Selection of Hen (Chickens) For Poultry Farming

How to select good hen or chicken for farm

List of contents
01: Selection of hen or chicken of egg production
02: Selection of hens for chicken production
Summary

Also read: Basic Principles of Poultry Farming

01: Selection of hen or chicken of egg production

Chickens should be of good breed, at the same time it is also important that these chickens should be of good egg laying breed. White leghorn and Minorca breed chickens are considered the best in India. The following points should be kept in mind in the selection of breed of chickens for egg production:

  1. The rate of egg production should be high and it should be persistent.
  2. The egg laying rate should not be less than 70%. This rate of egg production last for 8-10 months.
  3. Chickens should shed their feather fastly at the end of the year. Some old feathers should not shed until the following year.
  4. Chickens should get maturity in right time. They should become adult in about 175 days, and the rate of growth should be the same.
  5. Maximum production should be achieved soon.
  6. Broody symptoms should be absent in these birds.
  7. Mortality rate should be low in these birds, the death rate should not be more than 10%. Must have immunity.
  8. The eggs obtained from chickens should be 55 grams.
  9. Eggs should not be abnormal.
  10. Egg hatching rate should be more than 75%.
  11. At the time of egg production, there should be minimum growth throughout the hen.
  12. Dietary consumption should be minimal.
  13. Dietary utilization efficiency should be maximum.
  14. The structure of the body should be triangular.

Keeping all these things in mind, it is very important that chickens should be bought before laying eggs. Due to the change of place due to the purchase of egg laying hens, they start laying eggs after 1/2 to 2 months. Where chickens are born, they should be bought from there. Hybrid breed chickens give 15% more eggs than normal chickens.

The breeding program for higher egg production is as follows:

Also read: How to Get Success in Poultry Farming

02: Selection of hens for chicken production

While selecting the breed of chicken for chicken production, the same things should be kept in mind as in the selection of egg producing hens. In this, the body structure such as broad chest, developed thighs, and the body should appear bloated after removing the wings. The colour of poultry chicken is very important in hens raised for chickens. American breed chickens are selected for the yellow colour of chicken. White coloured chicken is preferred in Europe.

Selection criteria

  1. The bird should be a fast grower. Therefore, the feed utilization efficiency should be high. Such a bird gets ready for the market soon.
  2. There should be more chicken in the bird, it should be bigger in size. Chicken should come quickly in the chest and thighs.
  3. Mortality rate is low in these.
  4. The bird should be powerful.
  5. The speed of growing feathers in chicken birds is slow, so go to such birds which have feathers coming out at high speed.
  6. Average egg production should be 180. This is the rate of egg production per year. 7. Egg hatching rate should be above 80%

Cornish, plymouth rock, cochin, brahma, sisecx, asil, and chittagong breed hens are good for this. Asil chickens become overweight as they grow up, although the rate of growth in them is slow. Also it lays less eggs. This is the reason why it is more expensive to follow the asil breed in a commercial poultry farm.

Disadvantages of indigenous chickens

  1. Physical development is slow in indigenous chickens
  2. Small in size
  3. There is less meat in the body
  4. Egg production starts late
  5. Egg production capacity is low

For these reasons, indigenous chickens are not used industrially in the egg and meat production business.

Disadvantages of leghorn Chickens

  • Physical growth is rapid in the beginning, but there is less physical growth in later phase.
  • There is Less chicken in legs and chest.

Therefore it should not be selected for chicken production.

Cornish and New Hampshire breed chickens are best for their chicken, but the use of hybrid chickens is also very beneficial for chicken production. For this, we can produce good birds for chicken from the cross of Aseel and Rhode Island Red breeds. When females of New Hampshire, white plyemouth rock, and Rhode Island Red are crossed with a male Cornish, hybrid chickens that are good for chicken are the final result.

To get the maximum benefit from chickens, the poultry farmer has to take care of some special things, which are as follows:

  1. Always purchase one day old chicks
  2. It should not take more than 6 hours to buy the chicks from the hatchery and bring them to the farm.
  3. Balanced diet should always be available in the farm
  4. Electricity should always be available at the time of brooding
  5. Have separate sheds for different batches of chickens
  6. As a hen is 8 weeks old, or their weight is according to the market, then they should be sold.
  7. Dressing facility should be separate
  8. Egg laying hens should be far away from broilers

Summary

For egg production

  1. Egg laying capacity is more than 70%
  2. Birds should be fast grower
  3. Selection of non broody hen
  4. Low mortality rate
  5. Weight of egg should be at least 55g
  6. Shape should be triangular

For chicken production

  1. Buying one day old chicks
  2. Availability of balanced poultry feed
  3. Availability of artificial light
  4. Facility of market
  5. Separate poultry houses

Also read: Best Poultry Farming Book Hindi

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