Black Silkie Chicken Rearing Techniques

  I. Breeding

To improve reproductive capacity, natural brooding must be changed to increase egg production, which generally can reach 110-120 eggs per year per bird. The breeding lifespan of Black Silkie chickens is 3-4 years. If machine incubation is the main breeding method, roosters at 6-7 months and hens at 10 months can be mated, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:6. Incubation must pass five key stages: temperature stage: 37-38°C is suitable; humidity stage: relative humidity 65%-70% in the early stage, 50%-55% in the middle stage, and 65% at hatching; egg-turning stage: turn eggs once every 2 hours, and stop turning after moving trays at 18 days; cooling stage: start cooling eggs after 1 week, 1-2 times per day in the 3rd week, 3-5 minutes each time; ventilation stage: 1-2 times per day, hatching occurs at 21 days, then transfer to brooding.

  II. Feeding Management

Chicken house: choose a flat terrain, sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, with dry soil and good drainage to build the house. Some specialized households adopt a single-row design with a corridor, facing north to south, with one large window and one small window on each of the north and south sides for ventilation; a concrete floor is beneficial for washing away manure. Open a free entrance and exit on the south wall, with an exercise yard outside. Feeders and waterers are distributed in the exercise yard, nest boxes are set on one side inside the house, perches on the other side, and a sand bath is set in one corner of the exercise yard. Each chicken house has an area of 40-50 sq m, housing 6 birds per sq m.

Feed: feed complete-price feed. The reference daily ration formula is as follows:

1. Chick feed: corn 58%, wheat bran 6.7%, cracked wheat 3%, soybean cake 15%, rapeseed cake 5%, fish meal 10%, bone meal 1.5%, additives 0.5%, salt 0.3%;

2. Grower feed: cereal pellet feed 40%, cereal powder feed 15%, cakes 15%, bran and middlings 20%, fish meal 8%, shell powder 1.6%, salt 0.4%;
 3. Adult chicken feed: corn grits 20%, barley 15%, wheat bran 10%, rice bran 15%, soybean powder 12.6%, green fodder 15%, fish meal 10%, bone meal and shell powder 2%, salt 0.4%.

Scientific feeding: achieve "three fixed": fixed time, feed 4 times a day, starting from 7 a.m.; fixed amount, varying with chicken age, generally adult chickens have a daily feed intake of 150g; fixed water, provide sufficient clean water, preferably well water, do not drink dirty water.

Chick management: mainly "six grasps": 1. Grasp temperature. 32°C at 1 week of age, then decrease by 2°C each week, but not lower than 20°C; 2. Grasp humidity. Relative humidity 60%-70%; 3. Grasp lighting. Within 3-5 days, 23 hours is suitable (including natural light), then 16 hours afterward; 4. Grasp first feeding. Chicks start feeding within 24 hours; 5. Grasp ventilation. Under the premise of ensuring brooding temperature requirements, maintain ventilation regularly; 6. Grasp density: 20-30 birds per sq m.
Medicinal chicken feeding: First, after 60 days of age, male and female chickens must be raised in separate groups, not mixed; Second, feed compound feed, reference daily ration formula: wheat 10%, sorghum flour 10%, fish meal 10%, rice bran cake 7%, corn grits 20%, soybean cake powder 15%, wheat bran 15%, wheat flour 6.6%, shell powder 6%, salt 0.4%; Third, feeding must achieve fixed time, fixed amount, and fixed water. Fourth, do a good job in epidemic prevention and disease elimination, frequently observe the chickens' behavior, and treat promptly once disease occurs; Fifth, the chicken house temperature should be maintained at 16-20°C.

Epidemic prevention and disease elimination: adhere to "two earlys": first, early prevention before disease. First, clean the chicken house, scrub feeders and waterers before feeding, and do not feed moldy feed. Disease prevention: add 0.02% furazolidone to the feed from 1-15 days of age to prevent pullorum disease. At 1 day of age, chicks are subcutaneously injected with 0.2ml of Marek's disease vaccine daily to prevent Marek's disease. At 7-10 days of age, use Newcastle disease strain II for nasal drip. Second, early treatment when sick. Frequently observe the flock's behavior, and treat promptly once disease occurs.

III. Timely Marketing

Breeding chickens grow for 45-60 days of age; medicinal chickens: roosters 900g, hens 750g, commercial chickens 1000g are ready for marketing.