The Arbor Icres is a newly bred broiler chicken breed that has rapidly gained popularity. English, French and American specialists worked on the creation of the breed. Compared to other crosses, Arbor Icres chickens compare favorably with fattening times.
Characterization
In the description of the bird there are details that make it possible to distinguish it from other breeds. Arbor icres stands out for its large size and strong skeletal system. Particularly wide sternum, which gives a greater yield of meat. The neck and legs of this type of broiler are short. The thighs and lower legs are well developed, which makes the bird look low, but it seems very fleshy. The Arbor Ice broiler has a dense white plumage to the touch. Skin color is yellowish. This is not related to nutrition, but due to physiological characteristics.
The breed is very thermophilic. The bird must be kept in the most comfortable conditions. Only with the right content, thoroughbred chickens will quickly gain weight. Literally in the first month of fattening, individuals reach a mass of 3 kg, and adult birds weigh about 6 kg at slaughter. The recommended growing time is 65-70 days. With further fattening, the weight gain will be small, and the need for feed will increase.
A small room is sufficient for keeping birds, since there is no need for airex to be active. Other types of chickens can be safely added to them, since the breed is not characterized by conflict. At the same time, individuals grow huge and powerful. To date, Icres is considered the leader in weight gain among other broiler species.
Pros and cons of the breed
Arbor is a highly productive bird. The taste characteristics of meat products are distinguished by good indicators. The meat is soft and tender. It is dietary, it has a small amount of calories. Most nutritionists tend to consider it hypoallergenic. In addition to meat, adult chickens can bring some eggs.
If there is a suitable room, individuals can be left for the winter, and further breeding can be planned without acquiring new birds. The reared young arbor airex is characterized by unpretentiousness, therefore it is often chosen for breeding in private farms. Week-old chicks can reach a kilogram weight, which is already enough for industrial slaughter. But the breed also has its downsides.
- If you do not pay due attention to feed, the quality of meat products will suffer. For a broiler, quality feed is important, it is he who helps the bird gain weight quickly.
- Particular attention should be paid to nutritious vitamin feeds. In their selection should be taken into account the age of the breed characteristics. If the stages of development are calculated incorrectly, individuals may develop gastric diseases, which are often fatal.
- It is quite troublesome to care for day old broiler chickens.
Content Rules
For birds, it is recommended to create the most comfortable conditions. It is on this factor that the physical condition and normal development of individuals depends. The room for broilers must be clean, and the litter dry and of high quality. Decaying food residues, droppings, feathers, dirt are not allowed when organizing the care of any bird. At the same time, it is impossible to wash the room with ordinary household chemicals, since it can be extremely harmful to individuals.
Cleaning is possible with a stiff brush, with which all the garbage from the chicken coop is swept out to the exit, and then thrown into the latrine. A common soda solution can be used as a disinfectant. On sale you can find special veterinary products “Monklavit”, “Bactericide”, “Virotsid”. Methods of use and recommended consumption rates are usually indicated in the annotations to the products. Proper disinfection will protect chickens from viruses and bacteria that tend to spread rapidly among the livestock.
Particular harm will come from dirty bedding, which retains high humidity and temperature. Experts recommend pine shavings and small sawdust as bedding. Straw and hay are popular in private farms. However, from a hygiene point of view, this is not the best material: they have a rapid development of mold. To slow down the development of harmful pathogens in chicken coops, a mixture of sawdust, shavings with straw or hay is used.
It is important to maintain a high temperature in the broiler room: up to + 30 ยฐ. In this case, the humidity of the air should be maintained at 70%. As ventilation, the organization of a conventional supply system is sufficient. There will be fresh air in the chicken coop, and harmful gases from the litter will evaporate. Good ventilation will prevent the development of viral infections, and this is important, since a lot of free space for the bird is not needed. On the contrary, with little activity, individuals gain weight better.
Some farmers even practice keeping broilers in cages. This saves space and feed, as individuals scatter it less. Birds are limited in movement, so cleaning is easier. In a cage equal to 1 m2, up to 10 broilers can be grown. It is more convenient to choose feeders in cages with grooves, about 2 m2 is enough for them.
Breeding
When planning the breeding of Airex in the backyard, it should be taken into account that puberty in individuals occurs rather slowly. Egg production in chickens appears only by the 8th month of life. The indicators are low: during the year, an individual is able to produce only about 120 eggs. The shell is usually white, and the standard size is small: 55 g. The collection and sorting of eggs for breeding chickens is done in the spring. This is more convenient, since in the summer you can reduce the cost of heating the chicken coop, as well as vitamin feed for young animals.
According to experts, it is better to choose specialized compound feeds for feeding young animals. In the summer, vitamin and vegetable enrichment of the diet is allowed. These mixtures can be about 20%. At the same time, raw potatoes, as well as bread and rolls, are not allowed in the diet. When juveniles transition to adulthood, they will experience feather molting. This serves as a sign to change the diet.
A crushed boiled egg is excluded from the nutrition of adult birds, but more greens are added. It can be green onions, grass. The basis of nutrition is dry mixed fodder and clean water. Disinfectants and complex vitamins are added to the liquid. Feed may contain:
- about 20% corn;
- 30% barley;
- 10% millet.
Adults can add dry bread, boiled potato peels, egg shells, dairy products. A good weight gain will be given by individuals that feed on cottage cheese. For the entire period of growth, about 6 kg of feed will be required per bird.
disease
The health of the breed is not strong enough, especially they are unstable to viral pathogens. Antibiotics are used to prevent most bacterial diseases. Medicines are given to young chickens and minimize the risk of developing diseases that can be fatal. If a sick individual is nevertheless found in the herd, contact with other birds should be minimized to eliminate the risk of contact with it.
To prevent diseases in the cold, you need to carefully control the temperature in the chicken coop. This will prevent the occurrence of viral diseases. Temperature indicators must be regulated in accordance with the standards. The rules of hygiene should be observed and a balanced diet should be given to the birds.
Broilers do not need periodic walking, as this reduces weight gain. Arbor Airex does not require troublesome daily monitoring. Most ailments occur due to malnutrition and non-compliance with the rules of care. The following diseases are typical for broilers:
- dyspepsia;
- bronchopneumonia;
- hypovitaminosis;
- coccidiosis;
- pulp.
Colds, such as bronchopneumonia, are more common in chickens, and contagious diseases and vitamin deficiencies are more common in adult birds. In older individuals, joint diseases occur. Due to inactivity in birds, the condition of the feather cover worsens, which also leads to infection with various viral infections.
The severity of the symptoms of certain diseases depends on the age of the bird, as well as on the root cause of the disease. If signs of malaise are detected, timely therapy will help. For example, feeding individuals with oil or water-soluble vitamin complexes. With severe symptoms, you need to call a specialist who will provide the right treatment.
Reviews
Breeders speak positively about the Arbor Airex breed of chickens. It is advised to buy individuals from trusted sellers. Of the features of the content, experts note the need to maintain a 16-hour daylight hours, so it is important to equip high-quality lighting in the barn. The most important point in the preparation of the diet is compliance with zootechnical requirements. Only at the same time, broilers gain weight well, corresponding to age characteristics.
Airex chickens, in comparison with other individuals, are characterized by increased thermophilicity. This should also be taken into account, especially for those who first thought about the establishment of these individuals.
The cost and benefits of growing Arbor Airex are highly valued by farmers. When breeding chickens from eggs, the yield of live individuals is approximately 75%. The cost of eggs is lower in comparison with the acquisition of reared birds. With good compound feed, young animals grow without problems. The owners consider individuals not too capricious for growing.
People who have broilers for their own consumption do not see much difference between chicken breeds. The main condition they consider is the unpretentiousness of the species, as well as the optional selection of feed according to the age group. But with this approach, good results in weight cannot be achieved.
See the video below for all about Arbor Icres broilers.
