What conditions are needed for brooding partridges? A detailed explanation of brooding methods

The partridge (scientific name: Francolinus pintadeanus), also known as the Chinese francolin, is a species of bird. Its body shape resembles a chicken but is smaller. Its feathers are mostly a mix of black and white, with the eye-like white spots on the back, chest and belly being especially prominent. An adult partridge has a total length of about 30 cm and a body weight of about 300 grams. It mostly lives in grassy slopes and shrub thickets in hilly and mountainous areas. Male partridges are aggressive and have a distinctive call, which some people imitate as “xing bu de ye ge ge”. Partridges feed on grains, beans and insects. They breed between March and June, building nests in grass or shrub thickets, laying 3 to 6 eggs per clutch, sometimes seven or eight. The eggs are pear-shaped and white or milky white. Partridge meat tastes better than pheasant and is a top-quality game meat. In addition, it can also be kept as a fighting bird. It is distributed in Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Brooding partridges is very important; whether partridge rearing succeeds or not depends on brooding. So how is partridge brooding carried out? What conditions are needed?

What are the brooding methods for partridges:

For floor brooding, choose a house sheltered from the wind and facing the sun as the brooding house. It is best to have a cement floor, which can prevent rats and keep warm, and is easy to clean and disinfect, but sawdust or rice husks should be used as litter.

For cage brooding, ordinary chicken-raising cages can be used, with 1x1 cm wire mesh on the sides and top, and 0.5 x 0.5 cm wire mesh on the bottom.

Conditions for brooding partridges:

1. Temperature. During the brooding period, temperature regulation should be gradual, whether lowering or raising it, and must never fluctuate sharply or be unevenly hot and cold.

l) The effect of temperature on the development of partridge chicks: Temperature is the key condition for brooding partridges. Newly hatched partridges still have incomplete thermoregulatory function. At the same time, they are small, eat little, have relatively weak digestive function, and produce little heat, while their surface heat loss per unit body weight is large. Therefore, an important feature and key link in the management of partridges during the brooding period is the need for a relatively high brooding temperature and a long period of heat preservation. Giving newly hatched partridge chicks a suitable temperature can promote the absorption of the yolk, good closure of the navel, healthy growth, and effectively increase the survival rate. Improper high and low temperatures are triggers for disease and death in partridges, and are even direct causes of death. Especially within 5 days after hatching, when the chicks are at the "gate of hell", special attention must be paid to heat preservation. If heat preservation work is neglected, it is very easy for partridge chicks to become ill, or even die, with mortality reaching 50%, or even the whole flock being wiped out.

 2) Temperature requirements: Partridge chicks at 1 to 5 days of age require an environmental temperature of 37 to 36°C, then lower by 1°C every 4 days, after 10 days of age lower by 1°C every 3 days, from full 3 weeks of age lower by 1°C every two days, from full 4 weeks of age lower by 1°C every day, until the brooding temperature is the same as the ambient temperature, at which point heating can be stopped. Alternatively, after the brooding temperature drops to 18°C, heating can basically be stopped, and heating for warmth is only carried out when the temperature is below 18°C in cloudy and rainy weather and similar conditions. The temperature requirements of partridges at each week of age are shown in Table 12. The time for stopping heating is generally 5 weeks; if the weather is good, it can be appropriately earlier in summer, and appropriately later in winter.

 3) Temperature judgment: whether the temperature suits the physiological needs of partridge chicks. ① Look at the thermometer: For net-bed or multi-tier cage brooding, the thermometer should be hung 5 cm above the bed net or bottom net. For multi-tier cages, each tier of cages should have a thermometer, and the temperature difference between tiers should be within ±0.5°C. For brooding with a brooder and other floor brooding methods, the thermometer should be 50 cm from the heat source and 5 cm above the ground. ② Look at the partridges: When the temperature is suitable, partridge chicks are lively and active, evenly distributed in the brooder and other brooding environment, have a good appetite, drink an appropriate amount of water, and have smooth, neat feathers; when resting, they quietly gather around the heat source without crowding each other, resting with head, neck and both legs stretched out and leaning against each other, and when viewed from above, several or a dozen partridges form a plum-blossom shape with their heads facing the center of the heat source. When the temperature is too high, partridge chicks breathe with their mouths open, pant, spread their wings, stay away from the heat source, appear listless, scramble to drink water, reduce feed intake, produce looser droppings, and are prone to respiratory diseases or bad habits such as feather pecking, toe pecking and vent pecking. If the brooder is narrow and the partridges have nowhere to escape, heat stroke can easily occur, even causing death. If the temperature is too low, partridge chicks gather near the heat source, hunch their necks, are not very active, and move slowly even when active, their feathers stand up, appetite decreases, and water intake decreases; when resting, they crowd near the heat source and pile up, with the partridge chicks on the outer edge pushing toward the middle, and the crowding and pressing often injure or kill the partridges.

4) Heating tools. ① Brooder umbrella warming: that is, a brooding umbrella, composed of a heat source and an umbrella. The umbrella can be made of galvanized thin iron sheet, cardboard or wooden boards, and can be hanging or standing. The heat source generally uses electric heating wire, or specially made infrared heating tubes or infrared bulbs can be used. The function of the umbrella is to spread the heat source into the warming area and reduce heat loss to the surrounding space. The size of the umbrella can be determined as needed; generally the diameter of the umbrella is 1 to 15 m. Using a 1.6 kW electric heating wire as a heat source can provide warmth for 300 to 500 small partridges. A lamp should be hung inside the umbrella to attract the partridge chicks so that they do not stay away from the warm area. ② Kang flue warming: using an underground flue to brood chicks means burying the flue underground, with the kang flue connected to the stove outside the brooding room. Attention should be paid to air convection in the brooding room; it must not be too low, narrow and stuffy. The kang flue releases heat slowly, keeps warm for a long time, and consumes little energy. Heat rises from the ground, and the ground and litter should be warm and dry, which helps the partridges lie down and rest, and the incidence of coccidiosis is relatively low. Fuels can include firewood, sawdust, coal, etc. The flue design must be reasonable, otherwise it can easily cause the litter to burn and start a fire. ③ Infrared lamp warming: Infrared lamps emit a relatively large amount of heat and can kill pathogenic bacteria, which is beneficial to the health of partridge chicks. They are simple and suitable, and in southern regions, infrared lamps are generally used as heating tools. When in use, hang them 30 cm above the ground and gradually raise them as the age of the partridge chicks increases. A 250-watt infrared lamp generally manages about 300 to 400 partridge chicks, but infrared lamps are not durable, so it is best to use two as a group and alternate them within 24 hours. Be careful not to install drinking troughs under infrared lamps, because small partridges are very mischievous and will splash water droplets onto the infrared lamp heat source by flapping their wings and shaking their heads, causing it to burst. 2. Humidity. The characteristic of partridge chicks is that they fear dampness but not dryness, and like a dry environment. When partridge chicks have just hatched, the yolk has not been fully absorbed, and relatively high humidity is beneficial for the chicks to absorb and utilize the yolk. Therefore, for partridges at 1 to 3 days of age, the relative air humidity should be kept at 70% to 65%, at 4 to 7 days of age at 65% to 60%, and afterward it should be kept between 55% and 60%, making the brooding environment relatively dry, which is beneficial to the growth of the chicks. 3. Lighting. The duration and intensity of light play a great role not only for partridge chicks but throughout their entire lives (already mentioned many times above). Generally speaking, partridge chicks within 1 to 6 days can receive continuous light for 23 hours per day, or full-day light can be implemented. If sunlight is insufficient, artificial supplemental lighting can be used (see Figure 37), and artificial lighting can be combined with heat-preservation lamps. At 2 to 3 weeks of age, provide 16 to 18 hours of light per day, then gradually reduce the lighting time until only natural light is used, with lights turned on in the morning and evening for feeding. Insufficient light delays the time for partridges to reach sexual maturity and begin laying. Light intensity is generally a 2 to 3 watt bulb per square meter. For meat-type partridges, 20 hours of light per day can be used, with a 2 watt bulb per square meter. See Table 14 for specific requirements. Note that the light intensity in the brooding house should be uniform and consistent, and attention should be paid to controlling light intensity. When light is weaker, partridge chicks are quiet, docile, less active, and grow faster. When light is stronger, partridge chicks appear nervous, sensitive and easily startled as a flock, are very active, and are prone to bad habits such as fighting each other, feather pecking, toe pecking and vent pecking. Therefore, during the brooding period there should be light, but attention should also be paid to ensuring that light intensity is not too high. In addition, yellow light and blue light can also easily cause bad habits in partridges, while orange-yellow, red and green light do not easily cause bad habits in partridges. Therefore, attention should be paid to the nature of the light emitted by the light source. 4. Density. The suitable density for brooding partridges varies with their age in days and the brooding method. Generally speaking, partridges at 1 to 10 days of age can be housed at 80 per square meter, partridges from 10 days to 4 weeks of age at a rearing density of 50 per square meter, and those from 4 to 13 weeks of age at 25 per square meter. Younger ages can be denser, while older ages should be sparser. It can be denser in winter, and sparser in summer and when the environmental temperature is higher. For indoor floor brooding, if a brooder is used for heating, then partridge chicks within 1 week of age can be housed at 150 per square meter under the brooder umbrella; if heating is provided by radiator, infrared lamp, underground flue, etc., then the effective area of the brooding room can house 40 per square meter. For net-floor brooding and brooding box rearing, 70 to 80 per square meter can be housed. For cage rearing, 0 to 1 week of age 70 per square meter; 1 to 4 weeks 50 per square meter; 4 to 12 weeks of age 25 per square meter. 5. Ventilation and air exchange. During the brooding period, the indoor temperature is high, the rearing density is high, partridge chicks grow quickly, have vigorous metabolism and breathe quickly, so they need enough fresh air. In addition, the feces and litter in the house ferment due to moisture and often give off large amounts of ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, polluting the indoor air. During brooding, people often emphasize heat preservation and neglect ventilation and air exchange, especially inexperienced people, who fear the temperature will not be reached and therefore seal the brooding room and brooding box, so polluted air cannot be discharged and fresh air cannot enter, seriously affecting the health of partridge chicks and making them susceptible to respiratory diseases, even causing death. Therefore, during brooding, it is necessary both to keep warm and to pay attention to ventilation and air exchange to maintain fresh air. On the premise of ensuring a certain temperature, the doors and windows of the brooding room should be appropriately opened to ventilate and exchange air, increase fresh indoor air, and discharge carbon dioxide, ammonia and other harmful gases. Generally, it is suitable if a person entering the brooding house does not feel stuffy and does not smell pungent odors. In winter brooding and the early brooding period (before 3 weeks of age), methods such as installing air scoops (covered with cloth curtains) or gauze air windows in the brooding house can be used so that cold air gradually warms and then flows into the room. After 3 weeks of age, choose a sunny, warm and windless noon to open windows for ventilation. When ventilating, be careful to avoid cold air blowing directly onto the partridge chicks and causing them to catch cold. Also avoid drafts. The ventilation holes in the brooding box should be opened frequently for air exchange, especially at night. 6. A good environment. Partridge chicks are more sensitive to environmental stimuli than poultry, so attention should be paid to keeping the brooding environment quiet, and management work should be regular. Mechanical and rhythmic sounds are easy for partridge chicks to get used to; irregular sounds will startle the partridges, affect feeding and resting, and even cause the flock of chicks to become restless and crowd each other, causing death. Visits and entry by unrelated personnel are not allowed in the brooding house, otherwise it not only disturbs the rest of the partridge chicks and may even cause restlessness, but also easily brings in infectious diseases.

Methods for brooding partridges:

Prepare the brooding cages and house. Before the chicks arrive, thoroughly clean, wash and disinfect the inside and outside of the brooding room and the equipment. After washing iron tools, disinfect them with a burning blowtorch; after thoroughly cleaning and rinsing the house, spray the walls and floor of the brooding room with 2% caustic soda or Baidusha and other solutions; for small bed-net brooding in the brooding room, arrange the beds well. For floor brooding, spread fine sand or chopped straw and stalks, seal the doors and windows, and fumigate and disinfect for 24 hours, using 20 mL of formalin plus 14 g of potassium permanganate per cubic meter of space; wash and soak feeding utensils and drinking utensils with 0.5% potassium permanganate solution for 2 hours, then rinse with clean water and place them in the brooding room for later use. Before the chicks arrive, adjust the temperature of the brooding room. It is best to use a combination of a coal stove and an electric thermostatic control system for heating. This saves energy and avoids temperature fluctuations. Before the chicks arrive, first raise the temperature of the brooding room to 39-40°C and keep it stable for 3 days; when the chicks arrive, adjust the temperature to 35-36°C. When multiple clutches of partridge chicks are moved into the brooding room at the same time, the brooding room can be divided into several compartments with cardboard, with one clutch placed in each compartment.

Timely drinking and starting to feed

Provide water in a timely manner.

Within 12 to 24 hours after hatching, partridge chicks should drink water first and then start feeding. Putting colored stones in the water trough can entice the partridges to drink. Many newly hatched partridge chicks do not know how to drink and need training. The method is to hold a robust chick, dip its beak into the water trough, wet it with water, and after training several times, it will drink by itself. After training some chicks this way, the other chicks will imitate them and drink. Drinking water can be combined with disease prevention and control or nutritional supplementation to strengthen the body and resist disease. Within 3 days of age, give warm boiled water at about 36°C, with appropriate drugs added, such as 0.01% potassium permanganate, 0.02% oxytetracycline, etc.; for chicks from 1 to 20 days of age, add 5% glucose or brown sugar, a small amount of compound vitamin B, cod liver oil, Subu 14 or 20, etc. to the drinking water, for free drinking, with water supplied all day.

Partridge chicks can start feeding after drinking water. For the first 3 days, use steamed millet or cornmeal mixed with cooked egg yolk (at 2 to 3 egg yolks per 100 partridge chicks) to start feeding, and it is best to add yellow mealworms. Spread the feed on plastic sheeting or paper pads and let them eat freely, with feed available continuously within 3 days of age. After 3 days, all partridge chicks are switched to compound feed and changed to feeding troughs (the feeding troughs should be placed under the light, staggered, and no more than 1 m apart). The compound feed formula is: cornmeal 35.5%, wheat flour 26.5%, soybean cake or peanut cake meal 28%, imported fishmeal 8%, bone meal 1%, trace elements 0.5%, compound vitamins 0.3%, salt 0.2%. General chicks can also be given a small amount of glucose powder or milk powder, etc., to supplement nutrition; weak chicks should also be given cod liver oil. When feeding, give less and add frequently, and it is best that each addition of feed is made after the previous feed has been eaten up. This can avoid feed contamination and also prevent partridge chicks from being picky and causing nutritional imbalance. From 7 days of age, a small amount of chopped garlic can be added to the feed, fed for 3-4 consecutive days, stopped for 15 days, then fed again for 3-4 days, until slaughter, which has a bactericidal and disease-preventing effect. After 4 weeks of age, appropriately provide some vegetables. Feeding frequency: within 10 days of age, 6 times per day, 2 times in the morning, 2 times in the afternoon, 1 time in the first half of the night, and 1 time in the second half of the night; from 11 days of age to 4 weeks of age, feed 5 times per day, reducing the one in the second half of the night; after 4 weeks of age, feed 3-4 times per day. Note that after starting to feed, chicks should be grouped by strength for rearing. Those with well-healed navels and complete abdominal down are healthy chicks; otherwise they are weak chicks.

Effectively prevent feather-pecking vice

During the brooding of partridges, if rearing is improper, feather pecking can occur, and beak trimming can prevent feather pecking. Beak trimming is usually carried out at 6 to 9 days of age, and once more at 6 weeks of age. Generally, scissors or a beak trimmer are used to remove 1/4 to 1/3 of the upper beak. For 3 days before and after beak trimming, double the vitamin K feeding, and vaccination is prohibited. Within 1 week after beak trimming, increase the amount of feed and water to reduce pain caused by the trimmed beak touching the bottom of the trough.

Do a good job in sanitation and epidemic prevention

Adhere to the principle of “prevention first, prevention more important than treatment, and combining prevention with treatment”. Partridges do not defecate much, but they should be cleaned frequently. Before cleaning, it is best to first spray a disinfecting bactericidal solution to avoid dust flying and air pollution. Water troughs, feed troughs and other utensils should be cleaned twice a day and disinfected once every 2 days with 0.01% potassium permanganate solution. Disinfect the room twice a week, and 3 times a week in summer, generally using Baidusha (1:400) for disinfection with the partridges present. Give 0.01% potassium permanganate water once for drinking, which can clean the gastrointestinal tract; from 3 to 7 days of age, mix 0.04% furazolidone into the feed, feed twice a day, or give 0.02% furazolidone water to drink, which can prevent pullorum disease; from 8 to 14 days of age, add an appropriate amount of penicillin or oxytetracycline to prevent coccidiosis. At 15 days of age, partridge chicks are given Newcastle disease vaccine strain II or strain IV by nasal drops or aerosol. At 28 days of age, Newcastle disease vaccine strain I is injected for immunization.