When do we start raising chickens?

1、 Selected superior varieties
Excellent breeds are the foundation for raising high-quality broiler chickens. The famous local breed of colored feather with thin skin and fine bone, plump muscle, delicious meat, strong resistance and medium and small size should be selected. It can be Sanhuang chicken or Fried Dough Twists Qingjiao chicken, such as the palace yellow chicken, Henan Gushi chicken, Guangxi Cenxi Sanhuang chicken and Zhejiang Xianju chicken, and it can also select excellent broiler breeds suitable for local breeding according to local breeding habits and market consumption needs.
2、 Emphasize grazing
Grazing is one of the important measures to improve the meat quality of broilers. The breeding technology requirements for high-quality free range domestic chickens are no different from those for fast and large broiler chickens. The chicks are raised in a breeding room for about 30 days and then transferred to a greenhouse for breeding. Generally, grazing begins at the age of 30 days in summer, 45 days in spring and autumn, and 50-60 days in cold winter. It is ideal to choose bamboo, orchard, tea, mulberry, and other areas with high and dry terrain, sheltered from wind and sun, quiet environment, convenient drinking water, no pollution, and no animal harm for the chicken farm. Chickens can not only eat the pests and weeds in the above-mentioned "four gardens", but also accumulate for the "four gardens"
Fertilization. A sand pit can be set up in the grazing area for chickens to take sand baths. We also need to build grass sheds or plastic greenhouses for shelter from rain, sun, and cold. Broilers should come out early and return late, with a grazing density of 50-70 chickens per acre, and a herd size of about 500 chickens is recommended. To prevent chickens from getting lost or harming nearby crops, a fence can be set up on the pasture and kept for sale. Strengthening grazing can improve the firmness of chicken, promote physical fitness, and compact and bright feathers; It can also feed on grass, grass seeds, dead leaves, insects and flies, saving feed and improving meat quality. If conditions permit, a batch of chickens can be placed in a different place, which is not only beneficial for disease prevention but also for chickens to forage.
3、 Clever feeding of feed
Feed is an important factor affecting meat quality. High quality local chickens should be fed with easily digestible and nutritious full price feed during the chick rearing period. Due to its slow growth rate, the crude protein content in the feed is 2 percentage points lower than that of the full price feed for fast and large broilers, and a small amount of multiple meals are required to promote good growth and development of the chicks. During the breeding and grazing period, it is necessary to feed more green feed, agricultural and sideline products, and soil and miscellaneous grains to improve meat quality and reduce feed costs. Generally, compound feed is only supplemented after returning late. 1-2 weeks before sale, if the chicken is relatively thin, the amount of compound feed can be increased, and grazing can be restricted for moderate fattening. Animal feed such as silkworm pupae, fish meal, and meat powder should not be added to the mid to late stage compound feed. Feed such as rapeseed meal and cottonseed meal that have adverse effects on meat quality and color should be used in limited quantities. Artificial synthetic pigments, chemically synthesized non nutritional additives, and drugs should not be added. An appropriate amount of natural substances such as orange peel powder, pine needle powder, garlic, ginger, fennel, cinnamon, and tea powder should be added to change meat color, improve meat quality, and increase freshness.
4、 Strict epidemic prevention
Effective epidemic prevention and control is an important guarantee for raising high-quality free range chickens. In general, free range broiler chickens have strong disease resistance and are faster to develop diseases than captive broiler chickens. However, due to its long breeding period and grazing in the wild, it has more opportunities to come into contact with pathogens. Therefore, strict hygiene, disinfection, and epidemic prevention work must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of chicken farming, without any slack. The following epidemic prevention work should be done according to the local actual situation, and the recommended immunization program is shown in Table 1.
In addition, special attention should be paid to the prevention and treatment of coccidiosis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and gastrointestinal parasitic diseases. Regularly check and, if it occurs, promptly expel it. In the middle and later stages of disease prevention and treatment in broiler chickens, artificial drugs should be avoided as much as possible, and traditional Chinese medicine and biological control should be used to reduce and control drug residues in chicken.
5、 Timely sales
An appropriate feeding period is an important step in improving meat quality. Due to the short feeding period, chicken has a high water content, insufficient accumulation of nutrients, low content of fresh and aromatic substances, poor meat quality, and a taste that does not meet the standards of high-quality local chickens; The feeding period is too long, the muscle fibers are too old, and the feeding cost is too high, which is not cost-effective. Based on the growth physiology and nutrient accumulation characteristics of local chickens, as well as the characteristics of roosters growing faster than hens and early sexual maturity, it is determined that small broiler roosters will be launched in 100 days for roosters and 120 days for hens; Medium size broiler roosters take 110 days to market, while hens take 130 days to market. At this time, the weight of the listed chicken, the accumulation of nutrients, fresh flavor elements, and aromatic substances in the chicken basically meet the content standards of adult chickens. The meat quality is also relatively tender, making it a better combination of weight, quality, and cost