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Poultry breeding
Feeding Breeders
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One of the most important aspects of breeding is ensuring that the breeders are given a proper, balanced food ration. It is also one of the most neglected areas, as far as the small poultry-keeping sector is concerned. A layer's ration is fine for an adult hen that is required to lay eggs for consumption, but it is not ideal for a breeding bird.
In this case, the parent birds are required to produce fertile eggs that will incubate and hatch healthy young birds. The balance of required amino acids, minerals and vitamins is a different one, and deficiencies can show up in the hatched progeny.
The table indicates some of the problems that may occur.
| Nutrient | Effect of deficiency |
|---|---|
| Vitamin A | Early incubation. Small, pale eyes. |
| Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) | Lack of muscular coordination. Inability to extend legs. |
| Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) | Clubbed ends to down feathers. Curly toes. 'Parrot' beaks. |
| Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) | Convulsive movements. Paddling of feet. |
| VItamin B12 (Cobalmin) | Inadequate blood cell formation. Anaemia. Fluid in body. Short beaks. Perosis or slipped tendons. |
| Vitamin D | Inability to metabolize calcium and phosphorus. Rickets. Splayed legs. Twisted breastbones. Soft beaks. Small, pale eyes. |
| Calcium and Phosphorus | As for Vitamin D deficiency. |
| Vitamin E | Encephalamasia or Crazy Chick disease, where chicks can only look upwards. Paddling of feet. |
| Vitamin K | Inadequate blood clotting. Haemorrhages. |
| Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) | Lack of muscular coordination. Abnormal feathering. |
| Vitamin H (Biotin) | Twisted legs and wings. 'Parrot' beaks. Webbed toes. |
| Folic acid | Inadequate feathering and poor growth. |
| Manganese | Perosis. Birds with short legs and wings, bulging heads and 'parrot' beaks. |
| Zinc | Abnormal heads and beaks. Poor spinal development. Eyes pale and small. |
| Iodine | Over-long incubation time. Navel still open. |
The way to avoid deficiency problems in newly hatched birds is to give the parents a specially formulated breeder's ration. At one time, these were only available in large quantities, making their purchase an impractical proposition for the small breeder. They would have 'gone off' before they could be used up, resulting in considerable and expensive wastage.
I used to get round this by giving my breeding birds a layer's ration, with additions of ground-up multi-vitamin tablets, cod liver oil and Marmite.
Fortunately, it is now possible to buy a breeder's ration in relatively small amounts from specialist suppliers. Anyone considering breeding would be well advised to use it. If fertile eggs are to be incubated in the spring, then a breeder's ration can be given from winter onwards so that the parent birds are in excellent condition for breeding.
Copyright © Katie Thear 2005