Getting involved in the poultry business is easy when you know how to raise chickens. People also raise ducks but chickens are very common in the poultry business.
Raising chickens is not expensive which is why many people invest in poultry farming. Chicken feed, chicken coop shelter, and other expenses to raise chicken are cheap. Anyone can afford to raise chicken for meat or eggs.
Moreover, chickens are easy to feed and take care of. You don’t have to do any hard work to feed them nutritious food. You can choose them to feed grain, fruits, or vegetables. If you can’t afford separate food for chickens, you provide them left-overs.
In order to maintain the health of chickens, you need to give them a nutritious diet. Ensure that feed you are providing is full of vitamins and minerals. Also, chicken needs enough water to keep them hydrated.
Tips you need to know to raise chicken
1. Environment management
When you raise chicken, you have to raise them in a healthy environment. If you are raising chickens in a coop, you need to take care of certain aspects like temperature, relative humidity, ventilation, and lighting.
All these factors are necessary to raise healthy chickens. You should not compromise these factors while raising chicken for meat or eggs.
2. Sanitation
It is important to keep the environment clean when raising chicken. Allowing the chicken to stay in a clean place keep them healthy and productive. Ensure that the place you are raising chicken is sanitized.
Chickens can be easily infected by diseases if they are raised in a dirty environment, and this can result in a reduction in productivity. Young chicks are always at high health risks, so you need to take extra care to keep them healthy and help them grow.
3.Nutrition plan
Whether you are raising chicken for meat or eggs, you need to have a rough sketch of a nutrition plan. Making a nutrition plan will ensure that chickens are getting all the required nutrients to keep them healthy and productive.
The nutrition plan for broiler and layer chicken is different. If you are raising both broiler and layer chickens, you will need a separate nutrient plan and should feed them accordingly. To know the proper nutrition plan, you can consult an expert.
4. Build brooder
If you are getting baby chicks, you need to build a brooder. Ensure that your farm has a brooder before you get baby chicks. You will need to raise chicks in the brooder for about six weeks.
When building a brooder, don’t build it square corners. Make the corner of the brooder slightly curve to avoid chicks from being trap in the corner. You also need to ensure that the brooder is clean enough to raise chicken. And also, you should ensure that the brooder temperature is ninety degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Fresh and clean water
You should regularly clean water. Whether you are raising mature chickens or baby chicks, you need to ensure that you are giving them fresh and clean water.
It’s always better to replace dirty water with fresh water. Replace the water every morning so that chickens don’t have to drink dirty water to stay hydrated. Proving dirty water can attract disease, so it is necessary to provide clean and fresh water.
6. Feed
Quality feed is the priority. Don’t think of compromising on the quality of the feed. Giving chicken low-quality feed will directly affect the health of the chicken. And unhealthy chickens will not grow properly, and this will affect product quality.
To avoid feed wastage, you can mix feed with litter before providing it to chickens. If you are not sure how much feed to be mix in what litter quantity, you can take guidance from an expert.
7. Keep Stock
Having stock ensures that the chickens will never go hungry. Though keeping stock is a good way to raise chickens, but stocking a large quantity of feed is not.
Proving feedstock that is a store for a long time has shown a negative impact on the performance, which causes stress to the birds. It’s better not to have a higher stocking density of poultry feeds. Lowering the stock density can help in minimizing the challenge of raising chickens.
8. Vaccination
Vaccination prevents the chickens from getting infected by the diseases. You need to make sure that your chickens are vaccinated against diseases. You need to contact a vet to get your chicken vaccine.
And if one of your chickens is infected with a disease, ensure you separate it from other healthy chickens. Keeping healthy and sick chickens together can spread disease.
9. Regular monitoring
Chicken health is important when you are raising chicken. You regularly need to monitor your chicken if check if they are infected with the disease.
It would be much better if you take chicken for regular examination. Keeping a healthy track of the chicken ensures that you are raising healthy chicken.
