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Owners of personal farmsteads, aimed at getting eggs from chickens first, and then meat, are trying to find the most egg-laying breed of chickens. Here a dilemma arises. A breed that can be bred on its own usually does not have a very large number of eggs. Yes, and the size with the quality may be unsatisfactory. Hens that lay large eggs in large numbers often cannot be bred, as these are industrial crosses. Such an industrial egg cross is a broken brown – a breed of chickens created by the German company Lohmann Tirzuht.
The company, of course, keeps the parent breeds of crosses and the technology of crossing a secret. But today in its assortment there are already at least 5 types of egg-bearing crosses.
The breed of chickens is a broken brown: description, content on a personal farmstead
Chickens of the German Broken Brown breed are, without exaggeration, one of the best for obtaining egg products. As a source of meat, they can not even be considered. Strictly egg direction dictates the structural features and size of these chickens. To put it simply: “a good laying hen is not fat.”
Oddly enough, but even in broken brown you can get confused. When searching for information in the -speaking space, it seems that there is only one such chicken. Even if it’s an egg cross. In fact, Lohmann Tirzuht has created two varieties of Loman chickens: classic and clarified. In the picture above, these two types are extreme.
Crosses are very similar. Offhand, only a specialist chicken breeder will understand them, so it often seems that a broken brown is a breed of chickens, the description of which is contradictory. But it is more likely that different crosses are described.
The gender of the chicken is clear from the first day: the cockerels are yellow, the hens are red.
Understand what type of Broken Brown chickens you need using a photo and description
Loman brown classic
It turns out a play on words, but this is a classic brown chicken. The classic cross has a small head with a small red leaf-shaped crest. The eyes are red-orange. Earrings medium size, red. The lobes and face are red.
The neck is short, thin. The body is located horizontally. The back and loin are even, relatively wide. The chest is weakly muscled. The abdomen is wide and full. The tail is directed almost at an angle of 90° to the horizon. The legs are short, the muscles are poorly developed. Metatarsus yellow, unfeathered.
The egg characteristics of the Loman Brown classical chicken breed may be different depending on the conditions of detention.
| Cellular content | Yard maintenance |
Sexual maturation | 140 – 150 days | 140 – 150 days |
peak productivity | 26 – 30 weeks | 26 – 30 weeks |
Number of eggs in 12 months | 315 – 320 | 295 – 305 |
Number of eggs in 14 months | 350 – 360 | 335 – 345 |
Egg weight at the age of a laying hen 12 months. | 63,5 – 64,5 g | 63,5 – 64,5 g |
Egg weight at the age of a laying hen 14 months. | 64 – 65 g | 64 – 65 g |
pullet weight | at 20 weeks 1,6 – 1,7 kg | at 18 weeks 1,6 – 1,7 kg |
Laying weight at the end of the productive period | 1,9 – 2,1 kg | 1,9 – 2,1 kg |
The egg shell is brown or beige.
Loman brown clarified
The main exterior characteristics of the clarified cross are similar to the broken brown classic. Crosses differ in the number, weight and quality of eggs. This cross is intended for markets where egg weight is not important, but shell strength is important.
Egg characteristics of laying hens of breed Broken brown clarified:
- the beginning of oviposition at 4,5 – 5 months;
- peak productivity 26 – 30 weeks;
- number of eggs in 12 months – 315-320;
- number of eggs in 14 months – 355-360;
- egg weight at the age of one year 62 – 63 g;
- egg weight at 14 months 62,5 – 63,5 g;
- pullet weight 1,55 – 1,65 kg;
- the weight of an adult laying hen at the end of the productive period is 1,9 – 2,1 kg.
Pros of both types of crosses:
- excellent laying hens;
- good temperament;
- unpretentiousness and endurance;
- good hatchability in the incubator;
- high survival rate of chickens;
- lack of incubation instinct.
The latter is a plus if the purpose of the farm is egg production. If for some reason you want to get offspring from laying hens of the broken brown breed without an incubator, then the plus turns into a minus. And such a picture, as below, is possible only in a photo that advertises broken as high-class laying hens.
The disadvantages, from the point of view of a private trader, include the lack of meat productivity. By the end of the egg-laying season, the broken are skeletons covered with hard skin. They have nothing.
A short laying season cannot even be called a disadvantage, since this situation is inherent in all egg-laying breeds. The body of a bird wears out very quickly due to the production of an unnatural number of eggs.
Due to so many factors that affect the productivity of chickens, reviews of the broken brown chicken breed are often at opposite poles.
In the last video, the owner, most likely, bought a factory cull under the guise of young ones. Or, given the presence of worms, they were birds from a farm with very poor conditions.
Conditions of keeping and feeding
Lomans are unpretentious and easily adapt to the conditions of detention in a personal compound. But due to the intensity of oviposition, they require enhanced feeding. The leaching of minerals from the body of the chicken leads either to the appearance of a very thin shell on the egg, or to its complete absence. This is especially true of the “classic” cross, which carries very large eggs.
Plus, with a lack of nutrients, minerals and trace elements, laying hens begin to peck their own eggs. In this way, they try to restore the disturbed balance in the body. The problem is that if you don’t take action quickly, the need turns into a bad habit that “infects” all the chickens in the coop. As a result, it will be necessary to eliminate the existing livestock and start a new one. At poultry farms, the issue is solved in a radical way, cutting the chickens’ beaks. It is believed that in this case, the hens will not only lose the opportunity to fight with each other, but will also not be able to eat eggs.
There are three ways to keep rogues:
- in cell batteries;
- On the floor;
- in a chicken coop with perches.
Each method has its pros and cons.
The cell content of hens of the Broken Brown breed in the photo.
Space is saved a lot, and chickens do not have the opportunity to peck eggs. The laid egg rolls out of the cage. This increases the level of egg production of chickens. But this way of keeping provokes neurosis and self-pecking, as well as aggression towards neighbors.
Floor content softens nervous tension in chickens. Reduced attacks of aggression. But keeping the birds on the floor gives them the opportunity to eat the eggs. Also, the chicken can crush the egg while moving. Egg production with this type of keeping is lower than with cages, and requires the owner to collect eggs several times during the day.
Even the arrangement of boxes for nests may not save some of the eggs from destruction, since in order to lay eggs in a box, the bird must have the instinct of incubation. In fact, if a hen lays her eggs in the chosen place, then she is making a nest.
Often the box does not play the role of a nesting place, but a shelter where the chicken can safely get rid of the load. Often several laying hens lay their eggs in the most “secret” box at once.
Perched coops don’t play much of a role in keeping the eggs safe, but they do help the hens feel safe upstairs. A calm chicken rushes better.
As for the diet, the best solution would be to feed with industrial feed for laying hens. Trying to balance the diet of industrial egg laying hens on your own is a futile exercise.
Reviews about broken lines from their owners
Conclusion
Both types of broken browns have high egg productivity. Lomanov today are willingly kept not only in industrial factories, but also in private homes. This egg-laying breed fully justifies the feed spent on it.