Adler silver breed of chicken meat and egg direction bred for the southern regions. The bird has a calm character, stable immunity to most diseases, and is not demanding to care for. What rules should be followed so that chickens please with high egg production rates, and roosters gain weight well - read further in the article.
Description of the breed
This is a popular meat and egg breed. Bred for the south of Russia, it is unpretentious.
The owners praise the immunity, the large number of chickens hatched, the lack of reaction to the hot climate.
Origin
The breed was created in 1951-65 at the Adler poultry plant with the participation of specialists from the Kuban State Agrarian University.
Breeders used the sequential attachment method. And they took the following breeds as a basis:
- Russian white;
- May Day;
- New Hampshire;
- White Plymouth Rock;
- Yurlovskaya.
In the 60s, Adler divorced at industrial enterprises, but modern cross-country were much more effective, and Adler moved to personal farms. They tried to improve the breed by crossing with the White Leghorn, but this did not help.
Specifications
Hens by 1 year of life reach a weight of 2.8-3.5 kg, roosters - up to 4 kg.
These powerful, beautiful birds can be described:
- the back is wide, the chest and abdomen are well developed;
- the wings fit tightly to the body;
- feather color - Colombian (white feathers with black blotches on the neck, wings and in the tail);
- the legs are powerful, the legs are massive, the metatarsus are widely spaced;
- the head is well set, the neck is wide;
- eyes are round, red-orange;
- comb red leaf-shaped, red lobes and earrings;
- paws and beak are yellow.
Pure white birds with white legs are occasionally found, but must be discarded.
Adler Silver is similar to the Sussex breed, but this is only an external resemblance. Sussex Colombian color is often sold under the guise of Adler, but this only spoils the breed. You can distinguish birds by the color of their legs: they are white and pink in Sussexes, and only yellow in Adler.
The nature of the birds of the breed is peaceful, they rarely fight with each other, get along well with other inhabitants, quickly get used to people, respond to calls, love communication.
Productive qualities
The egg production of Adler is quite high: an average of 200 eggs per year at 40-60 g. Laying hens begin to lay at 5-6 months and produce eggs for several years (egg production remains at a height of up to 4 years). The eggs taste very good, with a strong and tasty protein.
Good laying hens are distinguished by the color of their legs: they are paler than other birds, as the pigment goes into the eggs.
Adler silver chickens can be grown like a broiler. By increasing the dose of feed, or buying mixed feed for broilers, you can achieve an increase in weight.
Oviposition Features
Laying non-stop, every day, lays an egg for 3 weeks-1 month, then comes a weekly or 2-week break. This regime is observed all year round, regardless of the season.
If productivity is declining, pay attention to the following factors:
- Nutrition. A common cause is a lack of vitamins, calcium and other minerals. Increase the amount of greens, root vegetables, eggshells, chalk.
Overfeeding is another common cause. When the bird gains excess weight, or when the poultry farmers decide to raise it like a broiler, it stops laying.The less the chicken weighs, the more eggs it produces.
- Stress. In conditions of changing territory, food, daily routine, and the appearance of new birds in the herd, chickens may stop flying. Also, a dense accumulation of chickens in one area negatively affects egg production.
Adler hens do not tolerate cramped cages and too close neighbors.
- Daylight hours. A short day and a long night is perceived by the bird as a calendar winter, when hens do not rush in nature. To fix the situation:
- keep the temperature in the chicken coop above 0 ° C;
- lay a loose, dry, warm mat;
- add mineral components to the feed;
- arrange additional lighting.
- Molting. The molting period falls in the fall and lasts 2-4 weeks. After its end, egg production resumes.
- Diseases Keep a close eye on the status of your livestock so you don't miss a problem.
For chickens, the early onset of oviposition is very dangerous, this can provoke the loss of the oviduct. Therefore, sexual development should be monitored. You can do this in the following ways:
- keep separate males and females up to 6 months of age;
- to breed chickens in June, so that by the period of growing up the daylight hours begin to decrease;
- for an early brood from 4-5 months, they reduce the amount of feed and artificially limit daylight hours.
Features of the content
Adler silver ones are not whimsical to the conditions of detention; they can be bred in enclosures, spacious cages, they feel very good on the walks, where they successfully find food by foraging.
Summer content
In the summer, in conditions of free-walking, the chickens will be better carried and gain weight. They can be kept at night:
- in a poultry house, closed on all sides by walls;
- in an aviary, where 1 or 2 walls are replaced with a net.
When arranging a house or aviary, follow these guidelines:
- Place for the chicken coop... If possible, choose an area on a hill so that it is always dry.
- Area. Calculate using the formula: 1 sq. m of area for 2 individuals or the total number of chickens, divide by 3.
- Litter. Cover the floor with dry bedding.
- Feeding troughs and drinking bowls. Set up so that all chickens can walk up to them together. Otherwise, stronger and more authoritative individuals will drive away the smaller and weaker ones. How to make your own chicken feeder, read here.
- Perches. Set up at a height of 0.6-1 m from the floor in a remote, darkened and warm part of the building. One individual should have at least 30 cm of a pole. Its thickness should be such that the bird can grasp well with its paws. The material is wood.
With a large number of livestock, birds can be kept on the floor without installing perches.
- Nests. The optimal size of the nest is 30x40x45 cm. Place them in the driest and most distant places from the exit. Put straw or sawdust inside. It is good if the sides protrude 5-10 cm above the flooring.
- Baths. Set up ash or sand baths in the bird's habitat to clean feathers.
- Cleaning. In the summer, clean with litter replaced once every 14 days.
Arrangement of a walking yard:
- Fencing... Take care of the fencing of the walking area. The height of the fence must be 2 m or more. Make it from a metal or nylon mesh with cells up to 5 cm.
- Low humidity. Choose a territory where water will not stagnate after rains.
- Coating. For Adler chickens, sown grass or meadow flowers underfoot are well suited.
- Feeding troughs, drinking bowls, bathtubs. In the summer, you can take it out to the walking yard. Provide a rain shelter to prevent water from flooding food and dry baths.
This article will show you how to make a drinker yourself.
- Laz. Connect the house to the walking area with a manhole so the chickens can move around freely.
Care features
A feature of care is that Adlers need a high, dry and soft bedding that absorbs moisture well.
Suitable as bedding:
- sawdust;
- moss peat;
- coconut fiber;
- straw;
- fine gravel;
- a small amount of lime can be added to the litter.
Regardless of the conditions of detention, you should take care of soft, loose and dry litter on the floor.
Feeding
For the full development of Adler chickens, the intake of nutrients into the body is necessary. The daily ration is as follows:
- Corn. Chickens swallow well both crushed and whole grains, even corn. This does not affect digestion and assimilation.
- Vegetables. Can make up to 50% of the total diet. Fresh, give zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkin with seeds, and fodder beets. Also, you can pre-grind them on a grater to add to the mixers.
- Greenery. Need a bird every day. Chickens are happy to eat dandelion, nettle, woodlice, clover, tops. Feed them freshly picked grass or add chopped grass to the mash.
Greens, as a staple food, are given to overweight birds.
- Compound feed. Buy for meat and egg breeds. Give it in the morning, sometimes mix in steamed form to the mash.
- Protein Supplements... To increase the egg size, you need to add protein to your food. Give it to the bird at the rate of 10 g per bird per day. In this capacity, porridge with meat or fish broth, bone or meat-and-bone meal, dairy products will do well.
- Vitamins and minerals. Better buy ready-made complexes and mix in the feed. Important elements are phosphorus and calcium, vitamins A, B, E, D.
- Water. It should always be fresh. Top it up 2 times a day and wash the drinkers every day.
Feed
Chickens are fed 3 times a day. In the morning and in the evening, they give compound feed and grain, in the afternoon - mash.
The diet depends on the age of the laying hen.
Table of an approximate list of feeds for 1 chicken per day:
Feed, for 1 chicken | Age 22-47 weeks | Age over 47 weeks |
Boiled potatoes, g / day | 50 | 50 |
Corn, g / day | 40 | — |
Greens, g / day | 30 | 30 |
Wheat, g / day | 20 | 40 |
Meal, g / day | 11 | 14 |
Carrot, g / day | 10 | — |
Meat and fish waste, g / day | 5 | 10 |
Rakushnyak, g / day | 5 | 5 |
Fish meal, g / day | 4 | — |
Chalk, g / day | 3 | 3 |
Yeast, g / day | 1 | 14 |
Bone meal, g / day | 1 | 1 |
Barley, g / day | — | 30 |
Pumpkin, g / day | — | 20 |
With constant consumption of fish, the meat of the slaughtered poultry will have a fishy smell.
Egg production can be increased depending on the increase or decrease in the use of certain products.
Feeding table for chickens to increase egg production:
Feed for 1 chicken | Egg production 50% | Egg production 60% | Egg production 70% |
Wheat, g / day | 25 | 30 | 35 |
Oats, g / day | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Millet g / day | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Sunflower cake, g / day | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Wheat bran, g / day | 40 | 20 | 20 |
Flour, g / day | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Bone meal, chalk, g / day | 5 | 10 | 10 |
Winter maintenance
In preparation for the winter, do the following:
- Warming... Fill up all cracks and holes so that there are no drafts in the chicken coop. Take care of the insulation of the door, it should close tightly, without cracks. Place a thick layer of bedding on the floor. When it comes up, loosen the top layer with a rake or replace it with a new one if it is dirty enough.
- Walked. Hens must go out every day. An aviary is best suited for this. Insulate the floor with a layer of litter. Install protection from wind and precipitation.
- Lighting. Install fluorescent lamps in the chicken coop to extend the illumination to 13-15 hours a day.
- Feed. In winter, make sure that the wet food does not have time to cool down while it is being eaten, and even more so it does not remain frozen in the feeder. Increase your intake of vegetables and greens as hay.
- Water. Make sure that the water does not freeze in the drinkers.
- Hygiene. Clean the house every week.
Breeding
Adler chickens, in the process of breeding, have lost their incubation instinct, so an incubator is required to breed them, or you can put eggs under a blackbird of a different breed.
Adler crosses well with other breeds:
- egg production increases when Adler’s rooster is crossed with Kuchinsky chicken;
- immunity is strengthened in the descendants of Adler chickens with Kuchin roosters, they also improve their meat performance;
- color and performance characteristics increase in chicks of the Local Hen and Adler Rooster;
- Autosex chicks are hatched from Rhode Island cocks and Adler chickens, their chickens hatch with dark down.
Buying Adler silver should not disappoint if you buy a bird in the Gene Pool and VNITIP. A weekly chick can cost from 250 rubles.
How to choose eggs?
Despite the fact that Adler eggs have a high fertilization rate, not everyone is suitable for incubation. Pay attention to the following parameters:
- Laying hen. Do not take eggs from sick, too old or young chickens. As well as laying hens with impaired oviposition.
- Deadline. Pick eggs straight from the nest and no older than 5 days. Under storage conditions at temperatures below 12 ° C, the embryo dies.
- Shape and size. Choose eggs of medium size, standard shape. Do not take eggs that are too long or rounded or with external defects in the shell.
- Cleaning. Never wash eggs for incubation. Also, do not wipe them with force.
- Inspection with an ovoscope. When viewing an egg, the yolk should be in the center, the air chamber should be at the blunt end, its size should not be more than a teaspoon.
Incubation
Chicks are best hatched in late May-June.
Before laying eggs in the incubator, they are introduced for several hours into the room where the device is located. Turn on the incubator for heating. After reaching the starting temperature, lay eggs in it.
Incubation period table and parameter change:
Period, days | Temperature, ° С | Humidity,% | Turning over, once / day | Airing, once / day | Airing, min / time |
1-11 | 37,9 | 66 | 4 | — | — |
12-17 | 37,3 | 53 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
18-19 | 37,3 | 47 | 4 | 2 | 20 |
20-21 | 37,0 | 66 | — | 2 | 5 |
Chicks survive by 86%, grow rapidly, in a brood of about 20% of males.
Growing chickens
As soon as the egg hatching process has begun, it should be constantly monitored and the hatching chickens immediately removed from the incubator.
To dry, place the chicks in a box on the bottom of which put a heating pad or hot water bottles wrapped in a cloth. Place a 100 W lamp on top.
A healthy day-old chick weighs 35-40 g, vigorous, with clean fluff, eats and drinks himself.
Next, adhere to the temperature regime in the box, according to the table.
Temperature mode table by day:
Days | Temperature ° C |
1-5 | 30-35 |
6-10 | 26-28 |
11-20 | 22-25 |
21-30 | 20-22 |
31-40 | 16-22 |
Chicks normally move evenly inside the box. If they crowded under a lamp, it means they are cold. If they sit in the corners, then it’s hot for them. Adjust the temperature according to their behavior.
Rules of care and feeding in the first 10 days of life:
- Daily regime. Train the chicks immediately to the daily routine by turning on the lamp at 6 in the morning and off at 8 in the evening. Place a heating pad in the box at night.
- Diet. Chickens are fed every 2 hours, including night time. Prepare food fresh every time. Only boiled eggs in the refrigerator can be stored in the refrigerator. It is better to give greens fresh, as a last resort it can be kept in the refrigerator in the lower section for up to 1 day.
- Noma feed. Calculate the amount of food so that the chicks eat it in 30 minutes. Discard the remainder.
- Litter. Line the bottom of the box with clean, unprinted paper. Change it as soon as it gets dirty. When feeding from the floor, the top layer of paper is replaced after each feeding.
Chicks must receive adequate amounts of all nutrients, especially protein, for full development. Feed them according to the table and age.
Daily Chicken Feed Standard Table:
Feed for 1 chicken | 1-3 days | 4-10 days | 11-20 days | 21-30 days | 31-40 days | 41-50 days | 51-60 days |
Hard boiled egg, g / day | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
Skimmed milk, g / day | 5 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 25 | 25 |
Fat-free cottage cheese, g / day | 1 | 1,5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Millet, barley, corn, g / day | 5 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 32 | 39 | 48 |
Bone, fish meal, g / day | — | — | 1 | 0,4 | 2,8 | 3,5 | 4 |
Meal, cake, g / day | — | 0,2 | 0,5 | 0,6 | 1,2 | 1,5 | 2 |
Greens, carrots, g / day | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 18 |
Boiled potatoes, root crops, g / day | — | — | 4 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 |
Mineral supplements, g / day | — | 0,4 | 0,7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Salt, g / day | — | — | — | — | — | 0,1 | 0,2 |
After 2 months, the chicks are fed with adult birds.
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
The main advantages of the breed include:
- prevalence, it is easy to acquire hatching eggs and young growth;
- flexible character;
- good immunity;
- unpretentiousness to conditions of detention;
- stable egg production throughout the year;
- preservation of egg production for 3-4 years;
- preservation of taste and quality characteristics of meat up to 4 years.
Among the disadvantages are:
- lack of incubation instinct;
- the need for additional lighting in winter;
- the need for regulation of puberty.
What are chickens sick with?
Chickens of the Adler breed often suffer from diseases of the legs (especially articular ones), therefore it is unacceptable to keep them in wet conditions, there should always be litter on the floor of the poultry house. In humid climates, perches are necessary.
Otherwise, the bird has good health and high immunity. But, under unfavorable conditions of detention and poor feeding, infectious and non-infectious diseases can develop.
Reviews of farmers about the breed of chickens Adler silver
Boris, 35 years old. I decided to have Adler chickens for the sake of experiment. I read that they could slip Sussexes instead of them, so I took already grown chickens so that the differences could be seen. All chickens grew up without any health problems.
My impressions: a calm bird that flies very high - roosters can fly to the roof to crow from there. They are carried stably and even in winter, only additional lighting is needed in the chicken coop.
Petrovich, 50 years old. I have been holding Adler for several years. Totally satisfied with the breed. One laying hen produces 180-200 delicious eggs per year. The bird is gaining weight quickly - 2.5-4 kg per year. A big surprise was the flight capabilities, I advise you to take care of the hedge in the pen.
Ekaterina, 43 years old. To divorce the Adlers, they bought hatching eggs. Were ready for the fact that there will be about half of the cockerels in the brood, but after reading the characteristics, they expected to get a half-year-old chicken weighing at least 2.5 kg, but the bird did not even reach 2. And although the hens are excellent layers, it makes no sense to feed the roosters up to a year ... And you can only distinguish the sex of a chicken from 6 months.
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The Adler silver breed feels good and rushes in conditions of good nutrition and the possibility of free walking, does not tolerate cramped cells. Egg production in laying hens lasts up to 4 years, has average productivity indicators. Can be grown like broilers. The breed is suitable for breeding for beginner farmers.