Detailed Explanation of Partridge Farming Techniques and Management Key Points

The partridge resembles a chicken in appearance, is about the size of a meat pigeon, slightly larger than a quail and smaller than a pheasant (mountain chicken). Adult male partridges weigh 0·60—0·85 kg, and females 0·55—0·65 kg. Female partridges generally reach sexual maturity at 30 weeks of age (180—210 days), while male partridges reach sexual maturity 3—4 weeks later than females, so nutrition and lighting should be increased for males in advance. Partridges can lay eggs all year round, but lay more in spring and autumn. Commercial partridges are generally raised for 80—90 days, reaching a body weight of 0·5—0·7 kg, with a meat-to-feed ratio of about 1:3—3·5. Partridges grow rapidly, have a short rearing period, high production performance, and relatively high reproductive capacity and feed conversion rate, thus possessing high rearing value and being welcomed by people.

Breeding Techniques 1. Breeding characteristics. When replacement partridges reach 28 weeks of age, they are transferred to the breeding stage. At about 214—245 days of age, female partridges begin laying. However, since male partridges mature 3—4 weeks later than females, nutrition and lighting must be increased for males in advance. The male-to-female ratio is 1:3 for floor rearing and 1:4 for cage rearing. Under general feeding and management conditions, the annual average egg production is 80 eggs. Egg production is affected not only by parental genetic factors but also by environmental conditions. When conditions are good, the partridge's useful lifespan is 3 years, with egg production highest in the second laying year. During the laying period, unless there are very special circumstances, partridges must not be moved or caught, otherwise egg production will drop significantly or even stop. The fertilization rate of breeding eggs is 92%—96%, and the hatchability rate reaches 84%—91%. 2. Incubation. The principles of preserving, disinfecting, selecting and transporting breeding eggs are the same as for chickens. During incubation, the temperature inside the incubator must be kept stable at 37℃—38℃, otherwise the hatchability rate will decrease. The relative humidity is 55%—60% for days 1—7 of incubation, 50%—55% for days 8—18, and 60%—70% for days 19—24, which is beneficial for the hatching of young partridges. After day 3 of incubation, the embryo's oxygen demand gradually increases, and the incubator's air inlet must be opened to continuously supply fresh air. Especially at hatching, sufficient fresh air is even more necessary. During the first 20 days of incubation, eggs must be turned once every 2 hours; after 20 days, no more turning is needed. Generally the egg temperature is 32℃—33℃. In the middle and late stages of incubation, eggs are cooled for 10—15 minutes each time, and no more cooling is done on days 23—24. Partridge eggs are candled for the first time on days 7—8 after being placed in the incubator, and for the second time on days 20—21, using the same method as for pheasants. After the second candling, eggs with normal development are transferred to the hatcher and incubation continues until hatching. 3. Hatching and brooding. Breeding eggs hatch after 23—24 days of incubation, and some hatch only on day 25. At this time, chicks whose down has dried are picked out, and the chick-holding box is lined with straw or soft paper, with 50—100 chicks per box being preferable. Newly hatched chicks need attention to warming and ventilation to prevent suffocation. For embryos that have pecked the shell but are unable to hatch, manual assistance can be given. Assistance should only be carried out after the chick's allantoic blood vessels have withered, otherwise bleeding is likely to cause death. If they still do not hatch by day 26 of incubation, they are all discarded. At present, the advanced heat source for brooding is the infrared lamp. The lamp is hung 30 cm above the ground and gradually raised as the age of the young partridges increases; one 250-watt infrared lamp can cover 300—400 young partridges. The brooding house should be cleaned and disinfected before chicks are introduced; a layer of quicklime is first spread on the ground, then 8 cm—10 cm of litter is spread, and about 2 weeks later more litter is added until the thickness reaches 20 cm. The brooding temperature should decrease as the weeks of age increase. From just hatched to 1 week of age, the brooding temperature is 35℃—36℃, decreasing by 1℃ each week until it can stabilize at 24℃—25℃; within 1 week of age, the relative humidity in the brooding house is 60%—70%, and after 1 week of age it drops to 55%—60%. On the premise of ensuring temperature and humidity, attention should be paid to ventilation to ensure fresh indoor air. Brooding density: 80 birds per square meter for 1—10 days of age, 50 birds per square meter for 10 days—4 weeks of age, and 25 birds per square meter for 4—13 weeks of age. The lighting conditions in the brooding house are: from 20 hours after hatching to 1 week, full-day lighting at an intensity of 4 watts per square meter; after 1 week of age, 16 hours of lighting at an intensity of 2 watts per square meter. Too strong lighting will cause vices such as feather pecking, toe pecking and vent pecking. Within 24 hours after hatching, partridges should first drink water, and water must not be cut off or lacking. The first time a partridge eats is called "starting to feed." Feeding can begin after drinking water. Drinking and feeding are completed within 24 hours. When starting to feed, feed can be scattered on thick cardboard or a tray to let the young partridges seek food. Water troughs and feed troughs should be placed staggered, about 1 m apart. From 3 days of age, feed should be kept available continuously every day, with each bird fed 8 g of cooked millet per day; from 3—10 days of age, feed 6 times per day and night. From 10 days to 4 weeks of age, feed 5 times per day. Brooding period management

Partridges can be successfully brooded in multi-tier cages or on the floor from 0—8 weeks of age. Most commercial chicken cages only need slight modifications to the cage floor, feed trough and drinker. To reduce ankle injuries, a 0·6 cm thick mesh plastic mat can be laid on the bottom. At 6 weeks of age, they should be moved into growing cages or pens for rearing. Management techniques are basically the same as for young domestic chickens. To prevent pecking vices, beak trimming is done at 6—9 days of age, and again at 6 weeks of age. A beak-trimming machine is used to trim off 1/4—1/3 of the upper beak. If not beak-trimmed, specially made plastic nose rings can also be worn. Growing period management. Young partridges should be transferred to the growing house no later than 9 weeks of age, and can be raised on the floor, on nets or in cages; to prevent and treat blackhead disease, coccidiosis and parasitic diseases, net rearing and cage rearing are recommended. Given that partridges have a strong flying ability, a flight pen can be set up outside the house. Rearing density: 0·03 square meters per bird at 4—6 weeks of age, or an average of 35 birds per square meter; 0·06 square meters per bird at 6—10 weeks of age, or an average of 15 birds per square meter. Lighting is 14—16 hours per day and night (low intensity), using 0·5—1 watt per square meter. Red light gives good results. Feed 3—4 times per day, drinking water must not be interrupted, attention should be paid to environmental hygiene, and observation and care should be strengthened. For meat-type young partridges, lighting is fixed at 20 hours from the beginning until market, and at 16 weeks of age they can reach 92% of adult body weight; male young partridges reach 0·6 kg and female young partridges average 0·5 kg, at which point they can be marketed. The feed conversion rate is about 2·04:1. For raising medicinal partridges, they should be marketed at 16—20 weeks of age, which is economically more profitable. Disease prevention and control. Generally speaking, partridges have relatively strong resistance to disease, but they are also susceptible to many diseases, especially when management is poor, hygiene levels are low, the rearing environment is harsh, and biosecurity measures are inadequate; outbreaks are more likely and can even cause serious losses. The common diseases of partridges mainly include Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, infectious bursal disease, and some fungal and parasitic diseases. The prevention and treatment of partridge Newcastle disease and bronchitis are introduced below: 1. Partridge Newcastle disease. Partridge Newcastle disease is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by Newcastle disease virus in the genus Paramyxovirus. It can occur all year round, but is more common in winter and spring, and is mostly transmitted by poultry, especially chickens. The incidence and mortality of this disease are closely related to the flock's immune level, feeding and management level, and biosecurity measures. Clinical symptoms and pathological changes. The symptoms and lesions of partridge Newcastle disease are similar to those of chicken Newcastle disease. Typical cases show depression, standing still and drowsiness, ruffled feathers and drooping wings, difficulty breathing, reduced or complete loss of appetite, fluid accumulation in the crop, and occasionally yellow-white or yellow-green loose droppings. In the later stage, neurological symptoms such as incoordination, wing paralysis, circling and head tilting may be seen. Gross lesions include markedly increased mucus in the trachea, mucosal congestion and petechial hemorrhage; edema of the proventricular mucosa, petechial hemorrhage under the papillae, under the keratin layer of the gizzard and in the coronary fat; pulmonary congestion and edema; enteritis, swelling and petechial hemorrhage of the cecal tonsils, and petechial hemorrhage in the cloaca. Because partridge flocks are currently mostly vaccinated against Newcastle disease, typical cases are rarely seen, manifesting only as listlessness, ruffled feathers, reduced appetite, and some respiratory and digestive tract symptoms. Breeding partridges show reduced egg production and relatively low mortality. Necropsy usually lacks obvious typical lesions, but by examining more cases, an impression of Newcastle disease can still be obtained. Prevention and treatment methods. So far there is no specific drug for treatment; early application of hyperimmune anti-Newcastle disease serum or yolk homogenate has considerable therapeutic and preventive effects. Prevention of this disease lies in strengthening feeding and hygiene management and adopting strict comprehensive biosecurity measures to strictly prevent the introduction and infection of pathogens. At the same time, planned vaccine immunization should be carried out. The immunization program is generally: at 7—10 days of age and 28—35 days of age, use Newcastle disease strain II or strain IV vaccine for eye-drop, nose-drop or drinking water immunization; for breeding partridges, 10—15 days before the start of laying, inject 1 dose of Newcastle disease strain I vaccine and 1 dose of Newcastle disease inactivated oil adjuvant vaccine at separate sites; thereafter, strengthen immunization once during each resting laying period. 2. Partridge infectious bronchitis. It is generally believed that chickens are the only natural host of infectious bronchitis and can cause clinical disease and death. However, according to reports, 1,980 11-day-old partridges raised at a farm in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China developed this disease, with an incidence rate of over 90% within 3 days and a mortality rate of 21%. Therefore, attention should be paid to the prevention of this disease in partridge rearing.

Clinical symptoms and pathological changes. At the beginning of the disease, only mild respiratory symptoms and a small amount of white droppings are seen. As the disease progresses, it rapidly affects the whole flock; sick partridges show listlessness, cold intolerance and huddling, reduced appetite or fasting, but increased thirst, ruffled feathers and drooping wings, difficulty breathing, and visible panting. There is rice-water-like diarrhea, rapid emaciation, and finally death from severe exhaustion. Gross lesions include increased mucus in the trachea and bronchi, with thick to caseous material blocking the bronchial bifurcation, relatively cloudy air sacs, pale kidneys with significant swelling, and a spiderweb-like appearance due to white urate filling the renal tubules; the ureters also appear as white thick cords due to urate accumulation, and the cloaca contains loose droppings with large amounts of white urate.

Prevention and treatment methods. There is still a lack of specific effective therapeutic drugs for this disease. After onset, a Chinese herbal compound preparation, Kechuanxiao (0·5—1 ml per bird per day), combined with a kidney-swelling detoxifying drug (0·25% mixed in drinking water), can be tried for 3—5 consecutive days. At the same time, increase the addition of vitamin A and multivitamins, and strengthen airborne disinfection with the partridges present, which often achieves good results. Since this disease is mainly spread through the air and infected via the respiratory tract, the best prevention method is to carry out planned infectious bronchitis vaccination on the basis of strengthening daily feeding management and cleaning and hygiene. The newcastle-bronchitis combined vaccine can prevent both Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis at the same time; its immunization program and vaccination timing can refer to those for Newcastle disease, but it should be noted that there is mutual interference between Newcastle disease vaccine and infectious bronchitis vaccine, so when inoculating attenuated live vaccines, an interval of 7—10 days should be observed. If the immune protective effect of commercial infectious bronchitis vaccine is unsatisfactory, an inactivated vaccine prepared from the isolate from this farm can be used for vaccination.