Every year, farmers' demands for breeds of chickens are increasing. The owners of domestic birds are looking for unpretentious birds, which will provide them with quality products in the form of meat and eggs. This breed is the California gray, with the features of which we offer you to learn more.
Inference history
California gray chickens are considered to be a breed intended for meat and egg production. The breed was bred in 1963 in the United States of America. The work was carried out on the territory of the California University of Agriculture. To obtain this breed chose the largest and most productive chickens. In the CIS, this bird is rarely bred on small farms.
The breed was the result of the crossing of striped Plymouth and white Leghorn.
Description
Since the analyzed breed appeared as a result of crossing several, there are some special characteristics of the appearance, body structure and characteristics of the nature of the bird.
Appearance and physique
- Feathers of hens are painted in black and gray stripes.
- Birds have small head, leaf-shaped scallop, brown-red eyes.
- The bird is characterized by a short neck, an elongated body, a broad back, and large legs.
- Birds are distinguished by developed flight and tail feathers, long kosits on the tail of roosters and fan-shaped in chickens.
- Californian grays are distinguished by pronounced sexual characteristics. The rooster is always colored lighter chicken.
Did you know? The egg is formed in the body of the chicken within 24 hours.
Character
Young birds are very nimble and durable. Calm nature is characteristic of adults. Because of this, they are held in high esteem at industrial poultry farms. Feathered very hardy, friendly and completely non-aggressive.
Hatching instinct
Californians do not differ strongly developed instinct nasizhivaniya. It is observed in only 30% of the hens. But in the era of technological development, this is not a problem, since poultry farms use incubators.
Productive qualities
Since chickens are bred for meat and eggs, it is important to understand in what quantities and kilograms your income will be measured. 
Live weight chicken and rooster
The weight of adult roosters is 3 kg, and smaller chickens - 2 kg.
Average annual egg production
California grays can carry around 250 eggs annually. Active clutch occurs three times a year. Each egg weighs about 60 g, it is a rather large egg. Not every breed of hens can carry them.
Important! In order for the chickens not to hurt, they need to be fed with mash, vitamin supplements, feeding for immunity every week.
Conditions of detention
If you are engaged in breeding birds, pay attention to the conditions in which they should live. Because each breed requires special housing, air temperature, a place for walking.
Coop Requirements
Since Californian birds are quite peaceful, they should be settled only with representatives of their breed or with the same character. Other aggressive breeds can fight with them, which will be a great stress for our "meek".
Birds of this breed tolerate winter well, so you can do without installing heating. Just qualitatively warm the chicken coop. Birds will be comfortable at a temperature of + 15-25 ° C. 
It is very important to install several nests for laying. If there are not enough of them, the birds will leave eggs everywhere. Chips, straw, or hay should be poured into each nest.
The bird house must be comfortable for both chickens and people. Therefore, in height it should reach 2 m. The area of the chicken coop directly depends on the number of birds. For every two individuals must have at least 1 square. m. In the chicken coop should be a thick wooden floor, on top of which need to fill sawdust, hay and straw.
Familiarize yourself with recommendations on how to make and build a chicken coop on your own: how to make a nest, roost, ventilation.
Perch can be in the form of a crossbar around the perimeter of the room. For each chicken you need to roost at least 20 cm wide.
Make sure that the birds walked every day. Then they will have tastier eggs.
Did you know? An egg may have two yolks, but the twins will not hatch. Either one chicken can appear, or none.
Walking yard
It is better to organize the courtyard in the shade of trees or under a canopy so that direct sunlight does not fall on the birds. 
As in the house, and on the walking yard you need to put a trough and a drinker (you can have several).
How to endure winter cold
If the outside temperature reaches below -2 ° C, it becomes uncomfortable for the birds to go for a walk. Low temperatures also lead to lower egg production. The bird can begin to run every other day or even just once a week. In cold weather it will be useful to give the birds more grain and smaller vegetables.
Learn how to keep chickens in the winter, as well as build a chicken coop for the winter for 20 chickens and heat the house.
What to feed
Although Californians eat standard chicken food, it should still be clarified that for chickens and adult birds you need to cook different foods. Consider which one.
Chickens
Chickens need to be given food with protein. You can give small meat waste, chopped potatoes, greens. Chickens will be useful to use the mash (feed mixture of grass and hay with the addition of water and flour). Feed the chicks so that they weigh about 2 kg by half a year.
Important! Feeding young calves with unground adult food can harm the health and proper growth of your pets.
Adult flock
Feathery fed special foods with vitamins and minerals. It is useful to feed with wheat, corn, barley, rye, oats. From vegetables it is better to give preference to beets, potatoes, carrots. No less useful is animal protein. 
Early in the morning it is better to feed the birds with grain, after a couple of hours with a wet mash, at lunch with a usual mash, in the evening with a cereal mixture.
Birds need constant access to gravel - small pebbles that help chickens digest food.
Do not forget about the presence of clean water.
Important! Before you start chickens, familiarize yourself with the specifics of growing and feeding a particular breed. Improper conditions can cause discomfort in birds and lead to a decrease in egg production.
Advantages and disadvantages
Californian grays have a lot merits, namely:
- unpretentiousness in care and feeding;
- frost resistance;
- friendly relations with neighbors;
- large eggs.
Known about several shortcomings this breed. They are as follows:
- only a third of all chickens are well born;
- birds have a weak incubation instinct;
- Birds are gaining weight slowly.
Reviews of poultry farmers on the California gray breed
So, we made sure that by purchasing the Californian gray breed, you will be able to get a sufficient number of eggs and meat, do not worry for calm in the chicken coop, and avoid the special costs of maintaining and caring for birds. It is only necessary to feed them properly and monitor their health.
