Detailed Explanation of Key Points in Partridge Rearing and Management Techniques

Partridge meat is delicious and nutritious, with a protein content as high as 30.1%, including 8 kinds of essential amino acids for the human body, while its fat content is only 3.6%. It is a high-protein, low-cholesterol quality wild game meat. The partridge currently raised is the American red-legged partridge, domesticated and bred in the United States. In recent years, artificial rearing of partridges in China has gradually expanded in scale, with many problems in rearing and management, especially in the rearing and management of young partridges. The management measures are briefly introduced below for reference.

Brooding Methods and Cages/Housing

Brooding methods include cage rearing and floor rearing. For cage rearing, ordinary chicken cages can be used, with 1x1 cm wire mesh on all sides and the top of the cage, and 0.5 x 0.5 cm wire mesh on the cage floor. For floor rearing, a house sheltered from the wind and facing the sun can be chosen as the brooding house, preferably with a cement floor, which can prevent rats, keep warm, and facilitate cleaning and disinfection, but sawdust or rice husk should be used as litter.

Brooding Preparation

The site, cages/housing, feed troughs and water troughs should be cleaned and disinfected. Prepare compound feed and additives, as well as necessary medicines. 3-6 hours before the chicks arrive, the cages/housing should be preheated.

Temperature

Temperature is the primary condition for the success or failure of brooding. Even when brooding in summer, the temperature difference between day and night is relatively large, so heating is still needed. The brooding temperature in the 1st week is 37.5-36°C, then decreases by about 1°C each week, and the warming period is 30-45 days. If the brooding temperature is too high, the young partridges stay away from the heat source, pant with open mouths, and drink more water. If the brooding temperature is too low, they huddle under the heat source, their appetite decreases, and they drink less water; huddling can easily cause crushing deaths and injuries.

Humidity

Young partridges like dryness and fear dampness. Within 1 week of age, the relative humidity in the brooding house should be 65%, and from the 2nd week onward it should be kept at 55%-60%. The main measure to keep dry and prevent dampness is to remove accumulated droppings regularly.

Density

Excessive rearing density not only affects the growth of young partridges but also easily leads to feather-pecking vice. For young partridges within 10 days of age, the density is 40-50 birds per sq m; from 10 days to 4 weeks of age, 30 birds per sq m; from 5-8 weeks of age, 20-25 birds per sq m.

Ventilation

While ensuring good warmth, strive to keep the indoor air fresh. Appropriately open the doors and windows of the brooding room or use mechanical ventilation to discharge stale air. During ventilation, care must be taken to prevent cold wind from blowing directly onto the young partridges to avoid catching cold and getting sick. Whether the indoor air is clean can be judged by whether a person entering the house feels stuffy or feels irritation to the eyes and nose.

Lighting

The duration and intensity of lighting have a great impact on the feeding, drinking, and growth of young partridges. Within 1 week of age, provide 21-23 hours of lighting at an intensity of 15-20 lux. From the 8th day onward, reduce lighting by 1 hour per day until it reaches 10 hours, with a light intensity of 10 lux. At the end of the 3rd week, artificial lighting can be stopped and natural lighting used. To obtain ideal growth speed for meat partridges, a 20-hour lighting schedule can be adopted after 1 week of age, with a light intensity of 5 lux.

Drinking Water

Partridges should be given water 12-24 hours after hatching. Prepare boiled water that has been cooled in advance, and the water temperature should be close to room temperature. If partridges are given water after more than 36 hours, it will affect their health and may even cause death. If the partridges do not know how to drink, they can be guided manually, that is, catch 1 healthy chick and dip its beak into the water trough so that the other young partridges imitate it. Colorful small stones can also be added to the water trough to induce the young partridges to peck and drink. From 1-3 days, add 0.02% oxytetracycline to the drinking water. The edge height and water width of the trough should be suitable for the young partridges to drink water. Prevent the young partridges from stepping into the water trough to avoid wet feathers or drowning.

Feeding

After the young partridges drink water, they can begin to eat. Fully priced crumb feed can be chosen, that is, crushed pellet feed or fully priced powder feed. Starting feeding with a single ingredient is not conducive to the growth of young partridges and will also bring difficulties due to feed changes. The limbs of newborn partridges are relatively weak, so clean tissue paper should be spread on the cage floor so that the young partridges can stand and walk smoothly, preventing their legs from splaying and getting injured and preventing omphalitis. After 3-7 days, replace the paper to keep the cage clean. When feeding, scatter the feed directly on the tissue paper. Free feeding without interruption can be adopted, but the feed for 1 day should not be poured in all at once; the method of feeding multiple times should be used. After 3 days, switch to feed troughs. Water and feed troughs should be placed separately, no more than 1 m apart.

Beak Trimming

Like chickens, partridges need beak trimming. During rearing, vices such as feather pecking, eye pecking, and vent pecking may occur. Beak trimming is the best measure to reduce these vices. When trimming the beak at around 1 week of age, special care must be taken not to split the partridge beak, and especially not to cut off the tongue. When trimming the beak, use a specialized beak trimmer or finger pliers or scissors to cut off the part from the tip of the beak to 1/3 of the nostril. When cutting, the partridge head should be slightly upward, and a little more should be cut from the upper beak than the lower beak. Repeat once at 6 weeks of age. Adding an appropriate amount of vitamins to the feed 1-3 days before and after beak trimming can reduce stress reactions. After beak trimming, fill the feed and water to the brim to avoid damage to the cut surface of the beak from touching the bottom of the trough and to avoid affecting feeding.

Training and Induction

Partridges are timid and easily startled, with high stress susceptibility. When they encounter abnormal sounds or foreign objects, or under the effect of unsuitable external environmental factors (such as excessively high temperature, strong light stimulation, etc.), they are prone to stress reactions, leading to reduced productivity and even death. Therefore, within 30 hours after hatching (during which young partridges have a relatively strong ability to accept stress stimuli), carry out stimulation training with various stress factors (sound, light, color, objects, etc.) to cultivate their adaptability. In subsequent rearing and management, pay attention to avoiding or eliminating various stress factors and keep the site quiet to avoid economic losses.

Hygiene and Epidemic Prevention

Do a good job in hygiene. Insist on removing droppings every day and cleaning water and feed troughs. On the day of hatching, add 0.02% oxytetracycline to the drinking water to prevent gastrointestinal infections. For young partridges 15-20 days old, use Newcastle disease strain II attenuated vaccine diluted 1:10 for nasal drops, 2 drops per bird; at 45-50 days of age, use Newcastle disease strain II attenuated vaccine again for the 2nd nasal drip; at 90--100 days of age, use Newcastle disease strain I attenuated vaccine diluted 1:2000 for intramuscular injection, 0.5 ml per bird.