Many poultry farmers are pleased to have at their compound not only productive, but also beautiful chickens. Among unusual domestic birds, the Minorca chicken breed, whose representatives have high productivity and bright appearance, attracts special attention. About the features of the breed and the content of its representatives later in the article.

Breed characteristics

The described birds owe their origin to the black Castile chickens that inhabited the peasant yards of the Spanish island of Minorca (one of the Balearic islands). In the eighteenth century, the kurovods of the dominant Britain at that time brought minor in their country and made them ordinary representatives of farms.

At the end of the 19th century, thanks to the exotic appearance of the minor, the poultry breeders of America and Germany became interested in them, where they began to breed the bird en masse, calling it Spanish. The Spanish hen came to the Russian state in 1885 thanks to the caliph of Turkey, Abdul-Hamid II, and by 1911 Russian breeders had developed a domestic standard for this breed.

Today, mines have 3 baselines that differ in breeding time and in the intricacies of selective work:

1. Black Spanish minor.

2. Minor White (British selection).

3. Dwarf minor (German standard).

We will tell about the first two lines of the breed, since they are the most popular for breeding among their relatives due to their productivity and exotic appearance.

Did you know? Mother hens can communicate with their future chicks while they are in the shell. A few days before the appearance of the offspring, sitting on the eggs and making certain sounds, the “mothers” encourage their babies that have not yet hatched to respond to them, so that the chicken discards the dead embryos, pushing them out of the total mass to the edge of the nest.

Appearance

The tables below provide an overview of the appearance of minor colors of both colors.

Black hens have the following characteristic appearance:

Appearance	Characteristics
Head	Small size. Muzzle red, not feathered, brown or black eyes
Crest	Leaf-shaped, large cloves. In males, the crest is upright, in chickens, it hangs on its side like a beret, while the eye does not cover
Beak	Black (for males, a lighter beak tip is acceptable). Under the beak there are long bright red earrings of impressive sizes, as well as snow-white oval-shaped earlobes
Neck	Long enough
Chest	Rounded
Tummy	Developed
Wings	Sufficiently developed
Tail	Smooth, raised high in the hen, in the male - descending almost to the ground, with long plaits
Paws	Tall and strong. Dark Metatarsus and Claws
Plumage and color	Slate black with a green overflow.

Distinctive features of white minor:

Appearance	Characteristics
Head	Small, neat. The muzzle and eyes are red
Crest	In the form of a leaf with several curves. Suppose a pink ridge with a lower landing
Beak	Light pink
Neck	Elongated
Chest	Rounded
Tummy	Sufficiently developed
Wings	Developed
Tail	Smooth, hen raised high; the male has a tail, hollowing almost to the ground, with long braids
Paws	Tall and strong. Light pink claws and metatarsus
Plumage and color	Snow-white, with silver impregnation.

As can be seen from the tables, in addition to the color difference, outwardly white and black minors can differ only in the shape of the scallop.

Bird character

The birds of this breed are very active and mobile. Unfortunately, they make poor contact with a person and are very shy, so observing them is possible only at a distance. As for the other representatives of the poultry enclosure, the minors treat them quite calmly and coexist peacefully in the common chicken coop.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Minors have the following advantages:
• • decorative look;
  • peaceful character;
  • white meat of excellent taste;
  • large eggs;
  • fairly high year-round egg production;
  • high safety of young animals (over 95%);
  • early precocity.

• The main disadvantages of the breed:
• • birds are sensitive to changes in climate and weather;
  • very shy;
  • low maternal instinct - not only do not hatch eggs, but can peck them too;
  • poorly adapt to new conditions;
  • poorly perceive a sharp change in diet.

Features of the content of the breed of chicken minor

Minoroc is best bred in regions with a temperate and mild climate, because in colder conditions their egg production can drop sharply, and the content will not be economically feasible.

The necessary conditions

In connection with the high heat loving nature of the birds, a number of requirements to the conditions of their maintenance are put forward.

Important! It is most advisable to keep minor in large buildings with other animals (cattle, pigs, rabbits), where the plus temperature is maintained due to the heat generated by them.

Chicken coop

Rules for designing a chicken coop for minor:

1. Microclimate indicators: minimum indoor temperature - + 8–10 ° С. Therefore, in winter, birds need additional heating with heating devices.
2. The chicken coop should have low humidity and no drafts.
3. Material for building a chicken coop: wood, foam blocks. With the likelihood of low winter temperatures, additional warming is necessary (mineral wool, polystyrene). The floors are made exclusively of wood.
4. The size of the premises for the maintenance of birds: 1 square. m - no more than 5 individuals.
5. Adequate lighting: equip the insulated window with an area of ​​at least 1 square. m and, if possible, install a fine metal mesh for the summer.
6. Quality ventilation: if there is poor air exchange in the coop, a high percentage of mortality may occur.
7. Cleanliness: arrange a bed of straw on the floor, which must be changed daily.
8. Nests and perches: install at a distance of 75 cm from the floor.
9. Daylight hours (at least 10 hours) are provided with additional lighting.

Walking yard

Since domestic birds of the described species are characterized by increased activity, they really need a spacious place for walking.

Walking Space Requirements:

1. It is necessary to place a walking yard away from extraneous noise (busy tracks, places of active recreation, the presence of dogs), otherwise the birds will stop rushing due to their timidity.
2. The courtyard for walking chickens in the fresh air needs to be fenced with a fine-mesh net no less than one and a half meters high, covered with the same net from above or made a canopy, since the minor can fly well and can easily get out of the corral. The canopy will also protect against rain and predators.
3. For additional protection against draft and extraneous noise, a hedge is planted along the fence.
4. It is advisable to make a wooden floor in the pen with a coating of straw or hay, so that with increased humidity in the courtyard does not form dirt, due to which the birds will lose their decorative appearance and begin to hurt.

Important! It is unacceptable to walk minor in winter at very low temperatures, since their ridges can freeze. To prevent this, pet scallops can be rubbed with fat.

Feeding troughs and drinking bowls

To maintain cleanliness and dryness in the chicken coop, as well as to prevent pets from staining their plumage, the placement of feeders and drinking bowls should be properly organized:

• containers for feeding and drinking should correspond to the size, age and number of pets;
• devices should be easily cleaned of food debris and dirt, and also subject to regular disinfection;
• for dry feed, wooden feeders are arranged, and for wet - plastic or metal;
• drinking bowls are also located on the walking yard;
• the water in the drinkers should always be clean and in sufficient quantity.

Feeding Adult Chickens

Minor adults must be fed three times a day with the same feeds that are intended for the rest of the breeds:

• in the morning - food enriched with vitamins and protein (prepared feed);
• in the afternoon - mash mashines, with the addition of sand (for good digestion);
• in the evening - whole grains (corn, wheat).

Read more about other breeds of hen egg: leghorn, ameraukan.

Also suitable for a daily diet:

• cereals;
• greenery;
• chopped vegetables and root vegetables (raw and boiled);
• animal and vegetable protein;
• meat and fish waste;
• serum;
• sunflower oil or cake.

We must not forget about mineral and vitamin supplements. In the chicken coop or pen for walking, separate feeders are placed, filled with:

• crushed limestone;
• crushed chalk;
• clean river sand.

Did you know? Minors are very sensitive to the mineral composition of the feed. In some areas of Spain in the 19th century, these birds almost disappeared due to the scarcity of local soils in terms of minerals. In regions where loamy soil contained mineral inclusions, this species of poultry was preserved.

Shedding and egg laying break

Like all breeds of domesticated birds, minks survive a molt period of 2 weeks to 6 months. At this time, their performance decreases (up to 80%), but does not stop completely. At the end of this phase, egg production returns to normal dynamics and even increases.

Herd replacement planned

The production period for a Spanish chicken ranges from 8 months to 2–5 years, after which a planned replacement of the livestock is made. In order to breed a strong breed, which would subsequently be distinguished by high productivity, minor chicks should hatch in early spring.

Features of growing chickens

As mentioned above, the "Spaniards" do not have a pronounced maternal instinct, so incubators or hens of other breeds are used to breed chickens.

The breeding and rearing of Minorca chickens takes place according to the following scheme:

1. For breeding offspring, eggs are used only from chickens that meet the breed standard and are carried in the second year.
2. Testicles of medium size are taken and stored for 3-5 days at a temperature of 12 to 18 ° C with blunt tips up.
3. Before laying in the incubator, the eggs are kept for 2 hours at room temperature.
4. The appearance of chickens should be expected on the 21–23rd day after laying the material.
5. Young growth is standard: warm housing (a box with high sides and bottom heating to maintain a temperature of +30 ° C); nutritious and balanced food; fresh and clean drink; lighting with a lamp (from 6 hours to 20); clean litter, which must be changed several times a day.

Feeding minor chicks does not differ from feeding ordinary chickens, so the following foods should be in their diet:

• on the first day give rubbed eggs mixed with semolina;
• in a day it is necessary to give cottage cheese;
• on the second day, finely chopped greens are added (young nettle, alfalfa, clover; a little later - dill, green onions, lettuce, sorrel);
• on the third day vegetables are introduced;
• from the 10th day, you can add boiled root crops and crushed grain;
• as plumage is added to the diet, high-quality nutrition with vitamins and minerals (ready-made compound feed for young animals);
• at 2 months, the offspring are transferred to adult food with the addition of bran, yeast mixtures, meat and bone meal.

As they grow, young animals undergo breeding selection, which includes the following parameters:

• general development;
• egg productivity - in chickens at 5 months;
• the exterior of the males, as the scallop grows.

Important! To upgrade the herd, culverts recommend exchanging breeding material from other poultry farmers.

Diseases of chickens and methods for solving them

The breed does not have a genetic predisposition to disease, but, as was indicated, Spanish birds are demanding of heat and keeping in a dry chicken coop.

If the livestock is in inappropriate conditions, the following problems are possible:

Problem	Problem Solving / Preventive Measures
Due to dampness, drafts and cold, birds begin to hurt and die	Insulate the room outside with insulating materials (polystyrene, fiberglass) Close up holes in the walls Arrange perches at a level not lower than 70 cm Change bedding to fresh daily
Infectious diseases	Preventive vaccination helps prevent livestock infection
Parasite infection	In the chicken coop and in the walking yard are tanks filled with a sand-ash mixture for bathing pets
Frostbite crests and catkins	Apply grease to scallops and catkins Do not walk birds on especially frosty days.

By observing the basic rules indicated in the table, you can completely avoid serious health problems with your decorative pets.

As you can see, it is better to breed exotic chickens of the Minorca breed in a private household, where they will be provided with proper care and where the emphasis is more on their decorative appearance. Providing the pets with everything they need for high productivity, they will gladly please their owners with nutritious eggs and delicious meat.