What are the key technical points for free-range chicken farming?
The first choice is seed selection: choose healthy chickens weighing over three kilograms. Feed them an appropriate amount of whole grains, such as corn, millet, and soybean cake. Keep the farming site clean and hygienic, carry out disinfection measures well, and ensure the drinking water is clean. After the chickens lay eggs, collect the eggs promptly.
1. Seed selection
The key factor in artificially raising free-range chickens is choosing the breeds of roosters and hens. The requirements for hens are health, good constitution, gentleness, and a red comb; the requirements for roosters are health, a well-proportioned body, well-developed breast muscles, a red and bright voice, and a weight preferably above three jin.
2. Reasonable feeding
Free-range chickens generally find their own food on the mountain, such as insects, sand, grass seeds, and grass, but to make the meat more nutritionally balanced, you can appropriately feed them some whole grains, such as corn, millet, and soybean cake.
3. Carry out disinfection and epidemic prevention measures well
When raising chickens, the greatest fear is an outbreak of disease; once one chicken is infected, it will endanger the health of the whole flock. So usually keep the farming site clean and hygienic, carry out disinfection measures well, and conduct vaccine management on a regular basis to prevent outbreaks, but for the sake of human health, it is generally not recommended to use medication for preventive treatment in advance.
4. Drinking water must be clean
The laying period of free-range chickens is generally in summer, so their water demand is relatively large. At this time, ensure their drinking water is clean, clean the water troughs regularly, and carry out disinfection treatment well.
5. Egg-laying handling
Because free-range chickens do not lay eggs in a fixed place, in order to prevent eggs from being laid in grass, corners, and other places, you can set up some dark spots to attract the free-range chickens to lay eggs, and usually pay more attention to patrolling and collect the eggs promptly.