A method for raising chickens with the Chinese herbal medicine astragalus without drug residues
The biggest advantage of feeding astragalus to laying hens is that the eggs have no drug residues, no teratogenic substances and no carcinogenic substances. They belong to food-safety eggs and are deeply welcomed by market consumers. The Chinese herbal medicine astragalus and its preparation, astragalus polysaccharide injection, have very ideal application results in chicken-raising practice, and are especially suitable for brooding. They are introduced as follows:
????1 Biological characteristics of astragalus:
1.1 Astragalus (Milkvetch Root), also known as Huangqi, is the root of a herbaceous plant in the Fabaceae family. Astragalus can be divided into two kinds, red flag and astragalus; astragalus generally refers to the collective name for the roots of the Chinese medicinal plant. It is a national third-class protected plant. It is one of the commonly used Chinese medicines. Because of different producing areas, it is divided into many kinds: astragalus can be divided into Inner Mongolian astragalus, membranous milkvetch, soft astragalus, many-sequenced rock astragalus (also known as "Hongqi"), and Japanese astragalus (also known as "Wa Huangqi"). The use of astragalus in our country has a history of more than 2000 years. With the development of modern science and technology, the use of astragalus has become a health-care medicine that replaces antibiotics in livestock and poultry breeding and a growth agent that improves immunity.
1.2 Medicinal value of astragalus: Astragalus has the functions of tonifying qi and consolidating the exterior, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, expelling toxins and discharging pus, and promoting tissue regeneration. It can enhance the body's immunity, protect the liver, tonify the kidney, promote diuresis, resist stress, lower blood pressure, and has relatively broad antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.
?2 Sources of astragalus:
??? The quality of astragalus varies by region. Among wild products, the three kinds of Guanqi produced in Northeast China (Bukuiqi, Ninggutaqi, and Zhengkouqi) are relatively good, and the best is wild astragalus from Gansu. Because wild products are relatively few, it is cultivated in all provinces and regions of China. Astragalus is propagated by seed, field cultivation techniques are simple, and annual production is also very large. Ordinary astragalus is mostly annual; the fresh astragalus produced in the same year, the best astragalus is collected after 3 years of growth. Field-cultivated astragalus can be collected in spring and autumn, and its quality and chemical composition are already quite rich.
????3 Processing technology and products of astragalus
In the last century, astragalus was only used for beverages, honey-roasting and formula applications. After the new millennium, with the research and development of science and technology, a mature production process has been further developed, and it has risen to the high-end technology of purified injection and intravenous drip. The product used for raising chickens, a purified and refined preparation, is astragalus polysaccharide injection. At present there are dozens of manufacturers, with varying concentrations. With modern scientific research and development, after astragalus is purchased it goes through more than twenty processes such as grading and sorting, washing, soaking, distillation, crushing, purification, grading, air drying, and reagent testing, and is quite refined. The separately graded, processed and packaged products include decoction pieces and powder. The notable product is astragalus polysaccharide injection; the one used more in the chicken-raising industry is also astragalus polysaccharide injection, especially for significantly increasing the survival rate of chicks.
????4 Use in chicken raising:
Astragalus powder can be mixed into feed, while astragalus polysaccharide injection, besides injection, can also be taken orally. It is especially convenient for injection in chicks, saving labor and money. For adult chickens or laying hens, feeding astragalus powder orally is convenient.
4.1 Injection in chicks increases the survival rate. Newly hatched Hy-Line Brown laying hens, while being injected with Marek's vaccine, are injected with 0.3-0.4 milliliters of astragalus polysaccharide injection, which prompts the chicks to eat early, absorb the yolk quickly, shed the dried yolk stalk early, suffer less immune stress, and achieve a high survival rate.
4.2 Growing chickens can be antibacterial and anti-inflammatory and have improved immunity. In flocks that have drunk astragalus polysaccharide, the droppings appear normal, there is no diarrhea, and they are not infected with E. coli, indicating that astragalus polysaccharide contains factors that strengthen the spleen and drain dampness. After injection it plays an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial role, not only increasing appetite and strengthening the spleen and stomach but also improving immunity, directly reducing feeding costs.
4.3 The benefit of feeding astragalus to hens that have started laying is its function of tonifying qi and consolidating the exterior. Especially for hens in the high-yield period that lay many eggs, it changes the conditions of sinking of middle qi, chronic diarrhea and bloody stool, and prolapse of the cloaca. If astragalus powder is fed in a course every month on schedule, not a single chicken will appear that was pecked to death because of prolapse of the cloaca. If fed together with codonopsis, cimicifuga and bupleurum, it will also increase the laying rate and prolong the peak laying period.
4.4 Feeding chickens astragalus powder has many benefits for egg production: the eggshells are hard and not easily broken, the yolk color is deep, and they are deeply welcomed by consumers on the market, sell well, and fetch a high price. They have no teratogenic substances, no drug residues and no carcinogenic substances, and are currently the simplest and most effortless good helper for producing green animal products.
In short, the prospect of using astragalus and its preparations to serve the chicken-raising industry has already opened up. Making full use of astragalus helps reduce feed costs and improve the economic benefits of raising chickens.