Description and rules for keeping chickens of the Xin Xin Dian breed
The East and, in particular, China have always amazed the rest of the world with exotic novelties, including among the varieties of poultry. And just Xin Xin Dian - a Chinese breed of original, unusual chickens - is a confirmation of this, which proves their description and opinions of poultry farmers. Due to the combination of positive qualities, they can increasingly be found in Russian courtyards.
Characteristics and a complete description of Xin Xin Dian purebred chickens
This breed was bred in China by specialists from the Shanghai Institute, and was brought to Russia by the Khabarovsk poultry farmer, N. B. Roshchin.
Appearance of the breed
Birds are characterized by red, brick and common black color. The head of chickens is small, but the deciduous crest is developed, painted in a bright, scarlet color. Lobes with earrings hanging on the sides are of a similar color. The neck is short, wide, smoothly merging into a trapezoidal, medium-sized body. Legs small, proportional, with short, yellowish-gray, bare metatarsals. The rooster weighs 1.8-2.0 kilograms, and the chicken weighs 1.3-1.5 kilograms.
Character of chickens
Chickens of this breed are characterized by accuracy and discipline, good adaptation to new conditions of keeping. They are friendly, active and mobile during the day. Roosters rarely show pronounced aggression, but, of course, they compete with each other.
Hatching instinct
Chickens of the Xin Xin Dian breed have a developed hatching instinct, they do a good job of mothering.
Bird productivity
The egg production of the Xin Xin Dian breed per year is 260-280 pieces, and the average weight of one egg is 54 grams. But birds gain the highest egg production in the 2nd year, but already in the 3rd year of life, the indicators fall.
A peculiarity of the breed is eggs with shells of an unusual, greenish-blue color.
The composition includes acids, vitamins and minerals that have a beneficial effect on the human body, they are much more useful than quail. In Chinese alternative medicine, eggs are used as a medicine.
Maturation
Chinese poultry farmers, when breeding the breed, set the task of weight loss in favor of increasing egg production and maturation rate. Chickens begin to lay eggs when they reach the age of 4.4-4.6 months, but the weight will not be more than 55 grams. But after one year of age, their size increases to 62 grams.
Pros and cons of the breed
Xin Xin Dian chickens have many positive qualities, but they are not an ideal breed, and they also have their drawbacks.
Strengths:
- unique composition and unusual appearance of eggs;
- mobility, good character and lack of aggression in chickens;
- high adaptation to new conditions;
- good, stable egg production starting at 4 months;
- chickens consume little feed;
- high hatchability and survival rate of chickens;
- good immunity to diseases.
Weaknesses:
- poor resistance to low temperatures;
- the need for a high fence for the walking yard.
Subtleties of content
For high egg production, good weight gain and maintaining the overall health of chickens, you need to know all the nuances of their maintenance.
Diseases and the fight against them
Thanks to the efforts of breeders, chickens of this breed have a strong, innate immunity to diseases. To maintain the health of the herd, routine vaccinations are used. But Xin Xin Dian chickens are susceptible to parasitic infections, in which case they are treated with potent antibiotics.
Walking
Due to the increased activity, Chinese chickens cannot exist without walking, they often try to fly out of their territory. Therefore, it is necessary to equip a spacious walking yard, surrounded by a high metal mesh.
Density
An important point will be the arrangement of the chicken coop - Xin Xin Dian chickens are distinguished by discipline and get used to a certain order of life. They even take the same places for the night. Therefore, to maintain health and productivity, the owners must provide them with comfortable conditions - both during sleep and during egg-laying.
Each hen needs a minimum of 40-50 centimeters of perch, but in general, a hen house requires 1 square meter of space for 6 individuals. It is important to have a spacious walking yard.
Lighting
If there is not enough light in the poultry house in winter, then additional sources are used. For a medium-sized chicken coop, 2 small lamps are enough. Daylight hours should start at 6 am and last 12 hours - until 6 pm.
Temperature and humidity
This breed of chickens does not have the ability to tolerate low temperatures. Frost, as well as a cold and damp chicken coop, will lead to massive illness of the herd and even possible death. Therefore, they maintain a low level of humidity (equip ventilation), monitor the dryness of the litter and heat in the cold period. The temperature in the hen house should not be lower than +5.2 C ... + 7.2 C and above +20 C degrees (optimal: +12.5 C ... + 14.5 C), as well as at sub-zero temperatures, chickens are not allowed to walk ...
Litter
Clean, and most importantly, dry bedding is an important factor in maintaining the health of chickens. This is especially carefully monitored in winter. The best materials for making are dry moss, sawdust or peat. In addition to absorbing moisture, moss also has fungicidal properties; it is used mixed with sawdust or peat.
Bath
Baths filled with a mixture of sand and wood ash are installed in the promenade. Regularly taking such baths, chickens themselves rid themselves of fleas and other parasites.
Nutrition of adult birds and young animals
Feeding chickens is no problem, with proper nutrition they grow quickly and by 2 months gain up to 815 grams of weight. The first 9 days of life requires a diet that includes: boiled eggs, herbs, baker's yeast, cottage cheese and corn grits.
Further nutrition includes combined feed mixtures according to age, as well as boiled vegetables and complex vitamins. To maintain a high and, moreover, stable egg production, chickens are given a balanced diet.
The chicken menu includes the following components:
- combined cereal feed with a predominance of corn (more than 50% of the composition);
- daily inclusion of vegetables and herbs in the diet (up to 40% of the volume);
- sources of animal protein - earthworms, fish, meat waste;
- fish oil, sprouted grains and yeast;
- wet mash with minerals (shells ground into dust, chalk, ordinary salt, shells, ground bone meal).
A complete diet is especially important because birds eat little and need to get everything they need with every meal.
Breeding features
Thanks to the preserved maternal instinct, chickens of this breed will not have problems with breeding. At home, they are bred without the use of incubators. Chicks are born healthy, robust and gain weight quickly with the right diet.
At 2 months of age, their weight reaches 1 kilogram. In the initial stages of development, chicks need a constant temperature of +30 C degrees and lighting. But then they are gradually accustomed to the dark and begin to lower the temperature.
Molting care
During this period, the chickens stop rushing, preserving the depleted resources of the body. During the autumn molt, they require rest, warmth and abundant, varied food, enriched with vitamins and minerals.
Chickens of the Xin Xin Dian breed are hard, painfully tolerate molt - the skin becomes very sensitive, even minor injuries will cause bleeding of feather papillae.
