Key Technical Points for Rapid Rearing and Management of Free-Range Chickens

1. The chicken coop can be built by renovating an old house, or a new coop can be built separately. Inside the chick coop, install elastic plastic netting or bamboo woven netting, with a mesh diameter of 1 cm and the net about 100 cm above the ground. If an old house is renovated, light windows and ground windows should be opened at the front and back. The light window is 150 cm above the ground, and the ground window is 20 cm above the ground. The size of the windows depends on the light inside the house; generally, it is enough for the chickens to find the locations of feed and water during the day. The windows should be sealed with wire mesh to prevent intrusion by outside predators. If a new coop is built, bamboo woven netting can be used around it, with 2 layers of white agricultural film added in spring and winter, and air windows and ground windows should be left. Feed troughs and drinkers can be replaced by bamboo tubes and placed evenly inside the coop. In coops for growing chickens and adult chickens, several rows of small round logs are installed horizontally as perches. The small round logs are about 8 cm in diameter. The first row is 35 cm above the ground, the second row is 40 cm above the ground, and they are installed in a ladder-like manner in this way, with row spacing all about 30 cm. The installation must be firm, so that when the flock flies onto the perches, they do not shake or collapse. The other structures are the same as those of the chick coop.

2. Do the preparation work before chicks arrive. For a coop converted from an old house, whitewash the inner walls and ceiling with thick limewater 1—2 times. Whether the coop is renovated or newly built, it must be strictly disinfected, hygiene must be well maintained, and the temperature regulation and ventilation facilities in the coop must be checked.

3. Source of chicks. To reduce pathogens brought in by outside chickens and to ensure breed purity, it is best to keep breeding chickens and hatch chicks oneself. ① Select pure free-range chickens with glossy feathers, good health, and fast growth as breeding chickens. The weight of a hen should be about 1.6 kg, and the weight of a rooster should preferably be 1.6—2.25 kg. The male-to-female ratio is 1:10. Breeding roosters and hens should not be brother-and-sister chickens. ② When farmers use hens to hatch chicks, in order to make the chicks uniform in age, besides feeding evenly and on time with good quality, the hens that hatch first should be made to sit without eggs (no eggs placed in the nest), but the empty sitting time should not exceed 7 days. For medium- and large-scale rearing, incubators should be used to hatch chicks.

4. Scientific feeding. ① After hatching, feed the chicks brown sugar water first to increase appetite and promote the discharge of meconium. After drinking water, start feeding. Chicks should be fed small amounts and many meals. Growing chickens should be fed 5—6 meals per day, and adult chickens 3—4 meals per day. ② Scientific feed formulation. For chicks, use complete feed for meat-type chicks; for growing chickens, self-mixed feed: sprouted grain feed 40%, rice bran 25%, cornmeal 15%, various green vegetable leaves (cooked materials may use roots, stems, and leaves) 15%, blood meal 5%; for adult chickens, self-mixed feed: sprouted grain feed 70%, various green vegetable leaves 25%, blood meal 5%. Self-mixed feed should use cooked materials in winter.

5. Scientific management. ① When chicks enter the brooding room, in the first week keep 50 birds per sq m, and separate them into groups. On the elastic plastic netting or bamboo woven netting, spread fresh, clean, dry rice straw. The thickness of the straw should be such that chick droppings can fall through the gaps to the ground. In the second week, keep 40 birds per sq m and remove the straw so that chicken droppings fall directly through the mesh to the ground. In the third week, keep 30 birds per sq m, and afterward 10 birds. ② Raise chicks in groups according to age in days, strength, size, and sex. ③ The coop temperature in the first week is 32°C, then decreases by 2.5°C each week, until weaning off heat at the natural temperature of 21°C. ④ Use intermittent lighting of 1 hour light and 3 hours darkness, with 4 hours as 1 cycle, so that the chickens' activity and rest are moderate, promoting the growth of free-range chickens and improving feed utilization, while also saving electricity. The light intensity should refer to the light intensity of the daylight windows. ⑤ Chicks can only be put out to range at 25 days of age; this is one of the important factors for ensuring a high survival rate. ⑥ Training growing chickens to go onto the perches should be done when dusk has fully ended. First catch a small portion of the growing chickens and put them on the perches. Do not turn on the electric light when catching chickens; use a flashlight to shine on the chickens already placed on the perches, and arrange them in order. Some chickens are not used to it at first, and may jump down or push other chickens off the perches. They need to be caught and placed up repeatedly 2—3 times. After all have been placed up, turn off the light. After 1—3 nights they begin to get used to it, and then this small portion of growing chickens leads the rest of the chickens to fly onto the perches. ⑦ Ventilate frequently to keep the air in the coop fresh. In spring and winter, ventilation should pay attention to keeping warm and strictly prevent draft.

6. Disease prevention measures. Focus on prevention, and observe the flock's feeding and drinking conditions every day. Growing chickens and adult chickens spend the night on the perches, in rows and pairs, each in its place, which makes it convenient to regularly inspect chicken droppings and find the corresponding sick chickens. In addition, sick chickens cannot fly onto the perches when entering the coop. When the flock goes out, sick chickens will also not fly off the perches, and seriously ill chickens will fall off the perches. Sick chickens can be found based on this. Once sick chickens are found, isolate them immediately. Manure cleaning should be done once a week. Grazing is strictly prohibited in rain or snow to avoid wetting the chickens' feathers and causing them to catch cold. The grazing site should be checked in advance. If dead animals are found, remove them far away immediately to prevent poisoning of the flock.