How to raise free-range chickens under trees so they grow fast? A detailed guide to scientific farming techniques

Chickens are a daily necessity for people, so raising chickens is a relatively good entrepreneurial project. There are many methods of raising chickens, and raising chickens under trees is currently a fairly popular one, and a method many people choose. There are also many techniques involved in raising chickens under trees; if the techniques are not mastered well, some losses may result.

Scientific techniques for free-range chicken farming under trees

1. Scientifically choose the site. When choosing a site before raising chickens, you cannot consider only convenient transportation while ignoring environmental conditions. Site selection for an under-tree farming operation must be careful; choose a location far from major roads, densely populated areas, farmers' markets, industrial zones, and so on, and choose a relatively quiet place with ample water and no pollution, sufficient winter sunlight, dense summer trees and large shade, no disturbance from rain in the rainy season, and a relatively high elevation. Relatively speaking, you likewise cannot choose a place that is too remote, inconvenient for transportation, or difficult for power supply and transport.

2. Scientifically build the chicken house. The chicken house for free-range chickens cannot simply be built casually or at random; the brooding house for free-range chickens is just as strict as the construction of a conventional chicken house and should be built according to standards. The chicken house generally faces south to suit China's geographical characteristics. The central beam of the chicken house is 2.8 m high, the front wall is 2.2 m high, the door is 1.8 m high, and the windows are 1.2 m high and 1 m wide. On the south wall, a 30 cm square air inlet must be left below each window, and a 25 cm diameter vent must be left at the corresponding central beam.

3. Scientifically and reasonably determine the stocking density. First, the stocking density must be reasonable; the development of any industry and the use of resources must be mutually beneficial and win-win. Stock 150-250 chickens per mu of woodland. If the density is too high, you often have to rely on feed, which loses the meaning of free-range raising; if the density is too low, it will likewise waste resources, and the ecological benefits will not be obvious.

4. Correct stocking and reasonable supplementary feeding. After the chicks are taken off heat, they should be released into the woodland to range. At night, when the flock returns to the house, they should be given appropriate supplementary feeding, because during the day insects and grass may be insufficient and leave the flock hungry, so as to supplement the lack of nutrition.

5. Train the chickens' two-point, one-line routine. Train the flock to return to the nest on time and go out to forage on time. In rain or snow, be sure to bring the flock back to the chicken house in time to prevent the weather from causing illness and death in the flock. Scientifically formulate an immunization program and carry out preventive work regularly.

How to raise free-range chickens so they grow fast

1. Temperature: 32C in the first week, then decrease by 3C each week until the temperature reaches natural temperature.

2. Light duration and intensity: in the first week, use a 60W incandescent lamp for 24h of light; in the second week, reduce it to 18h; in the third week, use the natural light duration as the standard, with no need for artificial light.

3. Drinking water and first feeding for chicks. The first drink after the chicks hatch is "first drinking." You can add 10% glucose or 8% brown sugar water to their drinking water, and also add vitamins, to strengthen their constitution and disease resistance. The first feeding after the chicks hatch is "first feeding." Only 3h after the chicks' "first drinking" may "first feeding" begin. The amount fed per bird is 4-59 and gradually increased; it is best to give small amounts and add frequently, and feeding 6-8 times per day is appropriate.

4. Stocking. At the beginning of stocking, chicks need artificial training. You can train them to forage on their own by scattering feed, herding them by hand, blowing a whistle, and so on. After about 10d of training, the flock will form a conditioned reflex and forage freely.

Chicken feed formulas

1. (0-5 weeks of age): ① fish meal 6%, soybean meal 24.7%, wheat bran 3%, corn 61.6%, wheat middlings 1.5%, additives 3.2% (buy ready-made ones on the market and just add and mix evenly. They contain vitamins; trace elements such as copper, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, manganese, cobalt, etc.; calcium, salt; amino acids, etc.).

2. Formula for over 5 weeks of age: fish meal 8%, soybean meal 19%, wheat bran 2.5%, corn 67%, oil residue 0.5%, additives 3%, as above.

3. Formula for the laying period: fish meal 3%, soybean meal 12%, wheat bran 7.8%, corn 46.1%, rice bran 2%, distillers' grains 4%, wheat middlings 22.1%, additives 3%.

Disease prevention and control work for raising chickens

1. Coccidiosis. Affected chickens are listless, have ruffled feathers, bloody droppings, and sporadic deaths. Effective treatment can be carried out by keeping the chicken house dry and ventilated, promptly removing damp litter and droppings, and mixing coccidiostat powder into the feed.

2. Pullorum disease. Affected chickens have drooping wings, ruffled feathers, a retracted head and neck, do not eat or move, and have white pasty droppings with a foul odor that stick around the vent and form clumps, causing the chickens to die from weakness and exhaustion. It can be treated with ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and the like.

3. Other diseases. For avian influenza in chickens, prevention can be carried out by injecting highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccine; for Newcastle disease in chickens, Newcastle disease vaccine II can be added to their drinking water or given by spray immunization, and after 2 months Newcastle disease vaccine strain I can be injected; for infectious bursal disease in chickens, the flock can be injected with infectious bursal disease vaccine.

When raising chickens under trees, you must do a good job of site selection, building the chicken shed, feeding density, and so on. When raising chickens under trees, it is all free-range style. If you want them to grow fast, you must teach them how to return home, and you also need to do a good job with feed ratios and carry out timely disease prevention and control, so as to ensure their growth.