Every farmer knows that proper feeding of poultry, including roosters, is a very important moment in the cultivation of healthy individuals.
What should be a full and balanced diet? Is it possible to organize high-quality feeding of birds without extra material costs? Sure you may. The main thing is to know the simple rules for organizing food for each of the groups of birds, depending on their purpose.
Properly chosen diet will positively affect health, the rate of weight gain or the ability to fertilize. We will talk more about this later in our article.
Feeding rations for roosters
The basis of the diet for roosters are the same products that are used when feeding chickens, but there are some features. You need to know them and take into account, depending on what roosters you grow - producers, fighting or individuals intended for slaughter.
Standard
The optimal diet for roosters includes:
- cereals;
- vegetables: fresh and boiled;
- animal feed;
- greenery;
- Calcium supplements: fishmeal, bone meal, crushed shells or chalk.
Moreover, daily feeding of roosters can include minerals, fruits, and other sources of vitamins.
Often, farmers in the basis of rations of cocks put household waste from the table, for example, side dishes, bread. Thus, they want to significantly save on the nutrition of roosters. But, with this approach to feeding, it is difficult to observe the necessary proportions and give the food balanced.
There is also an alternative option - feeding ready-made feed, which is selected depending on the age of the rooster.
In addition to a balanced diet for poultry, compliance with the drinking regime is also important. The rate of water per adult is 200 ml daily. The volume of water should be increased if the diet of birds includes mainly dry food, and they are rarely fed with wet gruel or fresh vegetables, which are also a source of life-giving moisture.
For roosters
For fertilization of hens, a very important role is played by the quality of semen of the rooster, which in turn depends strongly on the diet of the bird. IMPORTANT! The diet should be balanced to prevent weight gain in roosters. Roosters obese become lazy, sedentary and inactive in mating issues.
A balanced diet and optimal serving size have a beneficial effect on:
- sperm quality;
- mating efficiency.
It is necessary to enrich the diet of feathered males with ready-made balanced feed compositions from non-standard containers that will stimulate an increase in sexual activity.
The feeder is arranged as follows: about 40-50 cm from the floor to the wall attached trough V-shaped. They are filled with nutritional composition: cereals with sprouts in the amount of about 50 grams, calcium supplement - cottage cheese or bone meal - 7 grams, raw carrot - 20 grams, and yeast - 5 grams and fish oil in the amount of 1 gram.
Moreover, supplements for roosters can be purchased, which influence the increase in semen quality.
For individuals for slaughter
Changes and diet for roosters, who is intended for slaughter. In this case, the poultry diet should be enriched with protein foods - boiled eggs, cottage cheese or other dairy products.
In order for the roosters to gain weight quickly, it is necessary to provide constantly full troughs. They must be filled with cereal or other dry food. Roosters, which will be slaughtered, actively gain weight, if you feed them ready-made mixtures for broilers.
For fighting cocks
For special breeds of fighting cocks it is important to provide a special diet. The basis here is the feed, selected depending on the age of the bird. Ready to sweep can have various forms: granules or crumbly appearance. Since such feeds are developed by experts, all necessary substances are included in their composition. Such food provides healthy growth and strength of the bird.
Fight breeds of roosters need an increased rate of proteins and vitamins. For this reason, in addition to ready-made feeds, they are given:
- boiled eggs;
- milk products;
- meat;
- greens, wheat germ and other cereals.
Feeders
Roosters often take food from chickens. When sharing, equip feeders in such a way that birds do not interfere with each other during feeding.
Special strips attached to the feeders for chickens make it possible to reduce the size of the forage hole by up to 15 cm. This way the rooster will not be able to get to the chicken food.
On feeders for roosters install restrictive bumpers. Their size: 50cmx10cmx10cm. The sides are located at a height of 55 to 65cm. Such a distance from the floor to the feeder allows only roosters to feed from them. One trough enough for 15-20 cm front of feeding.
If you have a large farm, a reasonable way out would be to purchase an industrial rooster feeder. This adaptation takes into account the height of the birds, their temperament and behavior.
Feeding organization
The main and basic rule of the organization of feeding roosters is the following - they must be fed separately from chickens. the first should not take food second and vice versa. When birds are kept together this problem can be solved by placing the feeders for roosters above. Chickens will not be able to reach them if they are located at a height of 45 cm above the ground.
They feed the roosters in the first place and only after they have eaten - they give food to chickens.
Feeding can be carried out in two ways.:
- give food several times a day without leaving it in the feeders after the birds have eaten;
- ensure the availability of dry food throughout the day, giving a supplement to the diet (greens, wet mash, etc.) several times a day.
Thus, with proper feeding, the cocks will quickly gain weight, and the likelihood of developing diseases will decrease. They will also be able to effectively fertilize a large number of chickens.
Properly selected ration is one of the foundations of success, which will allow for the maintenance and breeding of poultry to achieve good results with minimal cost.
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