Chickens Master Gray: characteristics, description of the cross and photo

Externally, the representatives of this breed are quite beautiful and will effectively stand out from the rest of the inhabitants of the household farmstead. The plumage is dark gray with chaotic splashes of white. The term shell is best suited to this color. The body is large, strong, muscles are well developed. Massive, medium length legs. Scallop and earrings bright scarlet.

Breed master gray rather can be attributed to the crosses, as it is a hybrid. Bred in Hungary at one of the experienced divisions of the company Hubbadr, which is still engaged in its breeding. Two subspecies of the breed are widespread:

• Master Gray M - from crossing gray cockerels with Redbro M hens,
• Master Gray S - from mating with female Redbro S.

Due to its characteristics, the master gray chickens won the first recognition in France, so many poultry farmers mistakenly believe that the crosses were bred in this country.

Advantages of Crosses

Chickens master gray, the description of which allows them to distinguish among other breeds, for the household - just a godsend.

• About 300 large eggs (65-70 grams) are given annually. Scratch starts from 4 months of age.
• The weight of an adult chicken is about 3 kg, of a rooster up to 7 kg. A set of muscle mass is active.
• The bird is calm, lively, lives peacefully with the inhabitants of the monastery.
• Females are great hens. Farmers often use them to hatch eggs of other breeds.
• Cross meat is lean, characterized by high taste.

Farmers prefer this breed due to the high rate of survival of chickens - 98%.

Very similar in constitution to the master gray chickens redbro (or foxy chic) ​​- almost the same line of the parent breed, only with fiery-red coloring. Poultry meatyachy direction, productivity indicators are high. In the opinion of some breeders, the hens of the red bro are even somewhat larger and carry better. Roosters in 6 months weigh 7 kg, the egg production rate of chickens is 300 eggs per year.

Conditions of detention

Chickens master gray (the description of the breed is given in the article) are adapted for outdoor and cellular housing. If a bird is raised for the purpose of obtaining meat, the cellular content is much more profitable, since it is 1 square meter. meters of chickens fit more than the floor.

The maintenance of the chicken is unpretentious, so the farmer has no problems with them. The main thing is to provide a dry, warm room, equipped with good ventilation and equipped with perches and nests. In order for the chickens to fly well in the winter, you should think about additional sources of heating. From the most bitter cold, the floor-laying can be partially saved, for which straw, chips, sawdust are used, poured on the floor in a thick layer. The temperature in the chicken coop, even on the coldest days, should not fall below 10 o C. If the chicken stops rushing at the end of summer - early autumn, this may indicate a shedding process, during which the body works on growing feathers and winter fluff in anticipation of the cold season. .

Since the bird is large, it should allocate an area of ​​10 square meters. meters on 20 individuals. The remaining conditions are similar to the content of ordinary breeds.

Preparing a chicken coop

Before settling in the hens for permanent residence in the poultry house, the latter must be carefully prepared: bring cleanliness in it, whiten, disinfect. This is required to prevent disease. Chickens master gray are characterized by good immunity, but still need to hedge.

For disinfection it is recommended to use one of the solutions:

• 2% solution of acoustic soda,
• 5% solution of xylonaph or creolin,
• 3% formalin solution.

Whitewashing should be made with a 20% lime solution. The room is closed for 10-12 hours, after which you can air out. Then use for its intended purpose, that is, to inhabit the birds.

Feeding features

An important factor in the proper care of the hens is feeding. The breed of chickens master gray, reviews of which from the farmers have a positive character, is satisfied with the usual, balanced composition of food. There is no special need for any additional supplements if the breeder does not have the goal of raising chickens as broilers (only for meat).

The following components should be included in the daily ration of the bird:

• grain (wheat, corn),
• greens, including young nettle,
• vegetables (carrots, beets, pumpkins, etc.),
• fish flour,
• crushed shell, crushed eggshell, chalk. These supplements are rich in calcium, increase egg production, have a positive effect on the digestive system, improve the taste of meat.

Adult chickens need to be fed several times a day. In the morning and in the evening - dry food (grain). In the afternoon - wet mash and greens. A classic feeding product is ready-made feed, which contains all the components necessary for rapid growth and full development.

Well, if the place for walking has areas with greenery, so that the bird can be fed with fresh grass and look for bugs in the land.

Preventive measures

Clean, fresh water and fine gravel or coarse sand must always be present to improve digestion. Protection against diseases, especially of the louse (tick), can be provided by the presence of sand-ash baths. These components create a protective layer on the feathers and body of the bird, which is destructive for parasites. It is possible to place such structure indoors or on a platform under a canopy on a platform for walking. A wooden box about 1x1 meters in size will be suitable as a mixture tank. It can be hung at a height of 20-25 cm or installed on the floor.

In equal parts required to mix wood ash with fine, sifted sand, you can add sulfur powder: 200 grams per bucket of the mixture obtained. The bath should be replenished as the composition decreases, as the birds in the process of “bathing” scatter the contents.

Chick care

Chickens under the age of 4 weeks should be provided with enhanced protein nutrition, give millet, chopped boiled eggs in combination with green onions. As a feed for young stock, it is recommended to use fresh cottage cheese, ready buckwheat porridge. When feeding young poultry with starter feed intended for broilers, weight gain will occur at an accelerated pace, but the chicken will not fly. One and a half chickens can already be given ground grain in the form of a wet mash.

Chickens should always be fed, so it’s better to feed more of the food and provide free access to it. With properly organized feeding, the youngsters will actively gain weight. First, chickens grow in height. Upon reaching the size of an adult individual, an increase in width begins. Already by 2 months the weight of young birds will be slightly more than 2 kg.

The original or a fake?

The master gray breed is not clean, so it is not possible to bring it out at home. Hatching eggs or chickens are best purchased at specialized farms that own the breeding equipment of the described breed. On small farms, there may be serious discrepancies with the original, and instead of a promising meat carcass, it is easy to become the owner of a lean creature, unable to even lay 100 eggs a year. It is possible to distinguish a fake from the original after the first molt or for 2 months, when the bird will not recruit everything as it should be. Master Gray daily chickens are characterized by a light yellow, almost white color, dark tips of the wings and a gray spot on the crown.

When buying an original, the master gray breed will please not only with a spectacular decorative appearance, but also with high productivity indicators.

Farmers Reviews

What do the poultry farmers say about the master gray chickens breed? According to the owners, these birds are a real decoration of the yard. Their good-natured and calm disposition, as well as their gullibility, bribe breeders. There are discrepancies in the question of egg production: 300 eggs a year declared by breeders actually turn into 200. This is a normal indicator, especially since the egg is large, with a strong shell. Yes, and we are talking about home growing. Perhaps, in conditions of specialized farms, the master gray hens justify the stated characteristics. But the main task of breeders on the breeding of the optimal breed for home cultivation is completed. Unpretentious and durable master gray chickens received positive feedback from breeders. At the private farmstead, they compare favorably with ordinary breeds, although they are contained in conditions similar to them.

Keeping poultry at home can sometimes give unpleasant surprises: master gray chickens can get sick. External signs indicating a sickness of the birds are:

• lethargic condition
• baldness,
• pale earrings and a comb,
• a slowdown in the growth of chicks,
• reduced egg production.

A thorough inspection of the bird, feathers, legs, wings, comb should be carried out. The cause of illness in chickens master gray can be parasites. In particular, several varieties of ticks. In addition to the fact that these insects suck the life out of the bird (generally speaking), they are also carriers of dangerous infections. Late detection is fraught with the death of a chicken.

The treatment is:

• treatment of poultry with special preparations
• disinfection of premises, nests, bedding, feeders,
• replace litter.

Breed flaws

They are? Behind such a huge mass of excellent characteristics, the master gray breed seems ideal. But there must be flaws.

According to the reviews of the poultry farmers, the only drawback of the breed is the impossibility to independently breed such unique chickens. The offspring of the crosses quickly degenerates, thus the whole meaning of its cultivation is lost: the master gray adopts the characteristics of one of the parent breeds, gradually turns into ordinary domestic chickens and, accordingly, loses the qualities laid down by the breeders. Therefore, in an effort to breed this particular breed, breeders are encouraged to buy young or an incubator egg.

Meet: chicken master gray

Modern farmers have a deep interest in cross master gray (Master Gray), another name is Master Gris.

Chickens master gray obtained by French breeders of the company Hubbard for home farms. There are varieties bred by specialists of the same company: Master Gray M and Master Gray S.

What does this breed look like - photo and description

A large white-gray bird with a bright red beard and scallop, the overall size of other crosses. It is distinguished by its high growth, long body, wide back, strong, medium length legs.

Gray feathers interspersed in white throughout the plumage. Gray color predominates over white in the neck, at the end of the wings and in the tail.

Hens content

Chickens master grizza calm, sociable, hardy, do not require special care, additives to the main feed.

Non-aggressive nature allows you to take the bird in hand. This property makes it possible content of hens instead of domestic adoptive mice. Heavy dual-purpose cross is good in the cage, indoors with access to open space.

In industrial farms chickens are kept in spacious poultry houses (in cages or on the floor).

The content of the hybrid in the cell

The advantages of growing poultry master grizzles in a private cage are obvious:

• Chicken is located in a restricted area, so the owner’s access to it is free, but for predators, chicken lovers, no.
• A place for movement is small, vital forces are spent on weight gain, egg production.
• No opportunity get on a neighbor's plot and cause controversy.
• Meat is twice as largethan from floor-laying chickens.

Master gray in a home hen house

An alternative to the existence of a bird in a cage is its stay in a room with the possibility of walking.

The appeal of this method is as follows:

• In the chicken coop bird moves on the floor in any direction.
• There is a possibility communicate with individuals of your own and the opposite sex.
• At will bird moves freely in place of walking. Well, if this area with grass vegetation, sandy soil, small pebbles.
• Balanced character allows you to walk bird on the ground without a high fence, just in the yard of a private house.

Why is it worth growing this breed?

• master gray - heavyweights. Adult chicks gain weight up to 4 kg, roosters - more than 6 kg. Growth rate is average. Compared to broilers, crosses are harder, gaining weight faster.
• Dietary meatbecause it contains a lot of high-grade proteins and low fat. Possesses excellent taste qualities: dense, but juicy, tender, tasty.
• Chickens are different high egg production. According to various sources, eggs start to begin at 4-6 months and give 200-300 pieces per year. Egg weight - 65-90 grams. Cream shell, brown.

From chicken to hen

Cross nestlings are hardy, resistant to weather variations.

• Subject to established rules for keeping poultry, a balanced diet and a sufficient amount of feed no more than 2% of chickens die.
• Growing rapidly, gaining weight quickly. If a monthly chicken weighs 1 kilogram, then at 3 months - more than 2, 5 kilograms. The increase in the weight of the carcass occurs without any chemical enhancers.

Caring for breed cross master gray

When growing domestic chickens, hybrids and crosses will be healthy, subject to certain conditions of their detention.

• Cage coop must be warmclean, dry, bright in summer and winter. The height of the coop is not less than 1, 8 meters. In the chicken coop equipped perches.
• Need constant ventilation house through the window, leaving (preferably) on the south side.
• Draft contraindicated.
• For every 10 m 2 room - no more 20 crosses.
• In the winter season it is recommended to pave the floor dry grass, sawdust, chopped straw. Chickens love to peck dry blades of grass, especially nettle. This is a source of vitamins.
• Nesting necessarily need nestsequipped in wooden boxes.
• The size of the nests depends on the size of the largest chicken. Recommended sizes: width - 35 cm, length - 40 cm. Nests can be installed on the floor, hung from the wall, while equipping the approaches in the form of ladders. Spread straw, hay.
• Nesting sites located away from the space of active mass movement of chickens.
• Chickens in the incubation stage are isolated. After the appearance chicks contain separate from the adult bird until the chicks grow up.

Disinfection as disease prevention

It is carried out in this way:

1. Inventory handled 3-5% hot soda ash solution.
2. Ceiling, floor, walls disinfected one of the chemical solutions:
   • 3-5% Creolina or xylonaph,
   • 2% caustic soda,
   • 3% formalin.
3. Important to whiten 20% mortar wall and ceiling. To maintain the disinfection mode for 12 hours, ventilate thoroughly.
4. In the house or in the pasture put the sand and ash for "bathing" chickens. The procedure is necessary for the prevention and control of skin parasites.

Feeding conditions

• Classical feeding product - ready feed, which included all the necessary components of good nutrition.
• Helpful include in the diet wheat, corn, oilcake, beets, carrots, grass, bone meal, fish.
• For the fortress Egg shells need to make mineral supplements: chalk, crushed egg shells, crushed limestone and shell rock. Provide constant access to them.

Natural supplements stimulate the gastrointestinal tract, increase egg production, improve taste and external characteristics of products.

Using top dressing reduces the amount of main feed. Keeping chickens becomes less expensive.

Rearing Chicks: Feeding Tips

• Just hatched chicks the owners of private farmsteads first feed on chopped boiled egg and green onions.
• Then sprinkle millet, injected fresh cottage cheese, crumbly buckwheat porridge, wet mash of crushed grain.
• Gradually give cereals larger, go to the adult bird menu.

Young animals are fed with such feed:

• From birth to two months - Pc -2.
• From the eighth to the twentieth week - PC -4.

Important! It is necessary to feed chickens of this breed at least twice a day, young animals more often. At night, they give not wet food, but grain.

Must be clean water to drink.

Diseases of chickens, treatment

Viruses, microbes, parasites cause infectious and non-infectious, but infectious diseases of chickens. Poultry farmers should know the common symptoms of the disease.

If the bird is sluggish, bald, vilifies, or behaves strangely at all, take action. To conduct an external examination of the carcass, scallop, beard, feathers, legs. The cause of the disease can be parasites.

Red chicken mite

It is a blood-sucking parasite that digs into the skin of a bird.
Signs of having a tick:

• Chickens eat more, than usual.
• Is falling egg production.
• Slows down growth chicks.
• Pale earrings and ridges.

Паразит является переносчиком инфекционных заболеваний.

Меры по ликвидации клеща:

• основательная disinfection rooms, nests, containers, etc.
• replacement litter
• skin treatment birds buttered.

Seek medical attention from a veterinarian.

Acariform parasites

Knemidokoptoz, or "lime foot", is caused by ticks that live on the legs of the bird, often a male individual.

• stratum corneum thickens,
• appears on the phalanges gray bloom,
• goes intense leg deformity.

Treatment: treat with birch tar, repeat after 6 days. Acaricidal medication will do.

Reviews from forums and videos about the breed

Master Gray - my favorite chickens! They look beautiful, they gain excellent weight, they also have very good egg production (up to 300 pieces / year), they are unpretentious and frost-resistant. Great taste of meat, derived from the French gourmets.

They are distinguished by the amount of meat and high egg production. Up to 300 eggs per year, when the usual give 180 - 200 pieces. Yes, and a large area of ​​curly does not ask, so grow them is a pleasure. Only positive reviews!

Chicken master gray will appreciate the excellent characteristics, conditions of detention, the aesthetic appearance of the most exacting poultry farmers.

The origin of the Master Gray chickens

Breed of chickens Master Gray was bred as a result of the hard work of French breeders. The name they received due to its color - gray-white plumage. The main goal of the breeders was to get the bird, which fits perfectly into small farms, will be unpretentious in the care and feed, as well as it will be characterized by high productivity. Today, the well-known company Hubbard is engaged in breeding hybrid cross, which has branches in some countries of the world. However, you can meet them on other large-scale poultry farms.

Chickens Master Gray: breed description

Manufacturers position the Master Gray breed as meat and egg cross. As a rule, with proper care and nutrition by 6 months of her life, the female can weigh up to 4 kg, and the male up to 7 kg. Another undeniable advantage of the cross is the ability of chickens to be born, starting from three and a half months. On average, over one year, about 300 eggs can be collected from one female.

Based on the manufacturer’s descriptions and numerous comments from farmers, it can be noted that the meat of the cross-country is incredibly tender, but lean. By taste similar to domestic chickens, which is highly valued in the market. A large amount of white dietary meat from the sternum makes the cross suitable for feeding small children. Quite overall and meaty hams also have their fans.

The eggs of this breed are large, the weight of each varies from 65 to 70 g, the color of the shell is cream or brown. Farmers claim that it is unlikely to get the declared 300 eggs per year, but 200 is quite realistic. It is possible that for maximum egg production, sterilization of poultry farms is necessary. But the main purpose of breeding this cross was to obtain viable, unpretentious and hardy chickens for keeping them in private conditions.

Appearance Description

The breed has an amazing gray-white color. White and gray plumage alternate on the body. This breed is characterized by a wide, darker, necklace around the neck, as well as dark wings and tail. The pattern on the back is barely noticeable. Earrings of bright red color and a comb make a bird elegant and colorful. Birds have a very attractive appearance, which can be attributed to another advantage of the cross.

The constitution of the feathered is rather massive and large. Legs are medium in length and powerful. Visually, the bird looks healthy, strong and strong. Excellently developed musculature.

Summing up this section, let's briefly give the basic descriptions of the breed:

• Large figure,
• The legs are massive, of medium length and have yellow metatars,
• Color of plumage is white-gray with black,
• Comb and ear lobes are miniature, painted in bright red tones.

Advantages and disadvantages of the breed

Based on the stated descriptions and numerous positive feedback from farmers, we can highlight the following list The merits of the Master Gray breed:

1. Impetuous set of muscle mass
2. Excellent taste of meat,
3. Economical feed consumption per 1 kg of meat,
4. Females begin to race, starting from 3.5 - 4 months,
5. High egg production rate for universal breeds,
6. Large eggs with excellent taste,
7. Unpretentious in care and maintenance, they are similar to ordinary domestic chickens,
8. Intense in the diet,
9. Excellent chick survival rate (98%) compared to broilers,
10. Good livestock safety, high immunity to diseases, endurance to temperature changes,
11. The character is quite calm and docile. It is worth noting that the representatives of Master Gray do not conflict with each other, and also live in peace with other inhabitants of the compound,
12. Females are extremely caring hens, so they can incubate eggs and other species and species of birds,
13. Beautiful appearance.

disadvantages

As for the flaws, then only one significant one is revealed - at home there is no possibility to get the offspring of this beautiful cross. But, given the democratic cost of chickens, this drawback is not so significant.

Productive qualities

By purchasing an excellent Master Gray cross, each farmer receives not only a decorative addition to his yard, but also an extremely productive livestock. As we said earlier, the hens begin laying eggs from 3.5 to 4 months, which is comparable only to egg-type hens. Chickens bring on average 2 eggs in 3 days and so on for 7 - 8 months, after which they begin to molt. Eggs are large.

In contrast to the Adler cross, Master Gray - excellent laying hens and very caring mothers. They cackle in time, sit the required amount of time on the eggs, and also care for the chickens. But It is worth noting that the offspring degenerates and leans towards one of the parents.

The excellent performance of the breed of chickens Master Gray shows in terms of a set of muscle mass. The maximum weight of the female is 3 kg, the rooster is 7 kg. As a rule, the hen reaches a weight of not more than 2.9 kg, and roosters about 6 kg. The body is tight and elastic, but despite this, the meat is tender, lean, palatable and has a pleasant aroma. A small number of breeders noted the formation of fatty deposits on the walls of internal organs, which, of course, is due to overfeeding of birds.

Chickens of Master Gray breed do not need a certain diet, a sufficiently balanced diet, which includes all the necessary substances. If the farmer does not want to grow a cross like broilers, then there is no need to add special supplements to the diet to gain weight.

In the daily diet it is necessary to include:

• Chalk, crushed egg shell, shell,
• Corn,
• Ground green,
• Corn, pumpkin, carrots and other vegetables,
• Fishmeal.

Chickens up to a month should be provided with enhanced protein nutrition and greens. For their feed you can use feed for layers. If in the diet of chickens to make starter feed for broilers, they will quickly begin to gain muscle mass, but will not be rushed.

From one and a half months to chickens it is possible to add ground grain to food. It is imperative to take into account the rapid growth rate of the cross, increasing feed consumption. Adhere to the calculation of 1.5 kg of feed per 1 kg of gained body weight. To prevent developmental delays or weight loss in chickens, they should be fed promptly and not left hungry. It is recommended that more food be poured so that the little ones always have free access to food.

Adult Wizard Gray should eat twice a day. In the morning and in the evening they must be provided with dry food. In the afternoon - greens or mash. The best option for keeping birds when walking area is provided with fresh grass.

Weight and productivity

Gray chickens quickly gain weight, the weight of an adult layer - up to 3 kg, and a rooster can gain up to 7 kg in six months. Of course, subject to proper feeding and maintenance. It should not frighten an interesting feature of the breed - birds grow upward for five months, only later - in width.

Breeders claim that a hen can “produce” more than 300 eggs annually. In practice, what the poultry farmers say is about 200, which is also a lot. Chickens start sweeping as early as 3-4 months, which is an excellent indicator. Bringing 2 eggs weighing up to 70 grams. every three days, they patiently incubate eggs for a long time, which has a good effect on taste. Regularly chickens are carried for eight months, and after - molt.

The survival rate of Master Gray type chickens is high, it reaches 90% under comfortable conditions of housing.

Council If chickens are kept in cages, weight gain is faster due to lower mobility.

Feeding and disease prevention

Feeding rules do not imply special techniques. But it is advisable to adhere to the recommendations for a balanced, high-calorie diet in order to provide tasty, safe meat and eggs.

Basic nutrition - feed, preferably with additives of herbs and vegetables. Roosters should be given more protein to increase muscle mass quickly. Optimally two meals in the morning and evening, in the winter - add daytime feeding. Useful for chickens fish meal made from fish bones or grass meal that support a healthy state. You can feed the waste of meat, fish and vegetables, mixed with feed or grain. It is necessary for chickens and calcium, so it will be useful to feed with cottage cheese mixtures and whey from milk. As for drinking water, it should always be clean, in sufficient quantity.

Despite the resistance to disease, chickens should be regularly vaccinated and hygienic processing-disinfection of the place where the bird lives. Chicken compartments should be periodically washed with a solution of manganese, and the walls and ceiling of chicken coops should be covered with lime.

General characteristics

Breed Master Gray is carried to the meat and egg direction. By the age of six months, roosters can weigh 7 kg, and chickens - 4 (but much depends on the quality of feeding). Females begin to tease at 3.5 months - this is almost a record figure for the category. On average, one adult hen gives 250-300 eggs - no wonder the breed is considered one of the best among the currently known (egg direction). They are large, have a cream or brown shell. The main goal of the breeding was to get persistent, most unpretentious in the care of chickens - and it was definitely achieved.

Maximum egg production is not a book indicator, but often to achieve it, almost “sterile” (that is, ideal) conditions are needed.

Disease resistance

Birds can become lethargic, grow bald, vilify, behave strangely - these are all indicators of the fact that they are sick. Standard measures in this case - an external inspection.

The main disease of the cross - chicken red tick. The parasite sticks to the skin of the bird, as a result of which, first, the egg-laying rates fall, the chickens begin to eat a lot, the crests and earrings turn pale, the chicks grow poorly. Also, the sick individual is a peddler of infection and can cause mass infection of the house. To combat the tick, disinfection is carried out (rooms, containers, nests), bedding is changed, the skin of birds is treated with vegetable oil. Be sure to consult your veterinarian.

With the timely treatment of birds, it is always possible to save the birds, but over time even the most common parasites cause a herd of chickens.

The second disease of chickens - feather mites, which live in the hole and on the stem of feathers, feed on blood. As a result, the feather is destroyed, and the bird grows bald. So far, there is no reliable data on the complete cure of the feather tick. Master Gray Acariform parasites can strike birds. As a result of cnemidocoptosis, the stratum corneum thickens, the legs become deformed, and the phalanges are covered with gray patina. Birch tar is used for treatment, the veterinarian may prescribe acaricidal drugs.

Comparison with broilers

Broilers are strong, fast-growing birds, giving a large amount of tasty tender meat, but for their cultivation appropriate conditions are needed. Food must also be complete, balanced, containing premixes (otherwise individuals will not grow well and carry eggs). The house should be equipped with heating and lighting equipment, the air temperature will have to be maintained at constant elevations. One seemingly insignificant deviation from the rules of cultivation - and the chickens will begin to breathe or die.

Broilers were created for industrial cultivation, which is why they are so demanding on the conditions of detention (it is not difficult to provide them in production).

The main analogue of chicken Master Gray is Foxy Chick (or Red Bro - two names for the direction). The constitution of birds is almost the same, since they have a common line of parent breeds. Color fiery red, the direction of meat and egg. Breeders say Foxy is larger than Gray, and they rush better. Cold, this direction also carries well. So if you are looking for a cross-country breeding in a household, pay attention to both breeds, weigh the pros and cons to make the right choice. Since the birds are calm, they can be taken together.

Master Gries is also Master Gray. Both names can be used.

The video will show the exact description of the breed of chickens Master Gray.