What are some practical ways to reduce the cost of raising chickens?
Chickens are one of the common poultry in rural areas, and many people have made their fortune by raising chickens on a large scale. So, how can you reduce the cost of raising chickens? Let's take a look together!
1. Feed management
Every growth stage of chickens has different nutritional needs. We need to make a reasonable feed feeding plan, make full use of local natural feed, and reduce feed costs. The feed troughs in the chicken coop should be set up reasonably to prevent feed from splashing out while the chickens are eating and causing feed waste. Adjust the height of the chicken feed troughs in time according to the chickens' growth to ensure the feed troughs are always at a position suitable for the chickens to eat. When feeding, follow the principle of feeding more frequently and in smaller amounts. Special data surveys show that when the feed in the trough reaches 2/3, nearly 13% of the feed is wasted, while at 1/3 the waste rate is only 2%. Therefore, make sure the amount of feed per feeding does not exceed 1/3.
2. Timely culling
During breeding, we should regularly observe the growth of each chicken and promptly cull the weak, inferior and low-productivity chickens, because such chickens not only have a low egg-laying rate and poor meat quality due to being thin and weak, but also consume feed and increase feed costs. Therefore, we should cull them in time, and determine the culling standards according to the breeding purpose. For example, for laying hens, observe the egg-laying rate; for broilers, decide based on body weight. Regardless of the breeding purpose, sick chickens should be isolated and treated in time. If they cannot be treated, they should be culled immediately to prevent infection.
3. Temperature control
Chickens are very sensitive to temperature changes, and unsuitable temperatures have a great impact on chicken growth, ranging from stress responses in mild cases to death in severe cases. In addition, different growth stages and different breeding purposes have certain changes in temperature requirements. For example, the optimal temperature for laying hens to lay eggs should be controlled at around 18 degrees. In winter, if the coop temperature is below 7 degrees, the amount of feed fed will need to be increased, and egg production will decrease. In summer, if the high temperature is not lowered in time, the chickens may suffer heatstroke and dehydration, reducing feed intake, which will naturally have a certain impact on production. Therefore, controlling the temperature well is very important. It is not only directly related to chicken growth but also affects feed costs.
4. Disease prevention and control
Disease prevention and control is a key factor in ensuring the stable growth of the chicken flock. Reducing the incidence of disease can increase breeding profits and reduce breeding costs, because disease poses a very great threat to the growth of the chicken flock. If a disease occurs in chickens and is not treated in time, it may cause the entire flock of chickens to become infected and die. But even with treatment, treatment costs will be incurred, thereby indirectly increasing breeding costs. Therefore, disease prevention and control is a relatively important and relatively difficult task in reducing the cost of raising chickens. It is necessary to strengthen feeding management, do a good job in the environmental sanitation of the chicken coop, and create a good environment for the growth of chickens.
The above is how to reduce the cost of raising chickens compiled by the Tuliu.com editor. I hope it can help all farmers!