How to select high-quality and healthy chicks?

Selecting high-quality and healthy chicks and eliminating sick chicks are the key links to improve the brooding rate and cultivate excellent breeders and high-yield laying hens. Because of the quality of eggs, newborn chicks are bound to be strong and weak. We can identify the strength of chicks by checking genealogy, finding out the shell time and weight, and checking the appearance, so as to accurately select healthy chicks.

(1) View genealogy

There are many kinds of laying hens, and their production performance is different. It is necessary to choose suitable breeds according to the equipment, feed and local climate conditions in the house to find out the pedigree of newborn chicks. The selected newborn chicks should be commercial hybrid chickens or breeders with healthy population, reliable performance and reasonable matching.

(2) Find out the time and weight of the shell.

Chickens hatch at different times, first come first served. Generally, chicks hatched in 2 1 day are better. However, chicks hatched late have poor development, weak constitution, bad egg yolk inhalation, big belly, burnt hair and umbilical cord healing; In particular, the "sweeping chicken" that came out of its shell was born with many diseases and it was not easy to survive. The weight of newborn chicks of laying hens is generally about 40 grams, which is slightly different due to different breeds.

(3) check the appearance

The method is "look, listen and touch".

At first glance, it just depends on the mental state of the chicken. That is, visually observe the dynamics of chicks, the neatness of feathers, whether there are abnormalities in beak, legs, toes and eyes, whether there is fecal adhesion in anus, and whether the umbilicus is well healed. To distinguish healthy and weak chicks. Healthy chicks are generally lively and active, with big eyes, neat and shiny feathers, clean anus without dirt, normal umbilical hole closure, soft abdomen, good absorption of egg yolk and normal beak and wings. Weak chicks have small eyes or close their eyes, don't like to move or stand still, even stand unsteadily, their feathers are unkempt, dull and unclean, there is white stool adhesion around the anus, the abdomen is slack, the umbilical foramen is poorly healed, bloody, the beak is bent, the legs are soft and the toes are curled.

Second, listen to the chick. The sound of healthy chicks is loud and clear; Weak chickens cry weakly and hoarse, or cry endlessly and have difficulty breathing.

The third touch is to touch the chicken's fat and body temperature. Hold the chicken in your hand, feel its fat, bone development, abdominal size and softness, and realize whether the yolk is absorbed well and the vitality of the chicken. Healthy chicks are of appropriate weight, warm, plump, symmetrical, elastic and struggling, with soft abdomen, moderate size, well-healed navel, dry and covered with fluff; Weak chicks are light, cold to the touch, fat-free, soft, unable to struggle, abdominal swelling, poor umbilical healing, large umbilical foramen, mucus, blood or yolk attached, and no villi covered.

See table 4- 1 for the grading standard of newborn chicks.

Table 4- 1 Grading standard of newborn chicks