What kind of birds are best kept in an apartment. What songbirds can you keep at home?

Birds are incredibly cuddly creatures. With their appearance, songs, lively vanity, they can decorate any home. With good care, little birds will live in your home for more than ten years and will become the heroes of many of your stories and family stories.

Birds and children

Do not be afraid to have birds if there is a child in the house, but teach children to communicate correctly with birds, because communicating with birds is very different from playing with cats and dogs.

It is important for children to communicate with wildlife, especially in the city. Watching a little bird is a world of amazing discoveries that develops a full-fledged and moral person... Just remember that the responsibility for the life of such a fragile creature should still be borne by adults, not children.

Birds need food, clean water, and a washed spacious cage and many other things: trimming the claws, beak, arranging the cage, shading it ...

If you buy a bird and realize that you cannot cope, find a new owner for it, do not torment and do not release it: after living in a cage, it will definitely die on the street.

Before buying, carefully study more literature about the bird you are going to take: about food, about possible diseases, about the required size of the cage, about possible neighbors (not all birds will be able to get along with each other).

But based on personal experience, this is not a very burdensome chore, especially if you have an unpretentious bird, and not something exotic. Of course, if you are going to buy a whole dovecote or have ravens, there will be more responsibilities and duties.

A reasonable question arises: which of the birds are the easiest to keep and care for? We answer:

1. Budgerigars

In any pet store you can find a cage with these restless birds. The great thing about these parrots is that they have long lived side by side with people, and therefore will not behave with you like wild birds. They are distinguished by noise and talkativeness, they quite easily memorize words and expressions that are repeated many times when "communicating" with a person and even with other poultry.

2. Canaries

The domestic canary is a domesticated subspecies of the Canary canary finch from the Canary Islands. It was domesticated more than 500 years ago and is the only pet that has changed its vocal apparatus and singing. This singing made the canary famous, and we can rightfully say that her songs are as beautiful as the bright yellow plumage.

3. Amadines

Amadines are a family of finch weavers, beautiful, unpretentious birds that readily breed in captivity. Very funny birds, which are loved for their cute grumpiness and extraordinary beauty.

4. Goldfinches

Birds are cheerful, agile, dexterous in movement. In the conditions of the cage, they are soon mastered. Even in captivity they like to sing a lot. Very very! With good content, proper care and feeding sing all year round and live up to 15-20 years.

5. Chizhi

The siskin got its name for the characteristic squeak, with which individual birds in flocks constantly echo. The song of the siskin is quite varied and consists of both his own short "words and strokes" and imitation of the singing of other birds. It is impossible not to love this bird for its singing, ingenuity and gullibility towards humans.

6. Bullfinches

Yes Yes. Bullfinches really get used to it well and calmly and live quietly in captivity, besides, they are very easy to care for and do not require much attention. They are kept mainly for beauty. By the way, only males have such a red breast, female bullfinches look very mediocre.

This photo is from my personal collection, it shows my bullfinch named Arthas. For two molts, it does not lose its natural color, which indicates proper care.

If you buy a goldfinch, bullfinch, siskin or other bird from our area, then you should understand that it was most likely recently caught and it is unlikely that it will become completely tame. However, she will sing and will be able to comfortably settle in the cage.

Birds and cages

Those "free birds" that you see in nature and in the city simply do not live to see their old age. Pigeons under the auspices of humans live 15 years or more, and the lifespan of their wild counterparts is about 3 years. And such exotic birds as parrots have been domesticated for many generations, and life next to a person is their usual place in this world.

Don't worry, birds can be happy in cages too!)

Not a single civilization and not a single people remained indifferent to the representatives of the feathered kingdom. Birds have been praised and worshiped in all cultures. Many people have or dream of having a feathered pet. Some prefer parrots, others - songbirds.

Parrots

Parrots are very funny and playful birds. They are able to show such feelings as joy, sadness, they can be sad, and they can play and cheat. But the main feature of these wonderful birds is their ability to imitate the speech of people.

The most talkative ones are Grays, cockatiels and cockatoos. The most interesting thing is that they can repeat not just a word, but a whole phrase, while they insert it during the conversation of the owner exactly in place.

The most popular are budgerigars... They are undemanding to care for and very friendly. And they can also be called centenarians, because they can live up to 25 years. And since they are small, they do not require a large cage. They quickly get used to people and become full-fledged family members. In addition, they are beautiful and have different colors.

Songbirds, a detachment of passerines

But bird lovers not only give birth to parrots, but also songbirds. These include birds from the passerine order. For example, finches (the most popular are zebra, Japanese), canaries, beetles, amaranths, astrildas, chu, common lentils.

Amadines

Very beautiful, of various types and colors, cheerful birds of finches. They do not cause any particular difficulties in caring for them. Like all birds, the plumage of the male is slightly brighter than that of the females, but these differences are noticeable only during the mating season. The beak of these birds is like a wax in texture, in females it is red-orange, and in males it is coral-red. Since these birds are very neat, they need to be cleaned regularly in their cage. With good and proper care, finches can live for about 10 years.

Canaries are famous for their melodic songs and musical memory. They are able to repeat not only the singing of other birds, but even the human voice. These small birds are unpretentious, they do not need large cages. Canaries are also appreciated for their beautiful yellow color, because even one of the shades of yellow is called canary.

Amaranth

One more interesting bird- amaranth. She is very small, the color of the male is cherry-red, while the female is olive-brown.

Whichever bird you choose, with good care, it can become your friend, and not just a favorite. After all, it is interesting to watch playful parrots, teach them to talk and listen to the beautiful singing of songbirds.

You have decided that you want to buy a bird home. But, having come to a pet store, they found that the choice is simply huge. You are offered to purchase any, from the simplest Russian bird to a fashionable, bright overseas bird. So which bird is best for home keeping? Let's try to figure it out.

First, decide what you want from the bird. Do you want to delight your eyes with a beautiful, unusual creation, or do you want to have a singer at home who can compete with the opera? Or you want to start breeding birds with their subsequent sale. Or maybe you want to find a talking friend?

There are domesticated species of wild birds. Among them are such as canary or finch. These types of birds are easier to keep than wild birds, accustomed to living in the wild.

1. If you really want to have a representative of the wild at home, then turn your attention to the swift. It can be kept either alone or in pairs. This bird is absolutely not whimsical, easy to keep. Swift is peaceful and trusting. In addition, this bird is small in size (which saves you the need to allocate a lot of space to your pet in the apartment). And his wonderful singing will delight you every day!
2. Goldfinch. Very cute and cute bird. Has the ability to sing well, quickly gets used to a person.
3. Oatmeal and repolovy - do not require special skills for their content, but they are distrustful representatives of the bird family.
4. For beginners, you can try to get a "tropical" bird.
5. Try not to buy "our" birds. The thing is that most of them are not bred, but caught in wildlife... Therefore, there is a high probability that the bird simply will not take root in captivity, it will quickly wither and die.
6. Canaries and parrots have been bred in captivity for quite a long time, so this species of bird is already fully adapted to life in a cage. They very quickly get used to the owner and become tame.

If you want to buy a bird and get a wonderful singer in your house, you better opt for a canary. This bird sings best of all. In addition, it is absolutely easy to care for and maintain - it just needs to be provided, in sufficient quantities, food and water. This beautiful bird stops singing only for the period of molting.

But pay special attention to the fact that only males sing in canaries. Unfortunately on appearance, the female from the male is almost impossible to distinguish. This can only be done by professionals. You should not trust the seller to convince you that the bird is a male. Wait for songs from him, only then get them. Otherwise, you may simply never wait for the birdie to sing.

If you are not only not interested in the singing of the future bird, your pet, but even the very thought of round-the-clock trills annoys you, you should buy such a bird as a finch or amarand. These birds are very calm, not demanding to care for, unpretentious in food. They also breed well in captivity. And they have a small size - up to ten cm.

Parrots

These birds are well known to all of us. There are hundreds of different types of parrots and they are all different! But for the most part, these creatures are big fidgets, pranksters and screamers. But, at the same time, they have high intelligence. Some species can be great conversationalists for you. They are easy to maintain, undemanding in food. Just be careful when choosing a cage for a parrot. Under no circumstances should you purchase a cage made of soft wood. Otherwise, the parrot will peck it into pieces in no time. In general, the best material for a parrot cage is metal.

• Be careful with your choice of parrot breed in the event that there are children in your apartment. For the reason that large representatives of parrots are able They bite, and given the size and power of their beak, they can even bite through the skin and injure a person!
• Female parrots are more aggressive than males.

• Such breeds of parrots as wavy, Jaco and Cockatoo will quickly learn to talk, if you so desire. And Jaco can even become a full-fledged interlocutor for you, inserting the necessary phrases exactly when it is in the topic!
• Corell is a beautiful parrot, smart enough, but he doesn't speak so well anymore. It will be very difficult to teach him any phrases.
• Lovebirds. These parrots are incredibly beautiful. They have a bright color. It is very interesting to watch them. But they won't talk. At all. But if you are interested in beauty, lovebirds are what you need!

If you do not have experience in keeping birds, you should not take the "difficult" one. You will not be pleased with complex care and special approach to the bird.

If your child has time, patience, he is old enough and responsible, then you can safely have a bird as a pet.

Birds for children

These birds are most suitable for playing with children, do not make a lot of noise, are of an acceptable size, do not require careful care (compared to large parrots and exotic birds), do not have complex mental and emotional needs, and can be purchased at an acceptable cost.

1. Finches and canaries. These birds are easy to care for, beautiful and their chirping is soothing. Chaffinches have an approximate lifespan of 7 years and canaries 15 years.

2. They are bright and very funny, moreover, they can be taught to speak. They are easy to care for and develop an emotional bond with their owners, making them great companions for children. Budgies live up to 15 years.

3. Lovebird parrots. If the child cannot pay much attention to the bird and the parrot will spend a lot of time alone, then it is better to have two lovebird parrots. These parrots not only climb perfectly on perches and simulators, they love to fly and run briskly on the floor. The birds become attached to their young master, recognize, and gladly enter the game.

When you shouldn't have a bird for your child

1. If the child has not yet reached the age of 12, and the responsibility for caring for the bird should fall on his shoulders, it is better to postpone the purchase of a bird. Babies may not be aware of their actions: forgetting to feed or water the bird, which is unacceptable treatment of pets.

2. You do not plan to provide funds from the family budget if the bird needs veterinary care. In this case, the parents abuse the animals and teach the child a bad lesson.

Even ancient people domesticated wild birds and began to breed them in order to obtain food in the form of eggs and meat, as well as feathers and down, which were used in everyday life. Today's birds are different from those that were bred by our ancestors. As a result of selection work, the most suitable breeds for breeding were bred. In this article, we will tell you which bird is more profitable to breed at home, because now everyone who has a desire and a small suburban area can breed birds.

Ducks were the first to make our list. It is no coincidence that they were among the first to be domesticated by our ancestors. This is because these birds are famous for their unpretentiousness and quickly gain weight. The latter circumstance is especially important, because the ultimate goal of duck breeding is to obtain meat that has an amazing taste and high nutritional value due to its fat and fiber content.

Duck eggs are usually not eaten as readily as chicken eggs, because they have a specific taste. However, they can be used to make sauces and other dishes. Feathers and down are suitable for stuffing pillows and blankets, therefore they are also valuable.

Those who maintain not only a poultry house, but also are engaged in maintaining a vegetable garden will be able to use duck droppings as fertilizer.

Choosing a breed

Before you start self-breeding ducks, you should pay attention to the features of the most popular and suitable species of birds, and choose the right ones for yourself. We present a selection of the most profitable breeds for breeding.

You don’t have to be a gourmet not to taste a baked bird of this breed in a restaurant at least once in your life. The body weight of an adult female is 3 kilograms, and the drake weighs one kilogram more. Fibrous, fatty meat is very nutritious and literally melts in your mouth, the edible portion of duck is about 70%.

Peking ducks lay about 140-150 eggs per year, of which about 100 ducklings grow.

Muscovy duck

Also known as Indo-woman. This breed can significantly surpass the previous one in size: the weight of the drake reaches 6 kg. The resulting meat is soft and lean. The nature of these birds is always calm, which is also a plus. They do not fight in open-air cages, do not make noise. Disease resistance is another undeniable advantage musky duck.

Duck Mulard

This breed is a hybrid of the above two varieties. The chicks obtained by crossing the Peking ducks and the muscovy ducks are characterized by a fast growth rate and a large adult weight. Hybrids do not produce offspring, but this can hardly be called a minus, because the version of their maintenance remains very productive due to the large yield of meat.

Video - Breeding muscovy ducks at home

What should be the room for ducks

Any building that has been carefully equipped will become a duck house. First of all, you should take care of the insulation of the room, since the egg production and weight gain of birds directly depend on the comfort of the temperature.

An extension made of logs should be caulked and plastered from the inside, a wooden house can be upholstered with plywood, covered with plaster, putty with clay, and so on. In hot weather, the inside of the house should be cool to give the ducks a chance to rest, and in frosty weather they should be warm and calm inside.

When setting up your duck house, pay special attention to the floor. It should be about 25 cm above the ground to keep rats out. Peat, sawdust or straw mixed with grass should be placed on top of the floor. Dry everything thoroughly and clean from impurities. For one individual, you need to prepare about 12 kg.

The laying of eggs in ducks directly depends on sufficient light and heat. Make sure that they are always warm and dry inside their house, otherwise you risk being left without an increase in livestock. Be sure to consider ventilation inside the house.

Reducing daylight hours in winter can be a serious problem for ducks. Increase daylight hours with artificial lighting in the morning and evening.

Arrangement of a duck house

First of all, decide in which part of the house the duck hole will be made. A good option will place it in the south or southeast. The size of the manhole is 40 cm wide and 30-40 cm high. It is a good idea to build a small vestibule to protect the manhole from wind and drafts.

In the summer, it is worth fencing off the bird walking area so that they do not scatter around the site and spoil the garden plantings. You can make such an aviary not only on land, but also on water. As material for the fence, you can use:

• fishing net;
• shingles;
• chain-link;
• metal mesh;
• reiki.

A one-meter fence will be enough for a land plot, but in the water the fence should drop 70 cm below and 50 cm above the surface, since ducks can dive in and accidentally swim out of the fence. If you do not have a small private reservoir, then this can lead to a decrease in the number of livestock.

To protect the birds from the heat, sheds are fitted to the fences in the summer. It would be a great idea to immediately equip the aviaries under the spreading trees, in the shade of which the birds can cool off.

Birds will want to walk not only in summer, but also winter period... To do this, it is necessary to constantly keep the aviary free of snow, and cover its floor with a thick layer of dry straw. When the air temperature is acceptable and there is no wind, ducks can walk from morning to evening, however, in frosts, in no case should they be forced out for a walk, as this will entail hypothermia. The house must be cleaned every day, airing it carefully so as not to blow through the feathered tenants.

Interior decoration

Bird feeders are installed on a wide board, at least 2 cm thick. From above, it is necessary to adapt a bar to it, which will prevent ducks from trampling food. In addition to its main diet, the duck should receive mineral supplements, which it swallowed with silt in its natural environment:

• small seashells;
• limestone;
• gravel, etc.

Since ducks need a large amount of drink every day, about 600 ml, you should immediately equip a voluminous and comfortable drinker. It can be made of metal or wood. It should be as tall as a duck to keep the water clear (approx. 20 cm).

Duck nests are located in darkened compartments to help ducks lay their eggs more calmly. However, do not crowd, leave room for free movement of the person, because you will have to regularly collect eggs and clean up in the nests. Each side of the nest should be between 40 and 50 cm, and the height should be 50 cm. To prevent the nest litter from falling out of the perch, equip a small sill at the exit.

Count how many layer ducks you have in your charge and arrange nests, one for every three birds. Eggs are collected in the morning.

Be careful when cleaning, because ducks are very shy. Severe stress can lead to the fact that they completely stop rushing.

Creation and maintenance of the tribe

The main prerequisite for creating a duck tribe is uniformity. It should contain birds of the same age and weight. There are about eight females per drake. When picking up ducklings for your livestock, do not take hybrid chicks, because they cannot leave behind offspring.

The most important criterion for selection is the appearance of the birds. The feathered constitution must be strong, it itself must constantly move and radiate energy. The number and health of the future offspring depends on how healthy the parent tribe will turn out.

For high egg production of females, you need to create comfortable living conditions for ducks, do not frighten them, bursting into the chicken coop, do not allow other pets to offend the bird. Once you start raising young ducklings into the parent flock, increase the length of daylight hours by half an hour each week, until it is 16 hours. Leave a minimum of light in the house at night to avoid injury. Track litter and nesting litter for cleanliness.

The emergence of chicks

Incubation is carried out only from those ducks that are completely healthy. For this, eggs are selected that are not over a week... They look around and weigh themselves. The mass should be 70-90 grams for light breeds of birds and up to 100 grams for heavy ones. Infected or spoiled eggs must be disposed of quickly.

Supporters of natural incubation of eggs need to remember that not all species of ducks have a developed instinct for raising offspring. For example, the Peking duck spends almost no time on the laid eggs. Below we give a table with which you can recognize whether a duck will hatch offspring.

The ducks preparing for incubation can be laid with previously collected eggs. It is important to take into account the size of each layer so that it completely covers the laying with its body.

Breeding chicks artificially is based on an uninterrupted supply of oxygen and constant ventilation. At the very beginning, the temperature in which the eggs lie should be about 38 o C. By the 20th day it is lowered to 30. The eggs are examined and checked whether the embryo develops on the 8th, 21st and 25th day.

How healthy hatched ducklings are determined by these features:

• for evenness of pigmentation;
• fluffiness of feathers;
• wings pressed to the body;
• soft stomach;
• dry navel;
• weighing 50 g.

The term for breeding this bird for meat is about 60 days, since after that the birds begin to lose weight.

Let's summarize

From all of the above, it is clear that keeping and breeding ducks is not so easy, however, it is quite acceptable. This lesson does not require specialized education and specific knowledge and brings really great benefits.

Breeding geese

Geese, being close relatives of ducks, are also unpretentious in keeping. Juicy goose meat has long been an integral part of Russian cuisine, decorating festive tables. Goose down is used for stuffing bedding and winter clothing.

Goose meat is a frequent guest on the festive table

Breed selection

To date, a large number of different breeds of this bird are offered for purchase. Almost all of them are resistant to any climatic features of the territory of residence. However, taking into account the characteristics of each variety, it is better to choose the ideal one for breeding in your region, since the regularity and completeness of offspring depends on this.

We present you a list of the most profitable breeds for breeding.

Gray Kholmogorov geese

Perfect for novice poultry breeders. This ancient breed is considered large and meaty. Adults have strong bones and disease resistance. They were bred specifically for keeping in pasture conditions. The ability to acclimatize to any weather is their undoubted advantage. Raising the Kholmogorov breed for meat is very beneficial: an adult drake weighs 12 kg, and a female - 8 kg. Egg production is about 30 eggs per year, which is a high figure.

Romny geese

Graceful southern birds. Perfect for natural incubation of offspring. Adults weigh 5.5 kg for females and 6 kg for males. Despite the small total weight, the popularity of their breeding does not decrease due to the special delicate taste of their meat and a large amount of down and feathers. Egg production is 20 eggs per year.

Shadrinsky geese

In another way, the Ural. These extreme lovers are able to live in the harsh winter conditions of Siberia. The body weight of adults corresponds to the Romny geese, but the egg production is 25-30 eggs per year. They gain weight quickly and are suitable for feeding in pasture conditions.

Some more heavyweights on our list. They have a formidable appearance, but a calm character. The weight of an adult goose reaches 11 kg, the goose weighs about 8 kg. This variety is bred specifically to obtain fatty liver, the mass of which is all 500 g, but its nutritious fatty meat is also popular among food lovers. This bird denies natural hatching, but it lays eggs steadily - up to 30 pieces per year.

French by nationality are also suppliers of liver delicacy. The liver of a fattened drake reaches a weight of as much as 700 g, while its body weight is 8 kg. Egg production remains at the level of 25-30 eggs per year. Great for crossing and breeding hybrid breeds that will be even heavier than their parents.

Arrangement of territory and poultry house

First of all, it is necessary to put in order the land for breeding. The site on which the poultry house will be located should be located outside the city. Supporters of free grazing of geese should have a plot based on the number of livestock: an average of 10 meters per goose.

For a comfortable life for the bird, organize a poultry house. This should be a capital structure, the area is also calculated accordingly by the livestock: 1 m 2 for 4 birds. Since the air temperature in winter should not fall below 10 ° C, take care of bringing it to the rooker heating system... It can be represented by a self-folded brick oven, a diesel oven, batteries, or any other device.

The floor of the room should be made of wood or any other strong and high-quality material, since geese spend the night right on the floor. It is lined with deep bedding of peat, shavings or straw. This is necessary to protect delicate paws from cooling. The house should always be kept clean, so avoid rotting and heavy dirt on the litter by cleaning the inside more often. A large volume of water evaporates from the feather surface of geese, for 10 birds it is about 2 liters. Air the bird house constantly, otherwise its residents will start to catch cold.

Dryness and long daylight hours inside the goose house are the key to productive egg production of geese.

In summer, geese spend all daylight hours in the pasture, and they drive into the house to spend the night. Birds eat up to 2 kg of green grass per day, so the quality of this natural feed on the pasture must be high. Bad grass from dry or swampy fields, as well as tall grass, will not be suitable for birds. Here is a list of grasses that geese prefer:

• bindweed;
• sorrel;
• dandelion;
• yarrow;
• nettle;
• sow thistle, etc.

A shelter should be arranged to allow birds to hide from the heat of the afternoon.

If there is absolutely no way to dig a pond on your site, use a trick and buy a spacious children's pool with low sides for the geese.

Feeding

Oviposition in geese is short. To get the most out of it, give your geese complete rest and intensive feeding.

The ration in winter for one head is 150 g of grain-flour forage, 100 g of legumes, 400-500 g of root club crops. Add chopped dry and steamed hay and mineral additives to the list: chalk, gravel, etc. You can feed the bird with mashed potatoes made from carrots, potatoes and hay. In the evening, feed your geese with grain free from other foods.

During the period of laying eggs, the daily food rate of geese increases by 100 g of grain-flour fodder and 30 g of fodder of animal origin - milk and cottage cheese. If laying hens cannot cope with the increased food ration, reduce it by cutting back root clubs.

One month before the start of the breeding season, males should be fed. Sprouted oats are perfect, in a proportion of + 100 g per bird.

It is necessary to give clean water both in summer and in winter, despite the fact that in the cold geese will eat snow.

Obtaining offspring

The egg-laying season for geese begins at the end of February. The process begins with 1-2 eggs, next month, with proper feeding and the comfort of the bird, up to 10 eggs are laid, in April there are up to 9 eggs and 5 in May.

Season preparation begins in early February. Nests are set on the floor, one for two females. Standard roosts should be 50 cm wide and 75 cm long. The front part should not exceed 50 cm, the back - 75 cm. It is best to separate the nests from each other so that the birds do not fight among themselves and do not damage the eggs.

The litter usually occurs in the morning. After the hens have gone for a walk, eggs must be removed from the perches and stored at a temperature of 12 ° C.

Let's summarize

No wonder the goose is a generally recognized favorite of poultry farmers. Resistant to any climate, unpretentious in food and care, it gives much more than it was invested in. It doesn't matter whether for sale or for food, it is very profitable to breed geese.

Breeding chickens

The chicken has long been the heroine of almost all Russian fairy tales. This is because even in the past years, keeping chickens was simple and very profitable. It is chicken meat that is used in our country every day and on holidays. It is prepared by hospitable housewives, slimming models, and athletes. And fried eggs from two eggs have long been a traditional breakfast all over the world.

Choosing a breed

Let's move on to listing the most popular chicken breeds. They are distinguished primarily by egg production.

Lohmann Brown

Chickens with brown plumage, whose egg production period lasts as much as 80 weeks. More than 300 eggs are produced per year.

Russian white

As the name implies, these chickens have elegant white plumage. The egg production of this variety is about 200 eggs per year. The chickens themselves grow dense, with tender meat. Suitable for both mass and private breeding.

Hisex

High line

They produce about 350 eggs a year, which is an amazing result. They perfectly acclimatize and adapt to any conditions of detention.

Kuchinskaya

Meat breed, chickens can weigh up to 3 kg. Egg production is approximately 220 pieces per year.

Isa Brown

The weight of one egg produced by a hen of this species can exceed 63 g. Productivity is 320 eggs per year.

Conditions of detention

The construction and equipment of a chicken coop will not require large financial investments. You can build a bird house with your own hands using boards, beams, cinder blocks, etc. Do not forget to insulate it before the winter season and install a stove inside so that the chickens continue to lay in the winter.

The height of the room in which the birds will live should not exceed two meters. Ventilation and a source of natural light, as well as lamps for artificial lighting, are required to compensate the chickens with daylight hours in winter conditions. Inside, it must be cool in summer and warm in winter, otherwise the birds can get sick.

It is necessary to regularly clean the premises, replace the litter on the floor and in perches. You can cover the floor with moss peat, shavings or sawdust of coniferous trees, as well as straw.

The entrance to the chicken coop should be located on the east or southeast side. Inside, the structure should be equipped with nests and common perches, as well as feeders and drinkers. There is one egg-laying area for every four hens.

Feeding chickens

The easiest way to save yourself the hassle of organizing poultry feeding is to buy ready-made feed. However, it costs money and it may stop budding poultry farmers. In this case, the optimal diet for one bird will consist of corn, carrots, potatoes, millet, bone meal, grass, and mineral additives such as shells, sand, and gravel. A laying hen eats only 120 g of feed per day. If you personally take on the preparation of the leaf and herbal part of the diet, as well as purchase grain products according to wholesale prices, then only 35-40 rubles will be spent on one chicken per month.

Rearing and diet of offspring

Chickens are the few poultry that have a developed parental instinct, so they are excellent for natural incubation. Chicks can also be raised in an incubator, after hatching, by transplanting them into a makeshift aviary - a large, hard box illuminated by a heating lamp.

The menu for babies should consist of fortified foods. In the morning, you should give the protein of boiled eggs, crushed shells, chopped green onions and wheat, mixing it all together.

In the evening, mix the cottage cheese with kefir and put it in the troughs along with the river sand, which acts as a mineral additive.

Shells - a mineral supplement for chickens

Let's summarize

Breeding chickens requires the least material costs throughout the entire process and pays off with a large number of eggs and healthy chicken meat. Beginners should give their preference to these particular birds.

Turkey breeding

Turkey meat is becoming more and more popular in the health food market. Breeding this bird species is considered very profitable today.

Choosing a breed

Usually, the choice of the breed is carried out after all the characteristics of the location of the future turkey poultry, such as the climatic features of the region, are known. However, there is a list of turkey varieties that are most profitable to breed.

Big 6

Highly productive beef breed, gaining weight much faster than other varieties. The weight of an adult male is approximately 19 kg, and that of a female is 11 kg.

Bronze broad-breasted

Very suitable for breeding for meat, the weight of turkeys reaches 15 kg, turkeys - 9 kg. The downside of this breed is its complete inability to graze food, since it was bred to be kept inside the poultry house. It is characterized by high fertility - up to 120 eggs per year.

North Caucasian bronze

suitable for pasture feeding. The weight of males is 14 kg, females are about 10 kg. Lowered egg production - up to 80 eggs.

White broad-breasted

It quickly acclimatizes in any conditions, egg production is maintained at 120 eggs per year. One of the most profitable breeds, as turkeys reach up to 25 kg. live weight, females remain at 10 kg.

Cross Big 6

A heavy, beefy breed characterized by instant growth. It is bred and bought for delicious and nutritious dietary meat. A negative feature is the need for artificial insemination of birds for breeding this species.

Breeding chicks

The turkey house should be spacious, equipped with straw nests, the width and length of which are 40 cm. There are about 15 eggs per female, so there should be enough space.

The hatched chicks must be immediately drunk with boiled water with the addition of green tea and sugar in order to increase immunity. This solution replaces water for the first four days of life, then it is introduced into the diet.

Young turkeys should be constantly with the light on, which should be gradually reduced by 30 minutes so that by 20 days of life they have enough 15 days of light. The temperature should not be high, but also too low, as chicks are highly susceptible to colds.

Because turkeys are characterized by quick dial weight, it is better to spend money and purchase compound feed for them, which already includes vitamins, amino acids and minerals. However, to save money, you can feed the bird with a mixture of corn, barley and bran, as well as cottage cheese, carrots and even fish giblets. Dry yeast can be added to saturate food with vitamin A. The presence of mineral additives is required, which can be played by ordinary chalk.

Conditions of detention

Turkeys are willful birds and should not be kept with chickens, geese or ducks at a young age. In the southern regions, turkeys can be grown without a special room, since they are very resistant to weather changes, but in the northern regions, an insulated structure is required.

The enclosures for walking turkeys are fenced off with metal mesh or any other material. Inside the turkey house, feeders and drinkers are installed, preferably vacuum ones. Temperature regime at 27 degrees is provided either naturally or with the help of special heaters.

Drinkers should be rinsed several times a day, avoiding heating the water, which should remain cool and clean. Also, the poultry house itself must be constantly kept clean, otherwise the development of infections cannot be avoided.

An important point is adherence to the feeding regime for turkeys and turkeys. Food is served 4-7 times a day at the same time. This schedule significantly affects egg production and weight gain.

Let's summarize

Breeding of turkeys is carried out for the purpose of obtaining and selling meat, but eggs and chicks can also be sold. Caring for this bird is not as easy as for others, so experienced poultry breeders should opt for it.

Video - How to breed and keep turkeys

Now that you have learned about the peculiarities of breeding the most popular species of birds, you can get down to work fully armed and achieve real success.