Before you start any living creatures, each owner tries at least approximately to calculate the required amount of feed. When the content of broilers need a special diet and feeding mode. These are hens of the meat direction, and for their proper development and weight gain they need to be given special feeds.
How much feed do broilers eat?
The most suitable food for feeding this bird are mixed fodder. Already prepared mixtures are sold in specialized stores. The correct weight gain is directly dependent on how much the chicken and the adult will eat per day. Therefore, their fattening is performed according to a special scheme, which includes the following stages: the prelaunch period, the starting period, the fattening period, and the finish. 
Important! The process of growing broilers should not stretch over time, because after two months their meat becomes harder. Therefore, the sooner the bird gains weight, the better.
Prelaunch period
Proper diet in the first days is especially important, since the greatest case is observed at this particular time. In the first 5 days, the chicken needs about 15-20 g of feed daily. At this time, the youngsters are fed 8 times a day so that the stomachs that are not yet strong enough to digest food. Average daily growth should be 15 grams. At this stage, an easily digestible food is needed. In addition to feed, also suitable millet, oatmeal, cottage cheese and boiled eggs. At the end of this stage, the weight of the chicken should be from 50 to 115 g
Read the rules of slaughter and processing chickens at home.
Starting period
At this time, which starts from 6 days and lasts for 20, the chicken every day should receive from 30 g (at the beginning) to 80 g (at the end). This means that the amount of food is gradually increasing. The number of feeders can be reduced up to 5 times. Weight gain per day should be about 30 g, and at the end of the period the weight of the chicken should be from 120 to 650 g. At this time, greens, grated pumpkin and carrot are introduced into the diet. In winter, in the absence of green grass, it is replaced by hay or grass meal. It must also be remembered that chickens need water in sufficient quantities. 
Did you know? Even at the age of 1 day, by the size of the paws of broiler chickens can be distinguished from babies of other breeds - they will have one and a half times more paws.
Fattening
This is the period of the greatest weight gain, and therefore the amount of feed increases significantly. Up to 40 days, birds need to get at least 100-150 g of food per day. Feeding during this period has the greatest effect on weight gain, which should reach an indicator of 0.7 to 2.1 kg. A good weight gain is achieved by introducing boiled potatoes, kefir, and sunflower meal into the diet.
Learn how to feed and maintain broiler chickens.
Fresh fish and yeast can be added to the mash (200 g of yeast, which is diluted with warm water or milk) is added to 10 kg of feed. The number of feed intake can be reduced to 3-4 times. If the bird receives the correct feeding, then the daily weight gain should be no lower than 50-55 g. 
The finish
At the finish, broilers are fed 2 times a day, but the amount of feed should be at least 160-170 g. At the age of over 1 month, the bird can be fed not crushed, but whole grain, in the diet there should be more juicy feed and grass. At this time, the volume of food is maximum, and at the end (at the age of 2 months) the bird is slaughtered. At this time, it should reach a weight of 2.1-2.5 kg. Further feeding will not bring the desired effect and the content of chickens becomes impractical.
Check out the best broiler breeds.
How to calculate the total volume
Calculate the number of feeds by periods:
- in the prelaunch period for the day the chicken eats 15-20 g of feed. Multiplying by 5 days, we get that the chick needs about 100 g of food;
- in the starting period, the amount of food increases. On average, the bird receives about 50 grams of food per day, and for all the time it will eat 750 grams;
- At the fattening stage, broilers receive a volume of food, which corresponds to 100-150 g per day. Multiplying by 20 days, we get 2-2.5 kg of feed;
- At the finish line per day the broiler needs about 160 g of feed, so for all the time he will eat about 3.2 kg.
Rules for feeding broilers at home From the calculations it can be seen that the broilers will eat the greatest amount of food at the feed and finishing stages. In total, before slaughter, poultry needs from 6 to 6.5 kg of feed.Did you know? The term "broiler" in English means "roast on a spit."
Cone for slaughter
To simplify the slaughter birds sometimes use a cone. It is made of iron with such dimensions that a chicken can fit in it, and a head can stick in the hole. In this case, the body is well fixed and it is much more convenient to cut the throat - this is done with scissors or a knife, after which the carcass is left for a couple of minutes to bleed. With this method of slaughter the bird does not flutter and is not injured. For the manufacture of cones, in addition to iron, used tarpaulin, linoleum or galvanized.
Slaughter broiler
The bird is raised to produce meat and egg products, and sooner or later the chickens have to be slaughtered. In factories, this process is automated and takes place in a few minutes. At home, it is more difficult and takes more time. To simplify this lesson, we will give a brief instruction of the whole process.
Training
Before you kill a broiler, first you need to prepare for this:
- The day before slaughter, you must select the appropriate individual;
- Gently catch the paws, so as not to damage anything;
- To deposit in a separate cell or room;
- Before slaughter, she is not given any food, but only watered so that her intestines are completely cleansed. To speed up the purification instead of water you can give a 2% solution of the Glauber's salt. Metabolism accelerates if you do not turn off the light.
Slaughter
It is possible to slaughter a broiler using several methods. One of them is the external method:
- Stun bird by hitting the head.
- Put it in a cone or just tighten the paws with a loop and hang it against a nail or branch.
- Scissors or a sharp knife to cut the throat behind the earlobes (you can just cut off the head on the stump).
- Let the blood flow.
Important! This method has a disadvantage, which consists in the ingress of bacteria into the meat with blood. The carcass must immediately be cooked or frozen.
You can use the internal method, which is used mainly in poultry farms:
- Broiler stun.
- Hang by paws or place in a cone.
- To open the beak you need to click on the point between the lobes and eyes.
- Insert a scissors or a knife with a thin blade into the beak and cut all the important vessels.
- Thrust the point into the brain.
Video: broiler slaughter
Treatment
When blood is drained from a hanging carcass, the following steps are taken:
- Lower the broiler into the water heated to 65 ... 70 degrees. Hold it for about a minute.
- Putting on the table in a circular motion to rob feathers.
- Hold the bird over the burner to get rid of the remaining hairs.
- Gut the carcass.
Read also about how to pluck a chicken at home.
The process of gutting consists of several stages:
- In the area of the goiter gently incise the skin.
- Separate the goiter from the skin, pulling it up to the head.
- After that, tie a goiter on the knot.
- Open the carcass in the area of the cloaca by making an incision.
- To tighten the intestines, separating from the inner surface.
- Take out the insides with goiter.
We briefly told about the calculations of the required amount of feed for growing broilers, and also gave instructions on the slaughter of poultry. We hope that our article will be useful to you and will help you to get a little understanding of the intricacies of the poultry industry. Good business and a healthy bird!
