Growing poultry in order to produce eggs, delicious tasty meat and feathers has become popular since the days of the first sedentary civilizations. Breeders from different countries are working on breeding meat, egg, meat-egg, and even sports and decorative breeds. Hens of breed the Hungarian giant belong to meat and egg type that does them quite demanded in house and farms. If you are breeding chickens or are going to do this, then you will be useful information about the features of this breed, its maintenance and cultivation.
History reference
The name of the breed indicates its Hungarian origin. The purpose of the selection of Hungarian specialists was the breeding of meat breed, which would quickly gain the necessary weight. For this purpose, Orpington hens were bred with local hens. Orpington is a breed of meat and egg type, derived from the famous Cochinha, belonging to meat breeds.
Did you know? The origin of domestic chickens goes back to the wild Bankiv hens that live in India. It was thanks to the ancient Hindus that the domestication and the first selection of these birds occurred.
Another breed name is Foxy chickthat in translation from English means "fox chicken". Another breed name is red broiler. All versions of the names indicate a characteristic feature of the Hungarian giants - they have a characteristic red color. But the word "giant" in the title clearly indicates that the goal of the Hungarian breeders was achieved. The weight of cocks is 5 kg, hens - 4 kg.
Hungarian giants grow rapidly and gain weight. An additional problem solved by breeders is the ability of chickens to tolerate cold well.
Read also about growing broiler chickens: the content and characteristics of feeding.
Characteristics and features
The breed combines all the features that can be claimed both in personal and in the farm:
- rapid growth and weight gain;
- big weight;
- good egg production;
- unpretentiousness to the conditions of life.
It is because of the rapid weight gain breed demanding nutrition.
Exterior
From their ancestors orpington giants inherited the square type of carcass. In the new breed he became barrel-shaped. But given the growth of chickens, it does not catch the eye. Outwardly, they look like ordinary chickens, only very large and specific fox color. 
The rib cage is well developed and rather voluminous. Neck strong elongated. The head is small with a smooth rounded scallop and earrings of bright red color. Bill and paws yellow, strong. Feathers on paws are absent. Chicken has high muscular paws and a bulging tummy inherent in meat breeds. Wings tightly pressed to the body.
One of the peculiarities of the Cochintes is their thick plumage. This feature was also adopted by the orpingtons, and subsequently the Hungarian giants. It is the density of feathers and a large amount of fluff that allows birds to tolerate cold well and winter in insulated hen houses.
Did you know? In our time, the standards of the poultry industry recorded about 180 breeds of chickens. Not standardized types of chickens much more. All of them are divided into three main groups: meat, egg and meat-egg. In the XX century, new types of classification of chickens were proposed, and among them - classification by geography.
Color
Low-key ginger plumage is a distinctive feature of the Hungarian giant. The shade of color can vary from yellowish orange to brown. Braids on the tail of a dark rooster, the same shade is present on the wings. 
Temperament
Chickens are calm enough and do not cause much trouble. The roosters of the Hungarian giants protect their territory well, so it is not recommended to keep several cocks with a small number of hens at the same time. But, in general, the roosters are not aggressive and get along well with any birds and other living creatures.
Hatching instinct
Hens of Hungarian Giants - very good hens. They perfectly incubate the clutch and monitor the hatched chickens. In the process of brooding, the hen behaves calmly, does not leave the nest for a long time, controls the temperature of the egg laying and turns the eggs on its own so that they warm up evenly. A hen can hatch up to 10 eggs at a time. The quality of brooding is confirmed by almost 100 percent survival of the brood. During brooding, the hen should be well fed, as this process drains the hen.
Chicken eggs - a nutritious and healthy product, rich in vitamins and minerals. The maximum benefit of eggs can only be discussed in the case of their freshness, which can be checked, for example, with the help of water.
Productive qualities
With proper nutrition, the breed is perfectly gaining weight. By the end of the second month, chickens are gaining about 2 kg in weight. In this, they are not much inferior to purely meat breeds, but overtake them in egg production and survival. A distinctive feature of chickens is the interdependence between proper nutrition and weight gain. 
The meat tastes juicy and tender. Ancestors of the breed, orpingtons, have fat meat. Hungarian breeders have eliminated this deficiency, and the meat of the giants is dietary and lean.
Did you know? The weight of the ancestors of the domestic chicken, the bankiv hens, is only 500-700 g for the hen and 1000 g for the rooster.
Puberty and annual egg production
A feature of meat-egg breeds is the balance of indicators, i.e., they will not set egg production records, but, in general, they will be very good. Layers start to be born at 4 months. The testicles in young layers are medium-sized, medium-dense, dark-colored shells. During the process of establishing egg production, the testicular shell may have various defects due to an imbalance in the amount of calcium.
Tips for poultry farmers: the period of egg production in pullet chickens, vitamins for laying hens, what to do if chickens do not carry well, carry small eggs, peck eggs.
Larger eggs in hens are obtained in the second year of life. Their weight reaches 70 g. During the year, a young chicken can carry about 200 eggs. Since the breed is not an egg, the chickens rush 1 time in 2 days. In general, Hungarian egg production is higher than the average for meat and egg breeds. 
Precocity and taste of meat
Meat is characterized by a low content of fat (up to 10%) and a high content of protein, easily absorbed by the body, has a rich vitamin set: B6, PP, B2. The composition includes amino acids, essential oils, iron, zinc, potassium, phosphorus.
The breast is considered the most useful and dietary part of chicken meat, but the largest accumulation of harmful substances is contained in the skin and legs.
Conditions of detention
Keeping chickens is no problem for the farmer.
Basic requirements for the content of the breed:
- hygiene - the presence of dry litter in the chicken coop and in the nests, the fight against skin parasites;
- use of high protein feeds;
- availability of space for walking birds.
Did you know? Chickens are an integral part of the cultural heritage of different countries. So, in France, the rooster is a national symbol. Chickens are depicted on the coins of 16 countries, in which, undoubtedly, are the absolute champions of the animal world.
Coop Requirements
Despite the fact that the breed tolerates cold, the chicken coop must be insulated. Climatic conditions affect the egg production of poultry, and cold can significantly reduce it. 
Basic dimensions of the chicken coop:
- height - not less than 2 m;
- the area is calculated based on the number of chickens: per 1 square. m should be 3-4 hens;
- Remember that among the ancestors of the breed there were non-flying chickens, so do not set roosts at a height above 1 m;
- perch width must be at least 40 cm.
Learn more about the arrangement of housing for chickens: the choice and purchase, self-production and arrangement of the chicken coop (nest for hens, perch).
Primary requirements:
- Indoors should not be drafts. Despite the fact that the Hungarian giant is a frost-resistant breed, the chicken coop is insulated so that in winter the temperature in it does not fall below +10 ° C. For the organization of the exhaust ventilation in the roof of the chicken coop are mounted 2 pipes, which will provide air exchange. Pipes should be fitted with dampers to regulate the flow of air.
- The chicken coop is equipped with windows for access to light, which affects the egg production of chickens. Therefore, in winter, the coop will have to turn on the lights to extend the daylight hours.
Important! Electrical wiring should be mounted out of reach for the bird.
- The egg production is also affected by noise. Therefore, chicken coops are equipped away from pistes and other sources of noise.
- A mandatory requirement for poultry houses is dry litter and lack of moisture. Excess moisture contributes to the development of pathogenic microflora, which can be a source of infectious diseases.
- A layer of sand and chips up to 5 cm thick is piled on the floor of the chicken coop.
- When organizing a chicken coop, you should immediately consider how the cleaning of litter and contaminated litter from the house will be ensured.
The coop must be equipped with drinkers and feeders. To combat ticks and other skin parasites, a sandbox is installed in the room - chickens like to bathe in it. To sleep equipped with perches and nests for layers. Fits one nest for 3-4 hens. Ladders are brought to the perch - 2 pieces for one perch will be quite enough. 
Walking yard
Movement is important for chickens, including weight gain. Therefore, they must be near the hen house walking yard. In places of walking the grass must grow. The courtyard is surrounded by a lattice or mesh. But even if you decide that chickens can move freely throughout the existing territory, then there is nothing to worry about, in the evening all the hens will return to the hen house for the night.
An unusual feature of some freely walking birds is the individual choice of a place to lay an egg. Layers are very good mothers and for breeding future offspring they try to choose the most comfortable conditions (from the point of view of the mother hen). Therefore, sometimes the hen is carried not in the hen house, but somewhere in the territory. Tracking this process is simple: most chickens report their intention to lay an egg with a loud cackle. If you have heard clucking, but do not find eggs in the nest, follow the hen, because it is likely that she will lay the next egg in her “new nest”.
Important! Walking through the territory of the chickens in search of food can fly over the fence. The opinion that chickens do not fly with clipped feathers is erroneous. Better cover the walking yard with a net.
Feeders and drinkers
The feeder can be made of wood, plastic or metal. The best option would be a plastic model that is easy to clean, does not contain toxic substances, is neutral to the aggressive effects of moisture, chicken manure and other harmful factors. 
Feeders can be located on the floor or mounted on the wall. The wall model is more convenient because it will be less polluted. Chickens love to row something in search of food. And so that the birds do not scatter the food, the best option would be a model that dispenses food that is poured into the feeder and the size of which does not allow it to fly into it. Drinkers are mounted in the same way. Water in them needs to be changed daily.
How to endure cold and heat
The plumage of the Hungarian giant is thick and dense, which will make it possible to survive the winter well. Chickens of this breed can even walk in the snow. High-quality feather cover protects the birds in the summer heat.
Moult
Physiological molt occurs once a year. The duration of the process depends on the quality of the food: the more balanced the food the chicken gets, the faster the molt ends. During this period, the hen can completely stop rolling.
Physiological molt begins in the autumn and is associated with hormonal changes in the body, which is affected by a decrease in daylight and a change in climatic conditions.
During this period, birds are susceptible to temperature extremes. It should also be remembered that a chicken can lose feather cover because of parasites. Therefore, if the moult began during off-hour time or it is too intense, then chickens and chicken coops urgently need treatment from the parasites.
From the louse, the chicken coop is treated with the Drakera solution: 5-10 ml of the preparation per 1 liter of water for non-absorbent surfaces and 2 times more than the preparation for the treatment of absorbent surfaces. Birds are treated with insectoacaricidal powder. 
Molt also provoke stress, lack of vitamins, metabolic disorders, infectious diseases. In order for such a molt to stop, it is enough to remove the stress factor.
In the diet of chickens during the molting period should be fresh greens, fodder beet and a complex of vitamins and minerals. If the loss of feather cover occurs in winter, then boiled vegetables and raw cabbage are introduced into the diet.
Read also about the varieties and the cultivation of fodder beet.
What to feed an adult flock
Young chickens are fed with starter feed, which contains all the substances necessary for growth and development. Gradually, from the starting feed, the chickens move either to the industrial one or to the one you make yourself.
The composition of the nutrient mixture:
- wheat grain - 22%;
- corn - 40%;
- barley grain - 12%;
- peas - 12%;
- other components - 8%.
Learn more about the nutrition of chickens: especially the content and feeding of laying hens; how to make feed for laying hens at home.
Other components include:
- chalk, shells, crushed shells, cottage cheese - as sources of calcium;
- grass, chopped greens, vegetables - as a vitamin and mineral complex.
To facilitate the process of assimilation of food in chickens should be in abundance fine fraction gravel. By swallowing pebbles, birds provide for food rubbing in the stomach. Often mineral feeds and premixes for broilers are added to the feed.
Did you know? The problem of nutrition is the tendency of the breed to obesity. Overfed chickens are difficult to nest, their fertility rate falls. Therefore it is necessary to carefully control the amount of feed. When signs of obesity appear reduce the proportion of cereals and increase the amount of green in the feed.
Feed the birds need 2 times a day. The rate for 1 chicken is 150 g. The grain part of the feed should be accessible at all times, and mash mushrooms should be poured to birds in the morning and evening.
Breeding chicks
Growing poultry for meat is a responsible and laborious process. After all, the violation of the conditions of keeping chicks can lead to their death, and violations in the diet - to a shortage of weight.
Required components of cultivation:
- timely use of vitamins and other drugs for disease prevention and treatment;
- compliance with the composition and volume of the diet;
- daily monitoring of the state of the bird;
- proper conditions of detention.
The choice of feed depends on the breeder: feed industrial feed or cooked independently. If the bird is raised for meat, the time of slaughter is also determined by you. Usually poultry are grown for about 70 days.
Important! Newborn chickens peck for 20-22 days. If chickens were raised under chicken, then at the time of spitting of the hatched chickens are collected in special nurseries, so that the chicken does not leave the clutch heating ahead of time.
Incubation
Hatching chicks is possible in two ways: by incubation and using chicken. Eggs before laying checked with an ovoscope.
Ovoskop is a device with which you can identify defects, deviations, or track the correct development of the embryo. Make this device you can do it yourself.
Characteristics of eggs laid:
- eggs with defects for incubation do not lay, these include: the presence of an offset air chamber, thin or defective shells;
- eggs should be no older than 7 days from the time the chicken was laid;
- The eggs must be approximately the same weight in order for the chicks to hatch at the same time.
Before laying eggs in the incubator should be at room temperature. To prevent uneven heating of the egg, it is periodically turned in an incubator - at least 4 times a day. Note that in the nest the hen turns the testicles very often. The incubation period is 21 days. On day 5, you can check the eggs with an ovoscope. If the development of the embryo has begun, then inside you can see the thin blood vessels piercing the entire cavity of the egg. Eggs in which there are no signs of embryo development can be removed and discarded. They were probably not fertilized. 
Hatching chickens with a hen is a more natural process than an artificial incubator, especially since chickens of Hungarian giants are excellent hens. The desire to raise offspring occurs in chickens in the spring and summer. At this moment, they whimper, sit for a long time in the nest, begin to pull down the fluff on the breast and cover the nest with it. Before putting eggs into the nest, there are laid bogus eggs. This wooden blanks egg-shaped. If the hen will hatch the clutch, it will remain in the nest, and then real eggs can be laid in the clutch. The nest should be in a quiet dark place so that the chicken would not be disturbed and she felt safe.
Read also about the selection criteria and characteristics of the best incubators: "Cinderella", "Blitz", "Perfect hen", "Layer".
As insulation in the nest should be a large amount of hay, which the hen will lay at its discretion and additionally warm it with feathers and down. Masonry hatching 21 days. At this time, the chicken briefly leaves the nest to fulfill the body's natural needs.
Important! Breeding chickens with the help of a chicken is a good solution only for personal farming. For industrial dilution, incubators are used.
Care for the young
Chickens hatch from eggs independently. From the incubator, they are removed only after complete drying. Chickening and further process the chicken will control on its own. Little chickens live in nurseries that are made from a small box. To maintain the temperature, a heating pad is placed at the bottom. The temperature inside the nursery should be +30 ° C. That the hot-water bottle was not too hot for chickens, a diaper is placed on top of it. It creates a more comfortable floor for babies. 
The first chicken feed is millet and finely chopped egg. In the drinking bowl should be a decoction of chamomile or wild rose.
Temperature conditions during growth:
- the first week is + 26-30 ° С;
- second week - + 23-27 ° C;
- further, the temperature is reduced to +19 ° C.
Lighting should be around the clock. It is advisable to choose for the nursery lamp with the ability to control the intensity of illumination, so that it can be gradually reduced.
The diaper on the litter is regularly changed to ensure hygiene and prevent the development of diseases.
Chicken Diet
Feed utilization scheme:
- in the diet of chickens includes feed "Start";
- for young animals there is feed "fattening";
- from 3 months and until slaughter - "Finish" feed.
The amount of feed required by the chickens is given in a table on the package with feed. In the first five days, the chicken needs 15-20 g of feed. By the twentieth day, the chicken receives 90 g of starter feed. During this period, it is transferred to feed for fattening. The share of feed is constantly increasing and by 2 months it is 150 g per 1 chicken. From this period, young animals are fed with Finish feed based on the norm of 160-170 g per day. 
Feeding schedule:
- 1 week - 8 times a day;
- 2 week - 6 times a day;
- 3 week - 4 times a day;
- 4 week and further - 2 times a day.
If the chickens are fed natural food, the diet will be as follows:
- 1-2 weeks - from cereals: millet, finely chopped barley, oats; add finely chopped egg, cottage cheese, yogurt, greens; grated carrots, pumpkin;
- 3-4 weeks - from the diet remove the egg and part of the wheat, add boiled potatoes, yeast, fish meal and finely chopped corn, wheat;
- 5 week and further - whole grains are introduced into the ration, they prepare mash, vegetables, and greens.
Did you know? For novice breeders, the choice of a feeding method - industrial feed or homemade - can be a stumbling block. When making a decision, consider the amount of time that needs to be spent on the manufacture of animal feed, and the economic benefits from it.
Herd replacement
Planned replacement of livestock associated with the achievement of critical indicators:
- Growing chicken for meat is advisable for up to 3 months when the chicken reaches its optimum meat weight. From 4-5 months the weight almost does not change, the chicken is aging, its meat loses its taste. In this case, the cost of chicken will increase, and profits from the sale of meat will decrease, because the money spent on the purchase of feed will not bring additional kilograms of meat.
- The same goes for eggs. Chicken reaches its peak in egg production at 2 years, then the indicators begin to decline.
These reasons make the farmer plan to replace herds. Growing chickens for meat, laying the first batch into the incubator is done in February, so that in March the chickens grow up in the manger, and in April, the climatic conditions allow them to live comfortably in a chicken coop with a walking yard. The laying of the next batch of eggs for incubation is planned so as to get a kind of conveyor from the constant production of carcasses until November, inclusive. To replace egg-laying chickens in the third year of growth they are planning a new batch of chickens. The old flock is cut out as soon as the new one begins to be carried.
The breed's tendency to disease
The most common are infectious diseases and skin parasites.
Basic pathologies:
- salmonellosis;
- tuberculosis;
- pasteurellosis;
- colibacteriosis.
All infections are accompanied by lethargy birds, decreased appetite, diarrhea. Treat them with antibiotics. But sometimes it is advisable to send a sick bird for slaughter, and the rest to conduct a course of treatment to prevent the spread of infection. 
The room is treated with a disinfectant solution, changing litter, disinfecting drinkers and feeders.
Important! Only relatively recently, for the disinfection of chicken coops, a dust treatment was recommended. But remember that dust is toxic to animals, it can not be used in a residential chicken coop without harming the bird.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of the Hungarian giant breed are:
- unpretentiousness to habitat conditions;
- resistance to cold;
- developed maternal instinct in laying hens;
- good egg production;
- big weight;
- fast growth;
- high immunity;
- a large percentage of chick survival;
- excellent dietary quality meat.
Breed deficiencies:
- a tendency to obesity;
- the need to comply with the diet in terms of both quantitative and qualitative indicators.
Video: a review of the Hungarian giant breed
Reviews of breed Hungarian giant
Hungarian giants can be a good acquisition in your farm, as there are not so many breeds that have high egg production with high meat indices. And the simplicity of the breed to the conditions of detention will be an additional plus to the breeding of these chickens.
