Sharing Experience in Breeding Management of Partridges During the Growing Period

Adult partridges require careful management during the rearing process. Adult partridges are timid and easily startled; once frightened, they become restless in the coop. Therefore, before the adult female partridges begin laying eggs, the adult partridges need to be acclimated so that the actions of the keeper can be accepted by them. Management in other aspects is basically the same as the management methods for the middle partridge stage. Partridges raised for food or medicinal use (whether male or female) can be sold once each bird reaches 500 grams (0.5 kg) or more.

The nutritional components in the feed must be comprehensive to promote the rapid growth of partridges, increase lean meat, and improve quality. The feed for medicinal partridges must be reasonably formulated, and the compound feed for adult chickens can also be used. Generally, the feed for medicinal partridges over 12 weeks of age needs to contain 18%-20% crude protein, 3% crude fat, 4% crude fiber, 0.2% tryptophan, 1.0% lysine, 0.7% cystine, 0.35% methionine, and minerals such as 2.8% calcium, 0.7% phosphorus, and 0.3% salt. In addition, 5%-10% vitamin and trace element additives need to be added to every 500 kg of feed. If crude protein is insufficient, fish meal or silkworm pupa meal, blood meal, bone meal, earthworm meal, etc. can be added as substitutes. Feed 4-6 times a day, generally 2 times each in the morning, afternoon, and at night. Feeding can be divided into three types: dry feed, wet feed, and dry-wet feed. Dry feed is mostly powdery or finely granular, generally with a moisture content of about 12%. This feeding method is suitable for large-scale rearing or household rearing. Its advantages are saving feeding time and making it easy to clean the partridge coop. However, the feed has poor palatability and is easily scattered out of the trough, causing waste. The wet feeding method is made by mixing compound feed with green feed, water, etc. This method is suitable for small-scale partridge farms or households raising a small number of partridges. Its advantages are good palatability and the feed is not easily scattered out of the trough, so the feeding cost is low, but the feed is prone to spoilage and deterioration in hot weather. At the same time, after partridges eat wet feed, they will have loose droppings, which not only affects the growth of adult partridges but also makes cleaning the feeding utensils labor-intensive. There is also a dry-wet feeding method, which means feeding powdery feed in the morning and evening and adding one meal of wet feed at noon. This method has the advantages of the above two feeding methods and overcomes their disadvantages. While feeding, sufficient drinking water should also be provided. The drinking water container can be a small basin made of galvanized iron sheet or a ceramic basin, or a canned bottle can be used as a drinking water container. The amount of drinking water can be flexibly controlled according to temperature and feed type.