or picked without cost), self-hatched chicks at about 2 yuan each, vaccines at 0.2 yuan each, totaling: 15.8 yuan.
How much investment is needed to raise chickens?
This depends on the size of your breeding operation. Taking the example of breeding 500 free-range chickens per month, and 5,000 chickens per year, it requires 26,800 to 29,800 yuan.
In rural areas, if you have your own grain, the initial investment only needs to be 6,800 yuan, with a maximum of 10,000 yuan. Raising 5,000 chickens per year only requires preparing funds for 1,500 chickens for 3 months.
If 1,500 chickens are raised in a greenhouse, the cost is 1,500 yuan.
1,500 chicks cost 3,000 to 6,000 yuan; 1,500 chickens require 200 boxes of yellow mealworms, costing 2,000 yuan, 20,000 yuan for feed for raising insects and chickens, 300 yuan for vaccine fees, with a total investment of about 26,800 to 29,800 yuan. Raising 500 chickens per month, with an annual output of 5,000 chickens, the annual net profit is about 70,000 to 100,000 yuan.
Specific Matters for Raising Chicks!
1. Temperature:
After the chicks are hatched and bought back, the temperature should be controlled within 34-35℃ in the first week. From the second week, the temperature should be reduced by 2℃ per week until the sixth week when the temperature is lowered. The method of insulation depends on the number of chicks. For a small number of chicks, a cardboard box and a light bulb can be used, placing the chicks in the box and hanging a 60W light bulb, with a water bottle and feed trough. For a larger number of chicks, a brooding room can be used, with coal stoves for heating, but the coal smoke should be vented outdoors through an iron pipe. To ensure the accuracy of the temperature, in addition to observing the state of the chicks, a thermometer should be hung in the room, and feces should be removed frequently.
2. Lighting:
The first week of brooding requires 24-hour lighting to ensure that chicks can eat and drink day and night, promoting growth and development. Then, 2 hours of lighting should be reduced each week until the lights are not turned on at night. Lighting and insulation can be combined. In a cardboard box, if the temperature is not enough, hot water can be added to a container wrapped in cloth and placed in the box for heating.
3. Density:
1-14 days: 50-60 chicks/square meter, 15-21 days: 35-40 chicks/square meter, 21-44 days: 25 chicks/square meter, 60 days and older: 12 chicks/square meter. After the temperature is lowered, the chicks can be cage-raised, flat-raised, or pasture-raised, as long as the density does not exceed the above standards.
4. Drinking Water:
The chicks can start drinking water 24 hours after hatching, with the feed placed in a feed bin for free eating, and water placed in a cup. The chicks should drink cool boiled water for the first 20 days, then well water or tap water. Due to the low feed intake and high metabolic rate of chicks, to prevent malnutrition, glucose and water-soluble multivitamins should be added to the water for the first 10 days.
The above is the full content of the article "How is the Prospect of Raising柴鸡 (Free-Range Chickens)?" and "Free-Range Chicken Breeding Techniques Tutorial" brought by the Green Plant Enthusiast website. I hope it can help you, and I also hope everyone comes to visit the Green Plant Enthusiast website for more green plant and flower experience and knowledge!