Is it possible to give broiler chickens and layers bread, feeding with black and white products
Many people feed chickens with foods that remain from the table. But not everyone knows whether it is possible to give bread to chickens for food. Chickens need a nutritious diet consisting of vitamins, trace elements, minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. This allows you to lay eggs, have healthy meat, and reduce the risk of obesity. When feeding with flour products, a number of rules are observed so as not to harm the bird.
Can I feed chickens with bread?
Bread contains only carbohydrates. They are not enough for a healthy diet of chickens. Broilers fed with flour products are obese.
Negative properties of chicken bread:
- high risk of beak and goiter sticking together, which will lead to death of the bird from suffocation;
- ingestion of chickens with thermophilic yeast added to bread during production;
- loss of egg quality in hens;
- the possibility of mold formation on stale food, due to which the chicken can completely refuse the offered food;
- high risk of dysfunction of the digestive tract, leading to disease.
Poultry farmers believe that bread can be given as a top dressing, but not as a constant meal, but as a delicacy. Many birds and animals like to eat bread to replenish the need for carbohydrates.
What bread is allowed and what is not
When introducing flour products into the diet, the following rules are followed:
- added to the main meal in small portions;
- made in dried and crushed form;
- soaked and added to cereals if the product is too stale.
It is recommended to add bread products to boiled potatoes, cereals, cottage cheese, herbs. Poultry farmers are advised to give white dried bread, which is free of mold. Rye bread is given in limited quantities, since frequent use can increase gastric acidity, which will lead to dysfunction of the stomach, the bird may die.
It is not recommended to give a flour product to chickens if it contains negative qualities:
- high sugar content, leading to a disorder in the function of the digestive tract due to the resulting fermentation;
- mold, leading to dyspeptic disorders in the form of diarrhea and intoxication of the body (a product with black mold is thrown away, if it is green, cut off);
- a soaked state - the chicken should eat it in the near future, the leftovers are thrown away, since there is a risk of infection multiplying, especially in the summer;
- the content of auxiliary additives in bread products (salt, sourdough, fat, milk) due to the risk of a negative reaction to the body (allergies, impaired intestinal motility, suffocation).
Chickens are not given white bread in large chunks. If they enter the stomach, they quickly swell, so the hydrochloric acid will not be able to digest the product. This is how a feathered dyspeptic disorder is formed. A large lump can get stuck in the bird's throat. This will cause an asthma attack that will lead to death.
Drunken bread and the consequences of feeding it
On some ears of wheat there is a pathogenic fungus from the genus Fusarium. It is toxic to the body of chickens, animals, humans. If it enters the bird's body, it can multiply, causing symptoms of intoxication. Mortality occurs in most chickens. The incubation period of the disease is up to 1.5 days after the pathogen enters the body.
Permitted amount
If chickens are given a lot of white bread, their body weight will increase, leading to obesity. Therefore, poultry farmers need to be rational in the amount of:
- white - can be given daily, but no more than half of the total amount of food;
- gray - can be given in small portions, only a few times a week.
It is necessary to mix the flour product with other products. Then the risk of obesity and deterioration in the quality of eggs will be significantly reduced.
Feeding frequency
Flour products are given to chickens in winter, since carbohydrates contribute to the energy saturation of the body. Most birds are in tight enclosures, their movements are minimal, so there is a risk of frostbite. At this time of year, chickens should receive flour products daily. In the summer, it is necessary to reduce the frequency of feeding with bread products to 2 times a week.
DIY bread mash
A mash is a mixture of various types of rusks. The product is based on porridge mixed with dried bread, which was previously crushed into crumbs. You can add vegetables to this mixture, for example, carrots, potatoes, beets, herbs, cucumbers.
Raw or boiled vegetables are chopped. To increase the nutritional value, add meat broth or milk whey.
Often, poultry farmers put yeast and bran in the mash.
An example of making 1 portion of a mash:
- corn 30 g;
- wheat 20 g;
- meal 15 g;
- greens 30 g;
- white ground croutons 25 g;
- salt 0.5 g;
- chalk 2 g.
Mix all ingredients, add low-fat broth.
