What conditions and features of care do Hubbard chickens need?
Hubbard chickens are an excellent meat breed that has gained popularity in European countries due to their large size, high productivity and excellent egg production. The versatility and unpretentiousness to the growing conditions made the chickens of this cross popular both on large poultry farms and on personal subsidiary plots. As a result, the breeder gets excellent meat and large eggs.
Hubbard chickens - breed description
Characteristics of Hubbard chickens:
- This breed is considered to be fast growing. On average, adult chickens gain weight up to 7-10 kg. Already at 1.5-2 months, broilers weigh at least 2.5-3 kg. At the same time, roosters gain weight faster than chickens.
- Egg production - 180-210 eggs per year. The average weight of an egg with a dense white shell is 60-70 g.
- Chickens are of medium build with a compact, horizontally set body. At the same time, the muscles are well developed.
- The head is small, the crest is of medium size, erect. The earrings and comb are reddish pink.
- The plumage is white, the feather is tight to the body. In hens, plumage appears earlier than in roosters.
- The wings are small compared to the carcass.
- The back is straight, wide and elongated.
- The skin and metatarsus are yellowish.
Hubbard chickens have a calm, level-headed personality. They easily get along with other inhabitants of the poultry house. This breed is distinguished by good contact, they are obedient and get along with both other birds and the farmer.
Varieties of the Hubbard cross
Hubbard chickens are represented by several crosses. Each of them differs in appearance - the shape of the ridge, the size and thickness of the legs, the height of the body, as well as the peculiarities of cultivation and maintenance.
The most common varieties are the Hubbard Classic, Flex and F-15. It is they who have gained wide popularity among Russian farmers and poultry breeders due to their high survival rate and excellent meat and egg characteristics.
Hubbard Classic
The Hubbard Classic is a breed characterized by fast growth, excellent weight gain and low cost. Most often, European breeders are engaged in breeding this particular breed.
Cross Classic is distinguished by good egg production up to 150-160 eggs per year, fast growth, high productivity, as well as the ability to adapt to almost any growing conditions.
Regardless of temperature conditions and feed, these chickens grow quickly and gain weight well.
Flex
A distinctive feature of Hubbard Flex chickens is the ability to produce homogeneous offspring with a high survival rate. Depending on the time of slaughter, the body weight of a broiler can reach 1.8-3 kg.
Parents can inherit their qualities, therefore, to renew the livestock, you can leave eggs from layers, getting healthy and viable chickens from them.
Initially, the Flex Flex was bred for industrial cultivation, as a breed that allows you to get a litter, completely ready for cutting and further processing. The optimal ratio of costs and profits made the Hubbard Flex breed popular among Russian farmers.
Hubbard F-15
The description of the Hubbard F-15 breed is of interest to many farmers and poultry breeders, because it is considered the most "economical" in terms of feed. A feature of this cross is that broiler chickens are obtained from dwarf mothers. That is why young animals have a minimal need for feed. The maximum productivity of broilers is at 2 years of age, after which they are sent for slaughter.
The Hubbard F-15 is one of the most common breeds used for growing on an industrial scale. Fast growth, good weight gain up to 2.6-3 kg, high quality meat and survival rate of over 90% made this cross the leader in the Russian market.
Hubbard broiler housing conditions
When raising Hubbard broilers at home, you can use different methods of keeping the livestock. These birds are distinguished by their unpretentious care and the ability to adapt to various conditions. They can be kept both walking and caged.
Basic requirements for arranging a chicken coop:
- The walls and floor of the house should be made of dense, high-quality material that excludes the entry of rodents.
- For broilers, you need to prepare a bedding of sawdust, hay or finely chopped straw 10-20 cm thick.
- Remove the top layer of litter every week, and replace it with a new one once a year.
- It is very important to ensure good ventilation in the house, regular ventilation, and a humidity level of 65-75%.
- The optimal daylight hours for Hubbard broilers are 13 hours or more, so a combination of sunlight and artificial lighting is desirable.
- It is recommended to keep no more than 5-10 birds per square meter of the house.
Hubbard broilers have a significant drawback - they do not tolerate sudden changes in temperature, this negatively affects their profitability.
Hubbard responds to stable temperature indicators with active growth and rapid weight gain. Therefore, the temperature in the poultry house must be kept at least + 18 ° C.
Walking
It is advisable to place the walking yard in a warm, sunny place, well protected from drafts. This will help prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria and the development of infectious diseases. You also need to take care of the reliable protection of the walking yard from rodents and predators.
The area for Hubbard broilers should not be too large. These birds are characterized by inactivity, which allows them to quickly gain weight.
On the walking area, it is imperative to equip feeders and provide birds with free access to drinking bowls with fresh and clean water.
Raising Hubbard Chickens
When raising chickens Hubbard needs to take into account that this breed is focused on keeping in a temperate or subtropical climate. Chicks up to five days of age are highly sensitive to reduced air temperature and humidity levels.
Until the chickens reach 5 days in the house, the air temperature must be maintained at least + 32 ° C and the humidity level at 70 ° C. The temperature can be lowered by 2-3 ° C every 5 days. When the room temperature reaches 19-20 ° C, additional heating is no longer required.
Hubbard chicks are fast growing and require weekly resettlement.
For the first 3-5 days, they can be kept in a box in an amount of no more than 13 pcs. per 1 square meter. By reaching 30 days of age, the number of individuals is reduced to 5-7 pieces. per meter.
Additional lighting is provided in the room with chickens, and drinkers are installed, preferably nipple ones. Birds of this breed are quite capricious about the quality of drinking water - drinkers need to be cleaned regularly and the water changed daily.
Feeding rules
When raising Hubbard broilers, you need to provide the birds with a nutritious and balanced diet. For feeding, you can use ready-made compound feedcontaining everything necessary for active growth and vigor of broilers.
It is recommended to feed newborn chickens for 3-5 days with warm mash with corn, wheat or barley groats, boiled eggs, chopped herbs, soybean meal, ground corn and wheat with milk powder. Chicks need to be fed up to 8-9 times a day, including at night. After 7-10 days, boiled vegetables and vitamin and mineral supplements can be introduced into the diet of chickens.
When self-feeding Hubbard broilers, it is recommended to include:
- sunflower cake;
- meat and bone and fish meal;
- fresh chopped grass;
- cereals - corn, wheat, barley;
- dry brewer's yeast;
- soybean meal;
- powdered milk;
- raw vegetables - zucchini, pumpkin, cucumbers.
To improve the functioning of the digestive system, Hubbard broilers are recommended to give grated, finely crushed shell, chalk, and fish oil.
The Hubbard is a popular breed of broilers known for high productivity, excellent meat and meat qualities, good survival rate and the ability to adapt to almost any conditions. Observing simple conditions of keeping, the breeder receives the highest quality and tasty meat and eggs at the lowest cost.