Key Technical Points for Free-Range Mountain Rearing of Native Chickens

The native chicken is a type of poultry. It differs from caged broiler chickens. Among them, “free-range native chickens raised on hillsides” are the best; the rooster has a large red comb and is fierce and combative, while the hen's comb is extremely small. Native chickens are also called caoji or benji, referring to meat chickens raised freely in mountain forests, woodlands, and orchards. They have characteristics such as tolerance of coarse feed, strong broodiness, and strong disease resistance, and their meat is delicious. Their eggs sell very well in urban and rural markets, and the egg price is also higher than that of ordinary eggs, with high nutritional value. The chicken meat tastes delicious, the egg quality is excellent, and it is rich in nutrients, with broad market demand prospects. Moreover, because most are raised freely in woodlands or orchards, they are closer to the requirements of green environmental protection, and are therefore more favored by consumers·. For farmers with certain conditions, the cost of raising caiji is relatively low, making it suitable for household breeding, and the rearing cycle is relatively long, generally about 6 months to reach adulthood. So how should native chickens be raised freely on mountain land? Below we will introduce this.

1. Preparatory work before feeding:

1. Site selection: The chicken farm should choose grassland, river valleys, forest land, orchards, and other sunny locations with high and dry terrain, sufficient water sources, convenient drainage, and a quiet environment.

2. Chicken coop construction: Build the chicken coop on a relatively high and flat place in the forest land. The chicken coop can use a bamboo and wood frame, with a roof made of asphalt felt (asbestos tiles or nylon cloth), a shed height of 2.5 m, enclosed with nylon netting or wire netting (switch to plastic sheeting in winter for warmth). Inside the coop, use bamboo and wood to build a raised platform about 0.3 m above the ground, so that the chickens are separated from the ground. The size of the chicken coop is determined by the number raised, generally 15-20 birds per sq m is suitable, mainly used for perching at night and sheltering from rain on windy and rainy days.

2. Selection of chick breeds

In order to block the invasion of external diseases, on-site inspections should be carried out before selecting chicks. As far as possible, transport chicks from hatcheries in local chicken farms with no history of infectious diseases, selecting breeding farms with complete pedigree registration of breeding chickens, standardized management, and a sound epidemic prevention system. For chicken breeds, excellent local breeds with strong stress resistance can be selected, such as Sanhuang chickens, partridge chickens, Leghorn chickens, etc.

3. Rearing of chicks

1. Timely first feeding and drinking water: Chicks are first raised indoors. One to two hours after the chicks enter the coop, they can be given drinking water. You can add 5% glucose and multivitamins to the water, or prepare a 0.01% potassium permanganate solution for drinking, to enhance the chickens' physique, alleviate stress reactions, and facilitate the discharge of meconium. The water temperature should generally be close to the coop temperature (20-22°C). Chicks generally begin feeding 24 hours after hatching. At first they can be fed broken rice, and after 3 days of age they are switched to complete pellet feed.

2. Control the temperature inside the chicken coop: Newly hatched chicks require a temperature of 35°C (referring to the temperature at the same height as the chickens' backs), then decrease by 1°C every 5 days, and at 35-42 days of age finally reduce the temperature to 20-22°C. While keeping warm, ventilation is also needed. Commonly used warming methods include cardboard boxes, heated brick beds (kang), brooding cages, etc. The heated brick bed brooding method is: build walls with bricks on the kang, make arches with bamboo strips, with a shed height of 0.8-1.0 m, cover the surroundings with plastic film to make a simple small greenhouse, spread short wheat straw, dry sawdust, etc. on the kang, and replace the bedding on the kang once every 2-3 days.

3. Appropriate lighting: One-day-old chicks receive 23 hours of light (the bulb should not be too large; one 15-25W bulb per kang is enough), from 2 to 15 days of age reduce by 1 hour per day, and after 16 days of age no supplementary lighting is needed.

4. Appropriate rearing density in the coop: For chicks 0-10 days old, 40-50 birds per sq m; 10-20 days old, 30-40 birds; 20-30 days old, 20-30 birds; at 42 days of age, 20 birds per sq m.

5. Pay attention to ventilation: The chicken coop must be ventilated. It can ensure enough oxygen for the chickens, but drafts must be prevented.

6. Regularly feed insoluble grit. Grit can enhance the chickens' digestive function and is beneficial to the chickens' growth and development.

4. Time and density of free-range rearing:

After 20 days of indoor rearing, free-range rearing can begin on sunny days. In the first few days, release them for 2-4 hours per day, then gradually extend the time. In summer at 30 days of age, in spring and autumn at 35 days of age, and in winter at 45 days of age, they can be transferred to outdoor rearing. When first entering the forest land, use nylon netting to limit them to a small area, then gradually expand. It is best to use silk net fencing for rotational grazing by zones, changing to a new place after one week of grazing; 100-150 birds per mu is sufficient.

5. Feeding management:

At the chick stage, use complete-price feed. In the first week of age, feed 6 times per day; in the second week of age, 5 times per day; at 3-4 weeks of age, 4 times per day; at 5-6 weeks of age, 3 times per day; after the 7th week, gradually transition to adult chicken feed and reduce the feeding amount. After the first week of free-range rearing, feed once each in the morning and evening; in the second week, feed once each evening. For higher-quality, fast-growing native chickens, after 5 weeks of age they can gradually be switched to grains, corn, and other coarse cereals.

6. Disease prevention and control

1. Epidemic prevention: At 1 day of age, chicks are injected subcutaneously with Marek's vaccine; at 5-7 days of age, use infectious bronchitis vaccine by eye drop or nasal drop; at 10 days of age, use infectious bursal disease vaccine in drinking water; at 12-15 days of age, use Newcastle disease strain II or strain IV vaccine for the first immunization; at 20 days of age, inject avian influenza vaccine intramuscularly in the breast or subcutaneously in the neck; at 30 days of age and 75 days of age, inoculate with fowl pox vaccine once each by subcutaneous prick; at 2 months of age, carry out the second Newcastle disease immunization. After vaccination, add Vc, Subu 14, amino acid glucose oral liquid, etc. to the feed or drinking water to enhance the immune effect.

2. Drug prevention: Pullorum disease in chickens is most likely to occur at 4-21 days of age. From the 3rd day, add drugs to the feed for prevention. Preventive drugs include penicillin, oxytetracycline, garlic juice, etc.; coccidiosis in chickens is likely to occur at 15-60 days of age. Keqiu powder, robenidine, penicillin, etc. can be added to drinking water, fed continuously for 5 days, then stopped for 2 days, and feeding can continue. In the middle and late stages of broiler rearing, as far as possible do not use synthetic drugs to prevent and treat diseases; use more Chinese herbal medicines and biological control to reduce and control drug residues in chicken meat.

7. Timely marketing: An appropriate rearing period is an important link in improving meat quality. If the rearing period is short, the meat has a high water content, insufficient accumulation of nutrients, low content of umami substances and aromatic substances, poor meat quality, and a taste that is not fresh, failing to meet the standard of high-quality native chickens. If the rearing period is too long, the muscle fibers are too old, and the rearing cost is too high, making it uneconomical. According to the growth physiology and nutrient accumulation characteristics of native chickens, as well as the characteristics that young roosters grow faster than hens and mature sexually earlier, small-type meat roosters are marketed at about 100 days and hens at 120 days; medium-type meat roosters are marketed at about 110 days and hens at 130 days. Marketed at this time, the chicken meat is tender and fresh, and it is the best period for the three factors of physique, quality, and cost.

8. Strengthen management

1. Handling of sick and dead chickens: If sick chickens are found, isolate them promptly; dead chickens should be buried deeply or burned immediately, and the site, tools, and items should be disinfected with 0.2-0.4% peracetic acid.

2. Chicken coop hygiene and disinfection: Tools and items inside the coop should be cleaned frequently and kept clean. Chicken manure inside the coop should be cleared once every half month, disinfected with 10%-20% quicklime water, and the chicken coop sealed with nylon cloth and fumigated with 40% formalin solution. After raising chickens in the same forest land for 2-3 years, change to another forest land, let the forest land naturally purify for more than 2 years, and raise chickens again after comprehensive disinfection.

3. Strictly prevent rodent damage or intrusion by other animals: Enclose forest land or grassland with wire netting, nylon netting, or bamboo fences to prevent chickens from escaping or wild animals from intruding.