The Hungarian giant breed enjoys well-deserved popularity among poultry farmers. These chickens grow fast, run well, produce a lot of tasty meat, and adapt to any climate without problems. We will find out what these handsome men look like, how to bring them out and feed them - further.
Breed history
By the name of the breed, it is easy to guess that it was bred by Hungarian breeders. The giants were obtained after a long, many years of crossing of local Hungarian breeds with the Orpington - an English meat and egg breed. When breeding, breeders set a goal - to get chickens fast-growing and frost-resistant. On the exterior, the Giants are very similar to the Master Gray Breed and the Magyars.
Hungarian giants are often called red broilers for their characteristic red color.
Description and standards of the Hungarian giant
The name of this breed contains key information - the origin and the main characteristic of productivity. The Hungarian giant differs from ordinary laying hens by its impressive size and weight. In order not to buy ordinary hens instead of purebred chickens, it is useful to familiarize yourself in advance with the characteristic features of the breed.
Exterior
The giants, indeed, are very large, they have a massive body, as befits the descendants of the Cochinchins and Orpingtons. Having a small stature, the bird seems to be squat.
Exterior characteristic features:
- Carcass - square and barrel-shaped.
- Chest and belly - clearly delineated.
- Legs - powerful, yellow, without fluff.
- Wings - powerful, tightly pressed against the body.
- Skeleton and musculature - well developed.
- Plumage - red-red, on the hips and keel - especially magnificent.
- Feathers - hard, with a warm layer of fluff.
- Tail - in females, it is small, and in roosters, it stands out clearly and is painted black.
- Head - neat, with a small, rounded beak at the edge.
- Neck - elongated, powerful.
- Scallop - rounded, bright red.
Thick plumage The Hungarian giants got it from the Orpingtons, and those from the Cochinchins.
Temperament
It is difficult to describe in a nutshell the nature of this breed. Hungarian giants are typical chickens, with all shades of "chicken" character - they are cheerful, restless and curious. However, poultry farmers are not given special problems. Compared to many other breeds, giants behave quite decently.
Only roosters differ in their quarrelsome and absurd disposition. They actively defend their territory and "harem", so it is undesirable to keep several roosters in a small herd. But, in comparison with many other breeds, giants are not aggressive, they are able to get along in a bird's yard with different animals.
During the mating season, males are separated, 6 chickens are left for one rooster.
The restless nature of this breed is taken into account when arranging the chicken coop. Everything is organized with maximum safety, the partitions are made high, the nests are wide, the perches are low (up to 0.5 m).
Puberty and egg production
Like all meat and egg breeds, the giants are balanced in terms of egg production - they are not champions in egg laying, but they do quite well with the tasks of laying hens. Laying eggs begin to lay in 4-4.5 months. The first eggs are medium-sized, with a light brown, medium-density shell.
While egg production is getting better, eggs may have defects - an imbalance of calcium in a young body affects. Then the laying eggs lay larger eggs.
Not an egg breed, giants fly every other day. But still, their egg production is higher than the average for meat and dairy breeds.
Incubation instinct
The hens of this breed have a well-developed brood instinct. They responsibly and calmly sit on the clutch, not subjecting future chicks to tests - they do not leave for a long time, and vigilantly monitor the temperature of the hatched eggs.
The hen itself turns the eggs - for even heating. When chicks are born, the hen takes care of their safety, accompanies the brood everywhere, and protects if necessary.
One hen can hatch 10 eggs at a time. The survival rate with natural hatching is almost 100%, which confirms the high quality of incubation. The task of the poultry farmer is to feed the hen better. In the process of sitting on the clutch, her body is depleted.
Advantages and disadvantages
Merits of the Hungarian Giants:
- high weight and large meat yield;
- high productivity in meat and eggs;
- easily adapts to different climates;
- the instinct of incubation is well developed;
- healthy offspring;
- high survival rate;
- fast weight gain;
- rather large eggs;
- high - for meat and egg breeds, egg production;
- high immunity;
- resistance to temperature differences;
- early maturity.
Compared to this list of advantages, the disadvantages of giants seem minor:
- short egg production - the chicken rushes for about a year, then it is allowed to eat;
- with irrational feeding, a tendency to obesity is manifested;
- exactingness to feed.
In general, the breed has much more merits, which is why it has maintained its popularity for so long. These chickens, without requiring special conditions of detention, reproduce quickly and easily, no worse than rabbits.
Productive qualities
Giants, belonging to the meat and egg breed, quickly gain weight. In terms of meat productivity, they are second only to the famous Hercules. But the Hungarian Giant is ahead of meat breeds in other important parameters - egg production and survival.
A distinctive feature of the chickens of this breed is a pronounced relationship between nutrition and weight gain.
Productivity indicators
The breed is characterized by a balanced meat and egg production. This is very beneficial for small private farms focused on obtaining two benefits - meat and eggs. Meat yield - 60%.
Hungarian giant. Rooster, 7 months old.
Dynamics of weight gain by the Hungarian giant:
Age months | Weight, kg |
2 | 2 |
3-4 | 2,5-3 |
12 | 4 - chickens, 5 - roosters |
Egg productivity:
Specifications | Value |
Egg Weight, g | 55-70 |
Number of eggs per year, pcs. | 170-200 |
Early maturity and taste of meat
The chicks are growing fast. At 2 months, they weigh about 2 kg. They are sent to the slaughter in 3-4 months, by this time they weigh 2.5-3 kg. But the meat of the Hungarian giants remains delicious even after a year of life - it makes delicious broths.
The meat of the Giants tastes tender and juicy, low-fat, dietary. It contains no more than 10% fat and a lot of protein. It is easily absorbed by the body and contains a luxurious set of vitamins - PP, B2, B6, it contains many amino acids and trace elements.
The most useful part of the carcass is the breast. Legs and skin are considered the least useful - harmful substances accumulate here most of all.
The breed is distinguished by fleshy wings - they are very tasty when fried.
How to care for chickens?
Buying a productive breed is half the battle. To get the maximum profit from the bird, favorable conditions are created for it:
- a properly equipped chicken coop with walking;
- complete feeding in accordance with the regimen;
- maintaining normal temperature and climatic indicators.
Climate and walking
The breed is highly resistant to temperature extremes and cold. What you need to know:
- tolerate frosts down to minus 20 ° C without problems;
- chickens are allowed out on the street if the frost is not lower than minus 10 ° C;
- on frosty days, walking is short-term.
In order to maintain good physical shape, the Hungarian woman is walking on the street - a special fenced yard is equipped. Features of the walking yard:
- the walking area is approximately twice the area of the chicken coop;
- the fence is made of wooden bars and metal mesh;
- fence height - 1.5-2 m;
- the walking area is sown in spring with wheat, oats or grass - so that the birds have green food.
The breed, thanks to its dense and dense plumage and excellent adaptive abilities, tolerates all natural disasters well - heat, frost, high humidity. A high-quality feather cover, like an Uzbek robe, protects giants from the cold in winter and from the heat in summer.
Arrangement of a chicken coop
Red broilers have thick plumage, so they can live in unheated chicken coops - if the winter temperatures in the region match the hardiness of the breed. Giants are kept in insulated chicken coops, protected from drafts. Warm boxes are required for young animals up to 1 month.
Rules and features of arranging a chicken coop for Hungarian giants:
- Giants - a large breed, therefore, per 1 square. m should live no more than two individuals.
- There should not be many roosters in one room to avoid fights. Maximum - 1-3 pieces per chicken coop. Males that are fattened for slaughter can be kept in cages without walking.
- The floor is earthen or concrete.
- Litter is required on the floor - from straw, hay or sawdust. The bedding is periodically ted up, and fresh as needed.
- The presence of perches is desirable. They arrange perches taking into account the large weight of the birds - it will be difficult for them to take off to a height of more than half a meter. Content without roosts is possible.
- In accessible places should stand drinking bowls, always filled with clean water. How to make a drinker with your own hands, you can learn from this article.
- In winter, lighting is needed - for 10-12 hours a day.
Before you add a new herd to the chicken coop, it must be disinfected. The litter is changed, the floor is sprinkled with slaked lime. They enter the chicken coop in replaceable shoes to carry microbes.
Read an article on how to make a chicken coop yourself.
Shedding and egg laying break
All layers have a period during which their bodies rest from the continuous laying of eggs. The pause is associated with seasonal molting - it begins in the fall, because the hormonal background of chickens changes due to a decrease in daylight hours. The loss of plumage is also associated with vitamin deficiency, stress and metabolic imbalance.
Seasonal molt lasts about two months. After this period, molt is completed, and the masonry is returned. Often chickens fly even more intensively than before molting.
During molting, chickens are given vitamin premixes, grated fodder beets and a lot of greens.
The loss of feathers can signal a parasite infestation. The house should be regularly disinfected, and layers should be treated with insect acaricides.
Herd replacement planned
One of the disadvantages of Hungarian giants is the short duration of the masonry. As soon as the peak of egg productivity passes, the layers are sent for meat. The most productive period is one year from puberty. Next year, the number of laid eggs is reduced by about a quarter. By this time, it is necessary to prepare a replacement for laying hens.
When raised for meat, poultry is slaughtered at 3-4 months of age. After this age, their weight hardly changes, and the meat only gets worse over time. The cost of the bird increases, profit falls. It turns out that every 3 months it is necessary to renew the meat stock.
If chickens are raised for meat, then the first batch of eggs is laid in February. In March, chickens grow up in a manger, in April - in a chicken coop with a walk. The next laying is planned so that a continuous meat reproduction cycle is obtained.
How and what to feed?
Giants are large and heavy, but they have a moderate appetite. Proper feeding, rational and complete, will not only guarantee high productivity, but also prevent diseases.
Feeding principles:
- Most of the proteins, fats and carbohydrates come from combined grain mixtures - they are bought or prepared on their own.
- Different cereals are used to feed chickens, but the basis of nutrition is wheat. Also, the bird is given barley, oats, millet, rye, peas, corn.
- So that hens do not have a deficiency of vitamins, amino acids and minerals, chalk, vegetables, grass, vitamin supplements are added to their diet.
- In winter, cereal-mixers prepared on the basis of broth or backfill will be useful. Warm porridge in winter is not only a source of energy, but also heat.
- The bird is given clean cool water in the summer and warmed up in the winter.
- The feeding regime of an adult bird is 2-3 times a day. Feeding - regular, birds should be accustomed to the regime.
In order for Hungarian giants to quickly gain weight and give a lot of eggs, they are fed with special compound feeds - a certain amount of proteins must enter the body of chickens. Large commodity producers follow this path, but summer residents and owners of small farms often feed this bird with leftovers from the kitchen and products from the garden. On such a diet, giants grow slowly, egg production falls.
In order for the bird to get the whole set of nutrients, you will have to either buy compound feed, or cook it yourself - from crops and other ingredients.
Recommended Adult Poultry Diet:
Ingredient | Amount, % |
Shredded corn | 40 |
Wheat | 22 |
Barley | 18 |
Crushed peas | 12 |
Animal protein | 8 |
So that the livestock does not suffer from a lack of calcium, crushed chalk, shells or shells are added to the feed.
Breeding chickens of the Hungarian giant
When breeding giants at home, there are no problems with raising chickens, chickens of this breed do an excellent job of hatching. The second generation becomes more meaty or egg, depending on who the cross will be made with.
Incubation
Chickens are bred by any method - incubation or with a brood. Laid eggs are checked for fertility using an ovoscope. This device allows you to detect defects at an early stage.
Defects due to which eggs are rejected:
- the air chamber is displaced;
- the shell is thin or has defects;
- age over 7 days.
Features of incubating eggs by different methods:
- In an incubator. Eggs for setting are picked up to the same weight, then the chicks hatch almost simultaneously. Rules for laying eggs in an incubator:
- eggs should have room temperature;
- turn the eggs at least 4 times a day;
- incubation duration - 21 days;
- on day 5-1, the eggs are checked with an ovoscope to identify defective, without signs of an embryo.
- A mother hen. Hens express a desire to hatch eggs in spring and summer. The chicken coughs, sits in the nest for a long time, pulls the fluff from the breast and lines the nest with it. Before putting eggs in the nest, wooden blendes are laid in it.
If a chicken seriously decided to incubate chickens, she does not leave the nest - the blende is exchanged for real eggs. The nest is arranged in a calm, semi-dark place - the brood hen should feel safe. This method of incubation is good only for a private economy; incubation is used for industrial breeding of giants.
Baby Care
The chickens themselves bite the shell. When the chicks are completely dry, they are removed from the incubator. With natural hatching, the chicken independently controls the process of biting and drying. Settle chickens in a day nursery - a small box. At the bottom there is a heating pad to maintain the temperature of +30 ° C. On top of the heating pad is a clean diaper so that the chicks are not hot.
Requirements and features of care:
- Temperature during chick growth:
- 1st week - from +26 to +30 ° С;
- 2nd week - from +23 to +27 ° С;
- further, the temperature is maintained at +19 ° С.
- Lighting - round the clock. A lamp is installed in the nursery, in which the light intensity is regulated - over time it has to be reduced.
- Regular change of diaper - chicks should be clean, otherwise the risk of developing diseases increases.
Feeding chicks
The first meal of the chicken is a chopped egg with millet.The drinker is filled with a decoction of wild rose or chamomile.
When feeding, feed is used:
- chickens - "Start";
- young stock - "Fattening";
- at 3 months and before slaughter - "Finish".
Throughout the rearing period, the chicks are provided with fresh and clean water (+20 ° C).
Chick Feeding Frequency:
Age, weeks | Number of feedings, once a day |
1 | 8 |
2 | 6 |
3 | 4 |
4 and beyond | 2 |
The chickens are fed with compound feed, guided by the tables with the norms - they are given on the feed packages. Feeding schedule:
- In the first 5 days, the chick eats about 15-20 g of feed.
- On the 20th day, the chicken already eats 90 g of the starting compound feed.
- Then it is transferred to a fattening compound feed. At 2 months, he already eats 150 g.
- From the third month, the chickens are transferred to the finishing feed - 160-170 g.
Diet of chickens when using natural feed:
Age | What do they feed? |
1-2 weeks | millet, chopped oats and barley, cottage cheese, yogurt, herbs, chopped egg, grated pumpkin and carrots |
3-4 weeks | millet is given less, eggs are not given, the grain ration is supplemented with boiled potatoes, yeast, fish meal, chopped corn and wheat |
from 5 weeks | fed with whole grains, mash, vegetables and herbs |
The diet of chickens must also contain vitamin and mineral supplements.
Diseases
The Hungarian giant has good immunity, thanks to which the breed is distinguished by high survival rate of young animals and low morbidity. With good care and nutrition, there are usually no health problems.
To insure the herd against disease, prevention is recommended:
- regular examination for the presence of blood-sucking parasites;
- vaccinations against salmonellosis and infectious bronchitis.
Chickens of this breed can be affected by skin parasites and infectious diseases:
- tuberculosis;
- salmonellosis;
- pasteurellosis;
- colibacillosis.
Any infection is accompanied by lethargy, decreased appetite, diarrhea. Chickens are treated with antibiotics. In some cases, it is more profitable to send sick birds to slaughter, and to treat the rest - for prevention.
An important preventive measure in the prevention of infections and parasites is the regular disinfection of the chicken coop and all equipment.
Where and at what cost can you buy?
It is recommended to buy Hungarian giants from poultry farms - this is more reliable. They are, for example, sold by the Veselaya Ryaba private farm (Kurgan) and the Komov Dvor farm (not far from St. Petersburg). Day-old chicks, hatching eggs and adult birds can be bought here.
One egg costs about 80-100 rubles. Prices for a bird depend on its age:
- day old chicks - 80-100 rubles;
- ten day old young - 600 rubles;
- breeding rooster - 1,000 rubles;
- layer - 1,200 rubles.
Pitfalls when buying a breed
The most reliable way to get purebred red giants is to buy in Hungary. By yourself or through trusted intermediaries. If you buy this breed according to an ad, you can buy a bird that has lost its parental characteristics. In these chickens, during independent reproduction, neither the qualities of the Hungarian giant nor the parental breeds of the cross are preserved.
When buying from hands, you can buy giants with the following problems:
- underdevelopment of the genitals;
- significantly less weight - chickens grow half as much as they should;
- after the transition from the starting compound feed to the usual diet, development stops.
To obtain hatching eggs at home, the chickens of the Hungarian giant are covered by the roosters of Orpington or Rhode Island. Naturally, there is a splitting of traits that disappear over time, which is why a cross is sold on the markets and in private households, which does not give the declared productivity.
Breed analogs
The Hercules are more similar to the Hungarian giant breed than others. These chickens are large in body weight. Roosters grow up to 4.8 kg. Egg production in oatmeal is higher - up to 300 eggs per year. But this breed is sensitive to the conditions of keeping and feeding. If the content rules are violated, it is impossible to achieve the declared productivity.
Reviews of the breed
Nina G., amateur poultry farmer, Lgov. I chose Hungarian giants for breeding for sale. I bought eggs, the young were hatched without loss. I look after them according to the regulations - feeding, walking, everything according to the regime. They are responsive to care - they grow quickly, rush briskly. The meat is delicious. I think Hungarian is an ideal breed for private breeding.
Rodion Sh., 47 years old, experienced poultry farmer, Belgorod region. Hungarian women have become a good source of income for me. I feed with compound feed, but the cost of it is more than reimbursed after the sale of meat and eggs. The main thing is to timely replenish the livestock with pedigree material. Breeding crosses is a thankless job.
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The Hungarian giant will become the gem of your poultry yard or poultry farm if you purchase the first generation of crosses. Choose conscientious breed suppliers and remember - you can get the desired return from the giants only with proper feeding.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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