What is a mash for chickens
A mash is a wet food that uses plain water or milk as a moisturizer. A similar feed is used for different types of poultry. It enriches the diet of birds with useful substances, which has a positive effect on their health, appearance and, of course, productivity.
A chicken mash is a steamed or boiled mixture
A chicken mash is a steamed or boiled mixture that is given to birds one or more times a day. It is important to note that wet mash is only part of the diet for chickens. In the diet of birds, wet food should be about 65%, no more. In addition to the mash, birds should receive grain 1 or 2 times a day. The mash can contain a wide variety of components. They are selected according to the wishes and possibilities, as well as according to the needs of the birds. So, what is most often put in the mash.
- Grain (whole or crushed);
- Vegetables, fruits, roots;
- Meal and bran;
- Greens;
- Premixes.
You can also add table scraps to the mash. This simplifies maintenance and saves money. Waste from vegetables, green crops, leftovers of meat, fish, cereals and similar products are suitable. Thanks to such a variety of products, wet mash for laying hens and broilers contains many useful substances.
Important!
Do not add table waste that is abundantly seasoned with pepper or salt to the mash! For chickens, a lot of these condiments can be dangerous.
general characteristics
The chicken mash contains: potatoes, bran, cake, grain, proteins and other useful additives. To create the correct consistency, use:
- serum;
- water;
- bouillon;
- yogurt;
- return
Such a complex composition makes it possible to make the usual nutritious diet rich in BJU. Such nutrition is beneficial for both broilers and layers, it has a beneficial effect on egg production, weight gain and helps to improve or maintain the health of domestic chickens.
Advantages and disadvantages of mash
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Wet mash is a favorite food of chickens. For farmers, such feed greatly simplifies feeding, because you can add herbs from the site to it, waste vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products - that is, little purchased products are put in them. The amount of grain may be negligible in such a feed (if grain is given separately), and sometimes grain is not added to the mash at all! Wet mash has a lot of positive qualities:
Wet mash is a favorite food of chickens.
- it is a natural type of food;
- useful and nutritious mash;
- the breeder controls the quality of the products that he puts in the mash and therefore can be sure of their freshness;
- ingredients available and common.
Video
This video will tell you how to feed chickens so that they rush well.
Keeping and growing chickens is a simple process if everything is done according to the rules. In order for the egg production of chickens to be maximum, it is necessary to correctly draw up a diet and a menu. If the chickens receive all the necessary vitamins and trace elements with food, then you will not have to wonder what to feed, and she will also be able to lay eggs all year round in the maximum amount.
Disadvantages of mash
Despite all the benefits, wet mash has several disadvantages:
- mash must be prepared every day, and this takes time;
- they deteriorate quickly;
- such feed can be more expensive than compound feed if you use only high quality commercial products and do not take anything from the garden or from waste.
Important!
Although wet mash contains water or dairy products, birds should still be given plenty of clean, fresh water. They consume especially a lot of liquid in summer, during the exhausting heat!
Poultry feed
The composition of the mash depends on the species of birds. Chickens, geese or ducks are fed to increase the rates of fluff, fat, or meat. Mushrooms are prepared with their own hands or bought in a specialized store. Homemade food is considered the safest and does not harm either young or healthy birds.
The mash should contain not only useful substances, but also vitamins and mineral components. Green complementary foods in the summer are diluted with dry food to a lesser extent. Greens replenish all the essential vitamins a bird needs for well-being and procreation. It is in the summer that the hens sit on their eggs.
A balanced diet prevents various diseases that plague chickens and adult poultry. With Meshankies, farming will become easier. Procurement of dry mixtures for feeding birds can be done from the beginning of spring. The mixture is stored throughout the year. The mash is replaced with greens until early autumn. Gradually, chickens are transferred to food with a mash. Compound feed is an affordable alternative that allows the farmer to save on farm nutrition.
The required composition of dry feed is selected depending on the needs of the bird. Moving breeds with a high egg production rate need protein mixtures with the addition of vitamins. It is important for hens that the mixture contains a sufficient amount of calcium and phosphorus. The mash contains not only useful substances, but also mineral supplements that allow young animals to grow up quickly.
How to make a chicken mash
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For the most balanced diet, birds need to eat not only dry grain or mixed feed, but also wet mash. The latter not only enrich the diet, but are also a source of vitamins and minerals. But for the mash to be useful, you need to cook it correctly.
Mushrooms not only enrich the diet, but are also a source of vitamins and minerals
- The summer version of the mash includes a lot of greenery. You can also mix bugs that chickens like (can be found in the garden) into the treat. It will not hurt to give seasonal vegetables, fruits. At the same time, it is enough to feed just the peelings (from apples, carrots, beets) - it is not necessary to give the whole vegetables.
Important!
Wet mash is prepared for 1 time, and not with a stock. After the chickens have eaten, it is necessary to clean the feeders from the remains of feed and wash them. This is done due to the fact that the mash spoils very quickly, and spoiled chicken feed is dangerous!
- Winter mash for chickens contains almost no greens. It is replaced with vegetables or silage, sprouted grains or premixes. Also, from the useful components of the feed, you can recommend grass flour, steamed hay, greens from the windowsill (onions, for example).
The mash for laying hens or broilers is poured into the feeders by only 1/3 part. By adding more mash, the birds will be able to throw food onto the floor. Wet mash should be eaten in 30-40 minutes. If the birds eat it faster, then it is worth giving them a supplement.
Other useful grains
In addition to wheat, it is recommended to include millet, barley and rapeseed in the diet of chickens.
It is recommended to include cereals in the diet
Millet
Young breeders are interested in whether it is possible to give millet to chickens? Millet is considered a very healthy cereal. It contains vitamins such as B1, B2, B5, PP, as well as phosphorus, magnesium, iron and other useful components.
She is the leader among the grains used for feeding poultry. It is even recommended to introduce boiled millet into the diet of chicks. The grain is pre-soaked in hot milk and then mixed with a boiled egg. The millet diet in adult chickens increases their egg production rate. If you introduce millet and millet into the diet of chickens, the shells on the eggs will be strong, and the hen will feel strong and healthy.
Important! In large factories, millet groats are not cleaned, but given in their natural form.
Pearl barley
As for pearl barley, downtime is necessary for chickens. It contains a large number of amino acids, as well as lysine, which prevent feather loss in birds. For feeding chickens, it is recommended to use the most common pearl barley that has undergone preliminary preparation. At the same time, the upper hard skin is removed from the grain. Since chickens do not chew food, it is such cereals that will be quickly digested in their stomach.
Barley can be given in crushed form, or it can be steamed like wheat. You need to know not only how to give barley to chickens, it is important to have information on how much grain to give. Barley should not exceed 20% of the poultry's daily ration. Otherwise, disruption of the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract of birds cannot be avoided.
We should not forget about such a valuable and useful culture for birds as rapeseed. This plant contains many vitamins and minerals necessary for the normal growth and development of birds. It is also important that it contains only 1% fat. This prevents the development of obesity in chickens. Raw rapeseed is used for the production of cake, flour and meal. All this can be put into poultry feed.
Important! Under no circumstances should rapeseed derivatives be poured with cold or hot water. It is used in feed only dry and raw.
Almost all grain crops are suitable for feeding chickens. Each of them differs in its composition and useful properties. You should not stop the choice on any one, as monotony can harm the birds. A varied and balanced diet is a guarantee of the health of poultry, as well as a high level of egg production.
Proper feeding of chickens is the key to a healthy flock and high bird productivity. For feeding birds, compound feed is often purchased, but mash can also be used. This term can often be heard in the circles of professional breeders, but it is not always clear to the novice poultry breeder. This article describes what a chicken mash is, and also outlines two popular recipes for its preparation.
Popular mash recipes
Chicken mash recipes may differ in the type of ingredients. They come in many different types, but for a novice breeder, it is enough to know a few basic options for such food.
Summer mash
Ingredients (indicated in grams per chicken):
Summer green mash for chickens
- Potatoes - 50 g;
- Nettle, dandelion, green onion, tops of carrots, beets, clover - 50 g;
- Carrots and beets - 50 g each;
- Grain - 45 g;
- Meal - 20 g;
- Beans - 5 g;
- Yeast - 7 g;
- Sour milk - 10 g;
- Meat and bone flour - 5 g;
- Chalk - 3 g;
- Fish oil - 1 g;
- Salt - 0.5 g.
Root crops are boiled and crushed (you can use it with the skin). They add curdled milk, crushed grain, beans, bran. All this must be mixed so that the grain begins to soak in the liquid. The greens are chopped and added to the mash along with the rest of the ingredients. The resulting mixture is thoroughly mixed and scattered over the feeders.
Interesting!
If desired, other vegetables (zucchini, pumpkin, cabbage, radish) that are available in the garden can be added to the summer mash.
- https://youtu.be/XgaIkrKMpb4
Laying hens' diet
After watching a lot of videos, a novice farmer can get confused about which bird needs to add calcium-containing substances, and which one needs more vitamins. Wet feeds with shells or chalk can help replenish the calcium requirement of broilers. Particularly important for hens is feeding with chalk during the nesting period. The shells are pre-dried in the oven and cut into a fine powder.
Salt in mash or cake will improve the health of pets without resorting to vaccination of birds. Bran and grain waste are suitable for animals of all ages. Young and adult females need a varied and nutritious food. Green and vegetable mixtures are suitable for boilers and chickens, but it is recommended to give hens more compound feed.
