It is difficult to imagine the master’s yard without a bird. Private breeders prefer meat and egg type chickens. Such breeds provide people with both meat and eggs. These include chickens master gray. This breed is considered very popular today, due to its many positive qualities.
Characteristics of the breed
Master gray is a cross, which is why their breeding in a private economy is impossible. They are characterized by a large mass, good egg-laying ability. Unlike other birds, this breed has a meek disposition, goodwill, and obedience. This colored broiler was bred by the Hungarian company Hubbadr, which has French and American branches.
The description of master gray chickens indicates their good productivity, as well as attractive appearance.
The individual has a large body build, massive limbs of medium size. The feathers of the laying hen and the cockerel are painted in gray, pockmarked or shell color. The color of the feathers is dominated by gray, which is why the breed is called accordingly. The variegation of plumage is achieved by a chaotic alternate arrangement of gray and white feathers. A more contrasting dark pattern is visible on the neck and wings. The scallop and earrings stand out in red or bright red on the head of the bird.
The differences between a laying hen and a rooster are visible to the naked eye. The female is smaller, its weight is about 4000 grams, the male is larger, its weight is 6000 grams. The body of the laying hen has a rounded shape, a lush convex chest and belly. The cockerel is elongated in the shape of the body, it has a taut tummy and not too rounded breast. Hens are already laying at the age of three months. Over a period of 12 months, one bird can produce approximately 300 eggs. Meat master gray has a pleasant taste, it is characterized by tenderness, density and lack of fat.
The brisket of this bird is used as a dietary product. The egg of these representatives is large, weighing about 70 grams. This cross is famous for its unpretentiousness, productivity, endurance, as well as the possibility of cultivation in the private sector. Chickens of this breed are characterized by good survival, which other birds cannot boast of.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Master Gray breed is characterized by a lot of advantages, the main of which are the following:
- high survival rate of chickens – about 98%;
- endurance;
- lack of fearfulness;
- low demands on the conditions of detention;
- large body weight;
- good egg performance;
- high quality meat;
- affordable cost.
Of the minuses of the breed, only slow growth can be distinguished, however, compared with the quality of meat, this drawback seems insignificant.
Content Rules
As mentioned earlier, the advantages of the Master Gray breed include the fact that these chickens do not need special maintenance, they are raised as poultry. The owners of such chickens concluded that day-old chicks begin to grow up and only after a month and a half – in width, after which they become massive adult birds. Caring for this breed of chickens requires minimal care, which is associated only with their large size.
Coop
To keep this breed of chickens, the owner should build a chicken coop, which will have standard equipment inside. The room must be dry, warm and clean. If individuals are kept in cages, then they quickly gain weight. This type of content contributes to the ability to place in a small area twice as many birds as they can be grown with the floor version.
The optimal temperature for master gray chickens is from 2 to 30 degrees Celsius. You should not build heating in the chicken coop, instead it is better to lay straw, sawdust or peat on the floor. To avoid excess moisture, as an option, you can pour a little lime under the litter layer. For a normal microclimate in the chicken coop, it is worth regularly ventilating the room, but at the same time avoiding drafts.
High humidity in the chicken coop is a possibility of infection of birds with infectious diseases, and a draft is a step towards a cold.
To accommodate two dozen chickens of this large-bodied breed, 10 m2 of area will be required. Indoors, at a height of 0 meters, it is worth building perches, as well as a ladder for easy lifting. The height of the nests should be no less than 5 meters, ladders should be built nearby. The dimensions of the nests should be 0,4 by 0,4 meters. Also, do not forget about the feeders, drinkers, containers with sand and ash, where the chickens will bathe.
Food
The Master Gray chicken breed does not require any special food. If the purpose of breeding is not fattening, like broilers, then you do not need to give them carbohydrate and protein feeds. In turn, representatives of the egg direction need food with a lot of vitamin E, calcium, and protein. They need to be fed 3 times a day in winter and twice in summer. If the chicken is kept in a cage, then the number of meals should not be reduced in the summer.
Grain should be given in the morning and evening, daily food should contain greens, vegetables, a wet-type mash, in which there is turd and bran. If there is an area with green grass nearby, then you can release the birds so that they graze there. The diet should also include feed of animal origin, namely bone and meat and bone, fish meal.
To strengthen the shell of chicken eggs, you can add a mineral supplement, chalk, shell or crushed egg shells to the feed.
The basis of the diet for chickens should remain grain, greens and vegetables. Chickens that are less than a month old should be fed high protein foods. For example, it can be hard-boiled eggs, meat or fish. They should also be given greens or ready-made feed for chickens. It is worth remembering that when feeding babies with master gray compound feed, they will rapidly gain weight, but they will not lay eggs.
In addition to protein foods, chickens should be given grain. From the first days of life, babies can be fed with boiled millet mixed with eggs. After one and a half months of age, they can be fed ground wheat or barley. The amount of feed for a small chick will increase as the chick gets older. For each kilogram of weight gained, feed is needed in the following volume:
- up to 2 weeks of age – 1300 grams;
- from 2 weeks to 4 weeks – 1700 grams;
- from 4 weeks to 8 weeks – 2300 grams.
In order for a chicken to grow and develop normally, it must always have enough food. It often happens that weak individuals are removed from the feeders. To eliminate moments of malnutrition, it is recommended to pour food in excess, so that each bird will eat plenty. Birds need to be watered regularly, the owner must ensure that fresh water is always freely available to the birds.
This bird is undemanding to the diet, however, it has been noticed that a good result is observed when chickens eat mash, which can include various root crops, cereals and cereals.
Place for walking
For walks, chickens can build manholes, which should be closed at night. Master grays do not fly, so they can walk in the yard without a fence. In the winter season, when the temperature outside drops below -5 degrees, you should not walk the birds. According to breeders, crosses can only be kept in cages. However, if there is a site with various herbs on the territory, then it can be fenced off so that the chickens pluck the greens there.
For 10 birds, approximately 16 m2 of territory is required. When choosing a place, it is worth giving preference to one that is remote from close human attention. It is also imperative to build a shadow so that the birds do not suffer on a hot day. On the walk in the bird access area, fresh water should be constantly present.
Breeding
Master Gray chickens lack maternal instinct. Therefore, the laying hen will never sit on the eggs. However, even with an incubator, raising birds from the available eggs of this breed will not be practical. These chickens in the second generation completely lose the productivity of the parent. This happens due to the splitting of the cross along the breed lines.
To breed this breed of chickens in a private household, it is worth buying hatching eggs in specialized nurseries. It is also a good option to buy chickens at any age.
Young animals are not afraid of transportation, and if the thermal regime and a sufficient amount of fresh air are observed, then 98% of the babies will survive.
In the brood of chickens of this breed, rather small representatives are observed that are able to grow quickly and gain weight. At two weeks of age, the chick weighs about 0,5 kg. Chicks fledge slowly, so they need constant temperature control. After birth and for two weeks, chickens should provide a room temperature of 30-32 degrees.
The main rule for the successful rearing of chickens of this breed can be called the correctness in feeding the birds. For speed in growth, they should be supplied with proteins and minerals. With a lack of these components in master gray chickens, an anomaly in development begins. The initial 5 days from birth, babies should be fed with boiled eggs and corn porridge. It is also worth observing the frequency of feeding, it should be done every 120 minutes.
Cottage cheese, chopped greens, vegetables, ground grain should be gradually added to the diet of chickens. At this time, it is worth feeding the chicks every 3 hours. At the age of 1,5-2 months, young animals can be transferred to the diet of an adult bird
The incidence of master gray is an infrequent phenomenon, but the owner should think about preventive measures in advance. Chickens should be vaccinated against deadly chicken diseases.
Also, do not forget about the cleanliness of chicken coops, as well as their treatment from helminths and skin insects. To disinfect the chicken coop, it is worth using creolin, caustic, formalin.
If it is noticed that one of the birds eats little, vilifies or goes bald, then it should be examined immediately. Often such chickens suffer from parasites. The danger for feathered representatives is represented by a chicken tick, a feather-eater.
Reviews
Many farmers, breeders and landowners have chosen the Master Gray breed to raise for meat and to provide themselves with eggs. Feedback from poultry farmers indicates excellent growth, proper development and stability in the productive plan of birds. There are cases when, under the guise of this breed, rejected hybrids are sold that do not carry eggs well and gain little weight. Therefore, experienced breeders are advised to beware of scammers and buy chickens only from trusted farms.
Also in the reviews there is information that chickens survive the winter period well, they are unpretentious, have strong immunity. If we compare the cross with other breeds, then it is much less sick. The bird feeds on everything that is given to it, without sorting through the food. Laying hens slowly gain body weight, but are quite productive. All breeders of this breed of chickens agreed that this bird looks much more attractive than the rest.
People report that this breed is more profitable than broilers in terms of obtaining tasty meat products. In addition, master gray chickens do not need special feed for excellent growth, they prefer traditional food. This breed of chickens has a decorative appearance and large body dimensions. Given all the information that is known about this bird, one can dwell on the opinion that these representatives of birds are quite profitable for growing. The mass of undeniable advantages of the breed allows them to become one of the most beloved breeds in many farmsteads.
For information on what an alternative to a white broiler is – a master gray colored broiler, see the following video.
