How to Reduce the Cost of Raising Chickens? Practical Methods Shared
Chickens are one of the most common types of poultry in our country, and there are also many different breeds in our country, with a farming area that ranks among the top in many farming projects. Farmers who raise chickens certainly hope to make money, but some friends find after a year of raising them that the profits they get are pitifully small. In fact, a large part of the reason is that the farming costs were not controlled well, so how should you reduce the cost of raising chickens? Below, the editor brings you methods to reduce the cost of raising chickens. Let's take a look!
1. Feed management
Chickens have different nutritional needs at each growth stage. We should make a reasonable feed feeding plan and make full use of local natural feed. To reduce feed costs, the feed troughs in the chicken coop should also be set up reasonably to prevent feed from splashing out when the chickens eat, which causes feed waste. Also, 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 but in small amounts. Special data surveys show that when the feed in the feed trough reaches 2/3, feed waste is nearly 13%. When it is 1/3, the waste rate is only 2%, so make sure the amount of feed fed each time does not exceed 1/3.
2. Timely culling
When farming, we should regularly observe the growth of each chicken and timely cull chickens that grow weakly, are defective, or have low production capacity. This is because such chickens not only have a low egg production rate, are thin and poor in meat quality, but also consume feed and increase feed costs, so we should cull them in time. Also, the culling standard should be determined according to the farming direction. For example, for laying hens, observe the egg production rate, while for broilers, decide according to body weight. However, no matter what the farming direction is, 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. Unsuitable temperature has a great impact on chicken growth, ranging from stress responses in mild cases to death in severe cases. Also, different growth stages of chickens and different farming directions will lead to 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, then the amount of feed fed will need to be increased, and egg production will decrease. In summer, when the temperature is high, if it is not cooled in time, chickens may suffer heatstroke and dehydration, reduce their feed intake, and naturally this will also 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 farming profits and lower farming costs. This is because disease poses a very great threat to the growth of the chicken flock. If chickens develop a disease and are not treated in time, it may cause the entire row of chickens to become infected and die. But even treatment will generate treatment costs, thereby indirectly increasing farming costs. Therefore, disease prevention and control work is a relatively important and relatively difficult task in reducing the cost of raising chickens. We should strengthen feeding management, do a good job in the environmental sanitation of the chicken coop, and create a good environment for chicken growth.
The above is a brief introduction to methods for reducing the cost of raising chickens. We can also debeak the chickens in time. Debeaking can not only prevent chickens from pecking feed outside when eating, causing feed waste, but also avoid pecking habits in chickens. In fact, as long as we do a good job in some basic daily management tasks, we can effectively reduce costs. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you everyone for reading and supporting.