How to Raise Chickens Under the Trees? A Full Breakdown of the Technical Implementation Plan

Raising chickens under the trees uses traditional chicken-raising methods combined with modern scientific feeding techniques, making full use of understory resources (insects) to raise chickens and obtain low-cost, environmentally friendly, green poultry products. Let's take a look at the technical implementation plan for raising chickens under the trees.

1. Building chicken coops in the woodland

Choose a spot that is well ventilated, sunny, and has good drainage, where transport and disease-control conditions all meet the requirements, where the surrounding trees grow well, and where there is a clearing 10-20 m long and 1.5-6 m wide in the middle. Use bamboo, wood, plastic film and other woodland materials to build a simple shed that is easy to dismantle and easy to move; its construction can use locally available materials.

1. Use adobe, bricks, tar paper, wheat straw or wooden strips to build a frame 10 m long, 1.5 m wide and 2 m high, and open a door of about 1 m in the middle.

2. Use old plastic woven bags and thick black plastic film to enclose and cover the sides and top, and secure them.

3. Lay the roosting bed with bamboo strips, wooden strips or branches spaced 2 cm apart, at a height of 30 cm above the ground.

Each shed can house 300 chickens. One to several sheds can be built according to the number raised, and a management room and a feed-mixing room should be set up nearby.

2. Selection of chicks and rearing techniques

Introduce 30-day-old temperature-acclimated meat-type crossbred or commercial-layer male chicks from a certified farm and put them directly into the woodland to be raised, or introduce newly hatched chicks from a hatchery and brood them until they are temperature-acclimated before putting them into the woodland for range rearing.

Brooding should pay attention to the following requirements:

First, suitable temperature. Generally, the temperature in the first week of brooding is required to be 32-35°C, then drop by 2-3°C each week until it reaches 20-22°C. The relative humidity is about 60%, higher in the early stage and lower in the later stage.

Second, good ventilation. On warm days at noon, windows can be opened for ventilation. When changing the air, prevent cold drafts from striking the chicks to avoid catching cold.

Third, suitable density and group size. Generally, for floor rearing, 20-25 birds per sq m at 0-4 weeks of age, and 10-19 birds at 5-7 weeks of age. Generally, chick groups should not be too large; 200-300 birds is appropriate.

Fourth, correct lighting. For the first 3 days after the chicks enter the house, provide 24-hour lighting, then gradually reduce it. From 4-7 days of age, maintain 15 hours, and from the second week onward, no less than 8 hours per day. The light intensity should be 0.6 watts per sq m, with the bulbs about 2 m above the ground.

Fifth, use complete compound feed. You can buy complete broiler-chick starter feed produced by a certified feed manufacturer and feed it directly, or buy concentrated feed or premix and mix it according to the instructions before feeding.

Sixth, feed carefully. Within 3 hours after the chicks enter the house, let them freely drink 5% sugar water, and add potassium permanganate at a ratio of 1 in 10,000; the water temperature should be 17-18°C. Do this once in the morning and once in the evening, and afterward supply warm boiled water continuously. The starter feed should be fine in particle size and mixed and fed fresh. At 0-7 days of age, feed 6-8 times a day; after 7 days of age, feed 4-6 times a day, adding little but often.

3. Feeding methods for chickens in the woodland:

Generally, between Qingming and Guyu, that is, in mid-April, let the chickens enter the woodland, and have them leave before the end of October (after the last batch of chickens has been handled), which is more suitable. In this way, if you brood the chicks yourself, you should introduce the chicks in March, and at 20-30 days of age they can gradually be taken off heat and enter the woodland. The stocking density should be sparse rather than dense. Generally, no more than 100 birds per mu. To enable the chickens to reach a market weight of more than 2 kg at 100-120 days of age, complete feed must be supplied along with range rearing. Reference formula (%): corn 51.7, wheat bran 12.0, soybean meal 15.0, flaxseed oil residue 8.0, bone meal 3.0, peas 10.0, salt 0.3. During the range-rearing period, feeding should follow the principle of "less in the morning, a moderate amount in the evening." At the same time, considering the poor foraging ability of young chicks, add feed as appropriate. Feed little but often, and do not leave leftover feed in the trough. When range rearing, pay attention to dividing the chickens into groups by strength and releasing them in batches. The stocking scale should preferably be 800-1000 birds per group (that is, the number of chickens raised in 3 sheds). If the scale is too large, it is not easy to manage; if too small, costs are high and returns are low. Blow a whistle before each feeding so that the chickens develop the habit of eating when the whistle is blown. Before starting range rearing, add a small amount of green feed to the feed, so as to avoid stress when the chickens suddenly eat green feed while grazing. Then choose clear, warm weather for a trial release, starting with a shorter time and gradually extending it later, so that the chickens slowly adapt to range rearing. The grazing site should go from near to far, and the range should be expanded gradually, but the activity range of the grazing chickens should not be too large, so as to improve the feed utilization rate of the chickens. Silk-net fencing can be used to separate them, which both limits the chickens' range of activity, makes it easy to rotate grazing in different places, and prevents the chickens from escaping and wild animals from intruding. During grazing, a dedicated person should be responsible and pay close attention to the weather. If the weather changes suddenly, the chickens should be driven back to the shed in time. In summer, range rearing should be done more in the morning and evening, and at noon the chickens should rest in the shade of the trees or be driven back to the shed. Do not graze them for long periods under the blazing sun to prevent heatstroke.

4. Disease prevention and disinfection techniques for chickens in the woodland

You must not neglect disease prevention just because woodland range rearing is isolated from other farms, has good air circulation, and has less contamination. A scientific immunization program must also be formulated, specifically: inject Marek's vaccine at 1 day of age; at 9 days of age, use Newcastle disease strain II plus infectious bronchitis H120 for nasal drops; at 14 days of age, drink water with 2 times the dose of bursal disease vaccine; at 25 days of age, inject Newcastle disease oil vaccine; at 45 days of age, drink water with 2 times the dose of bursal disease vaccine for booster immunization. Implement comprehensive immunization for each batch of chickens, adopt an all-in-all-out rearing method, and thoroughly disinfect after each batch of chickens is sold. Disinfect and treat the cleared chicken manure in a centralized way.

5. Precautions for raising chickens in the woodland

Raising chickens in the woodland looks simple and labor-saving, but scientific feeding and management are still very important.

First, personnel arrangements should be fully considered. When a dedicated person cannot be assigned, it must be determined who is mainly responsible, so as to clarify responsibility. During range rearing, patrols and observation should be strengthened. Sick and weak chickens that move slowly and lag behind, stay alone in a corner, and look listless should be isolated and treated in time.

Second, plan carefully and thoroughly, and make full preparations. Estimate the number to be raised according to the woodland area, arrange the rearing intervals and batches, and prepare the necessary drinking and feeding utensils and feed, so as to have a clear picture in mind and avoid being passive and making do at the last minute.

Third, calculate costs at all times and stop while you are ahead. Although woodland range rearing allows the chickens to eat insects and grass and other foods, they still mainly rely on feed, so feed still accounts for a considerable proportion of costs. When the proportion of costs in the live chicken price is relatively low, consider selling early.

Prospects for raising chickens in the woodland

Woodland chickens are deeply welcomed by consumers because they mainly eat wild food, move extensively, get sufficient light, and are raised for a longer time. They have a strong and beautiful body shape, firm and resilient meat, an appropriate degree of fat deposition, fine and tender quality, and a fresh and pure taste, and they have broad market prospects.

Raising chickens under the trees both saves feed costs and helps remove pests and build soil in the plantation, increasing the output value per unit area of land. It is a development approach of ecological recycling, combining planting and raising, and harmony between forestry and animal husbandry. Therefore, woodland chickens are not only a high-quality product, but also a breeding philosophy and production method; in essence, they are "high quality, high efficiency, ecological, and safe."