Broiler Cobb 500: description of the breed, characteristics, growth chart by day, growing at home

What affects the growth of broiler chickens?

It has been established that the lighting regime has the greatest influence on the variability of live weight.

These patterns should be taken into account when choosing crosses for a specific technology. The productive qualities of broilers are significantly influenced by environmental factors. A special place among them is occupied by anthropogenic factors, that is, those introduced by humans through industrialization, the introduction of various systems and methods of keeping poultry, and stimulating the metabolic processes of the body.

The main exogenous environmental factors include:

• Feeding;
• lighting;
• planting density;
• humidity;
• temperature conditions, etc.

Endogenous factors include genotypes.

The development of an organism occurs as a result of the interaction of two main factors: genotype and environment, i.e. genotype and the influence of environmental conditions. The experience of industrial poultry farming convinces us that the production of the maximum amount of high-quality products is possible only by taking into account the biological characteristics of the bird, i.e. the genotype and the influence of external environmental conditions on it.

The influence of individual technological factors on the live weight of broiler chickens of various crosses was studied using multivariate analysis of variance. It allows us to determine the influence of each factor under different conditions, when other factors also change, and to obtain more information about the nature of their interaction.

The research was carried out in 2013-2017 at Plempol CJSC, in the village. Gavrilovka, Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region. Using the method of analogue groups, 48 ​​groups of broiler chickens of 100 heads each were formed. The research material was broiler chickens of the Cobb-500 and Arbor Eikers crosses at the end of the growing period.

On average, the weight should correspond to the indicators.

Description of the cross

The homeland of Cobb 500 broilers is the Czech Republic. Now they are being bred in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, many Western European countries, as well as the USA and Canada. The following breeds took part in the creation of the hybrid:

• Cornish (obtained by crossing English fighting chickens, Malayan and white Azil chickens).
• Meat breed Plymouthrock from the USA.
• Kuchinsky Jubilee breed.
• Pantserevsky chickens.
• Rhode Island breed.
• New Hampshire.
• Zagorsk salmon chickens.
• Pervomayskaya breed.

As a result of such complex crossing, a very productive hybrid was obtained. How to distinguish the Cobb 500 cross from other varieties? It is best to first carefully examine photos of birds and study their characteristics. This is what a Cobb 500 broiler looks like, description of the breed:

• The body is large, the body is massive.
• The hips are very well developed.
• The paws are large and strong.
• The plumage is exclusively white, without inclusions.
• The comb is small, like the earrings, bright red.
• The face is covered with thin red skin.
• The skin is naturally yellow and has a good presentation.

A very remarkable characteristic of Cobb 500 chickens is that all chicks and adult birds are the same size. There is almost no noticeable difference between the weight of cockerels and hens. This gives the breed another advantage in industrial production. All carcasses have the same commercial quality - there is no need to separate the meat into grades.

Origin story

Photo:

Initially, English breeders received Cobb 500. The popularity of the cross prompted specialists to improve it.

The Cobb 700 broilers obtained after long work are almost similar in appearance to the original cross. They were obtained by crossing chickens with similar genes: Cornish, Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island, Kuchin Jubilee, Cornish. The organization involved in the selection was COBB-Vantress.

How to measure the weight of a broiler?

Body weight is measured at least once a week, preferably daily. The procedure is carried out at the same time, before feeding. The farmer can use steelyard, electronic or mechanical scales.

Body weight is measured at least once a week, preferably daily

Small chicks are placed in a box one at a time and a measuring device is installed on top (after weighing the container).

Adults can be placed in a strong bag or sugar bag. It is recommended to cut holes at the bottom for the paws so that the bird does not move.

Growing broilers COBB 500 (COBB 500)

Raising hens and roosters together

Raising chickens

Raising cockerels

Breed productivity

Cobb 500 cross chickens have good food characteristics. Already at the age of 40 days, the chicken weighs 2.5 kg. The meat yield of carcasses is 73%. On many industrial farms, young animals with such a mass are already sent to slaughter. You can feed birds up to 11-12 weeks, then weight gain decreases and productivity drops. Indicators differ for different growing methods. You can keep cockerels and hens together or separately. The difference in the rate of weight gain is always in favor of separate housing.

Table of weight gain Cobb 500 when keeping chickens and roosters together

Broiler weight by day with separate rearing of hens and cockerels (table)

There are other breeds of broilers that are similar in their product characteristics to Cobb 500 chickens, but have their own characteristics. For example, the difference from Cobb 700 is that this cross consumes more feed than Cobb 500, although the weight gain of the former may be higher. The Cobb 500 and Ross 308 have similar performance, but again, the Ross 308 requires more feeding to gain weight.

Characteristics of Cobb 500 broilers and a description of their productivity will be incomplete without mentioning egg production. Often, when raising chickens at home, chickens are left behind and only the cockerels are sent for slaughter. Chickens begin to lay eggs at the age of 6 months. Egg production is at the level of 160-180 eggs per year, weighing 45-60 g. The best indicators are from 0.5 to 1.5 years. Of course, it is difficult to compare them with the performance of egg breeds, but broilers do not need such a comparison, because this is not their main specialization.

Productive qualities

Also check out these articles

• What are the benefits of melon for women and men?
• Summer varieties of apple trees
• Chinese silk chicken - characteristics of the breed
• How to feed spring garlic

The productive qualities of the breed are the reason why breeders value it or dislike it. What is the productivity of the Cobb 500?

Photos of broiler chickens Cobb 500

• The bird is early maturing; 1.5-2 months after hatching from the egg it is slaughtered, but it can be done earlier. So, in a month the birds weigh 2 kg, in a month and a half - 2.5-2.6 kg, and in 2 months it exceeds 3 kg. It is unprofitable to keep the bird longer; after 2 months it practically no longer grows, but it can eat at the same pace. But if you want to wait up to 3-4 months, then you can get a bird within 5-6 kg.

Important!

Cobb 500 is uniform. If the young hatched on the same day or with a slight difference, by the time of slaughter the birds will have approximately the same weight.

• The skin color of slaughtered chicken is yellowish, which is appreciated by buyers, so the demand for them is consistently high. The meat is tasty, tender, not stringy.
• Chickens begin to lay eggs at 7 months.
• Egg production per hen is up to 150 pieces/year. And then, these are record figures. But, since cross-breeds are purchased for meat, they rarely complain about this indicator.
• The breed produces small, but tasty and nutritious eggs.

Phases of bird maturation

The development of broilers is divided into 4 phases. They allow you to calculate the amount of feed for each period. Highlight:

1. Prestart. Age from birth to 5 days. Each individual consumes 15–20 g of food.
2. Start. Duration of the period from 6 to 18 days of development. For one chick they spend 25-90 g of feed.
3. Fattening Duration from 19 days to 1 - 2 months of age. Feed consumption is 90 - 160 g for each chick.
4. Finish. Appears at 3 months of age. At this time, weight gain stops. One broiler eats about 160 - 170 g.

Incubation mode

Incubation of the eggs of the described cross should occur in several stages:

1. Choice of material. Eggs should be medium in size, regular in shape, with intact shells, smooth and clean. They also need to be inspected using an ovoscope in order to reject material with defects invisible to the eye.
2. Storage. The recommended storage period is three days at a temperature of +18 °C. Humidity level - 85%.
3. Preparation for placing in the incubator. The eggs must be heated for 8 hours at a temperature of +22 °C. The incubator is thoroughly washed, disinfected and dried.
4. Bookmarking material. The optimal time for laying eggs is in the evening (at 6 p.m.), since the chicks will thus begin to hatch early in the morning, and by the evening the entire brood will be born.
5. Actions after bookmarking. From the 1st to the 7th day, the temperature in the incubator should be + 37.8 °C and humidity 55%; from the 8th to the 14th days the temperature remains at the same level, and the humidity decreases slightly - to 45%; from the 15th to the 18th day, keep the temperature at +37.8 °C, and increase the humidity to 50%; from the 19th to the 21st days the temperature is +37.5 °C and the humidity is 65%.
6. Turns. You need to turn the eggs in the incubator three to four times a day by 90° (so that the embryo does not stick to the inner shell of the shell). This is also necessary to ensure that the heat is evenly distributed and the oxygen supply process is improved. Three to four days before hatching, turning is stopped.
7. Spraying. Humidification of eggs is necessary only when the humidity in the incubator is low. To do this, from the first to the tenth day they are sprayed with a spray bottle to maintain a 30% moisture level; from the eleventh to the eighteenth day, the moisture content of the eggs should reach 70%.
8. Ventilation. Eggs are able to “breathe” and emit carbon dioxide, and this can inhibit the development of embryos, therefore, from the 14th day, it is necessary to ventilate the material placed in the incubator for 15 minutes at a temperature of +18...+25 °C.
9. Ovoscoping. On the sixth and seventeenth days, it is necessary to examine each egg using an ovoscope to monitor the development of the embryos.
10. Chicks coming out. At the moment the chicks hatch, they need to be provided with sufficient air humidity so that they can easily break the shell membrane, so you need to install an additional tray with water in the incubator. Another important aspect is sufficient oxygen. If you follow all these nuances, then the chicks will be comfortable: they will signal this with a calm squeak; if they are cold or experiencing other discomfort, their squeak will be loud and alarming.

Video: Establishment, incubation and hatching of COBB-500

Did you know? Newborn female chicks already have thousands of microscopic eggs, which are undeveloped yolks, which only at the onset of puberty will descend into the fallopian tube for their further development.

Broiler weight by day table

Such indicators can only be achieved with balanced feeding with industrially produced feed. Of course, this is a starter compound feed, then feed for growth and a finishing feed for fattening in the last couple of weeks.

Don't forget that the weight of broilers depends on the breed!

Subscribe to
the channel “Chicken”
. Let's take care of our feathered pets together.

See you! In the meantime, we will prepare new useful tips for you.

© All about chickens 2022. All rights reserved.

Diseases and their treatment

Broilers are susceptible to the same diseases as other types of chickens: pasteurellosis, colibacillosis, mycoplasmosis, etc. Daily inspection of the livestock helps to identify sick individuals.

Sick chickens have:

• lethargy;
• a sharp change in mood from apathetic to excited and vice versa;
• mucous discharge;
• inflammation around the eyes or respiratory system;
• deterioration of plumage;
• indigestion.

Broilers are most often susceptible to the diseases described in the table:

If one of the symptoms is present, you must immediately isolate the sick individual and call a veterinarian.

Content Features

In order for Cobb 500 broiler chickens to fully reveal their product qualities, you need to adhere to certain housing conditions. Czech cross breeds are raised without walking so that they gain weight faster. Closed poultry houses or cages are best. This method is acceptable both for industrial farms and for cases where cultivation is carried out at home.

The grouping of birds in the chicken coop should be no more than 30-42 kg of live weight per 1 square meter. m of premises. Different breeds can be kept in the same room. For example, Cobb 500 broilers and Ross 308 broilers. But experienced poultry farmers say that it is better to separate the birds or raise one cross, because the characteristics of the breeds are different, and it is not so easy to satisfy different requirements.

The temperature depends on the age of the bird. In the first days, chickens need warmth; the temperature is maintained at 28-33°C. From the end of the first week it is gradually reduced by 1-2°C. Sharper changes are harmful; they affect energy metabolism and affect the growth rate. The minimum maintenance temperature for Cobb 500 broilers is 10-14°C.

Broiler COBB 500 //5kg per 2 months //

Growing broilers Cobb-500

Maintenance of broilers COBB 500. Details. From incubation to carcass weighing.

Poultry house lighting is important. At first it should be 24/7 until the chicks are 2 weeks old, then the lights are turned off for 1-2 hours. The final duration of daylight hours is 14-18 hours. It is also possible to keep Cobb 500 broilers in variable lighting conditions, when the lights are turned off and on every 2 hours.

Birds do not need special care. It is enough to keep the chicken coop clean. The litter should always be dry. You can change it completely or just the top layer if the thickness of the litter is large. It is good to treat floors with slaked lime from time to time. Before starting a new flock, the poultry house must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected so that the broiler chickens do not get sick.

How to keep

There are two methods used to keep broilers: intensive and extensive.

Cellular method of maintenance

• With the first method, young animals are kept from the moment of birth in a cage or on deep bedding. Complete dry feed is used for feeding.
• The second method uses chicken coops, cages and walking areas. It is the extensive method that is used by owners of small farms. The diet is very varied.

For cage rearing, 17 birds are placed per square method. But with a dense load, meat products will be tough.

Floor maintenance method

Owners of private farms prefer to keep young animals using the floor method. You can use the following as bedding:

• sawdust;
• straw;
• wood shavings;
• peat.

To maintain hygienic conditions, it is necessary to regularly clean damp areas and add new bedding. With the onset of summer, broilers are sent to walking areas. But even on the street you need to make sure that there is no draft; you can use window frames for barriers.

We invite you to join our Zen channel and group on VKontakte or Odnoklassniki, where new articles are published, as well as news for gardeners and livestock breeders.

Similar articles:

• Meet the Bank Junglefowl
• Ayam Tsemani: a black breed of chickens with the same eggs
• Cochin chickens: overview of breed varieties and their description

Feeding the cross

Growing the Cobb 500 cross means not only proper maintenance and care, but also regulated feeding. The right diet can ensure maximum productivity of the breed. It is best if the bird eats specialized feed. They already include all vitamin and mineral supplements, and the composition of the main components is adjusted to meet all the needs of an intensively growing body.

What to feed Cobb 500 chickens so that they grow well? For normal weight gain, feed should be selected in accordance with age. The technology is not at all complicated:

• From 0 to 10 days - starter feed in the form of grains.
• 11-22 days, when chickens gain weight most intensively, use granulated feed of the “Growth” type.
• after a month, the diet consists of feed such as “Finish-1” or “Finish-2”.

It is difficult to independently choose a balanced diet for broiler chickens. Economically, this is not very profitable, since the rate of growth and weight gain will be lower. In order to fully meet the need for proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, birds need to be fed the following foods:

• grain mash (wheat, corn, barley, oats);
• legumes (peas, beans, vetch);
• vegetable mash with herbs or herbal flour;
• meat and bone meal, meat broth, skim milk to meet the need for animal proteins;
• cake or meal from oilseed plants.

Be sure to include mineral supplements (chalk, salt, crushed shells) and “Premix” vitamins in the diet. To improve digestion, the bird should eat small pebbles and large sand. 24-hour access to fresh water should also be provided.

As you can see, feeding Cobb 500 broilers with natural products is quite difficult and expensive. You need to spend more time preparing mash, and the result will be worse than if you feed chickens with ready-made mixed feed, so most farmers abandon this method, which significantly reduces the cost of funds.

What to feed?

Chicks up to a week of age are fed every 3 hours. In the future, the number of approaches is reduced. By 2 weeks, young animals are transferred to 4 meals a day.

By the age of one month, COBB 500 chickens are given food 3 times a day. Experts and poultry farmers on forums recommend starting fattening broilers with combined feed from breeders. Use the pre-launch and launch versions.

Be sure to feed the herd with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate and vitamin cocktails. These are preventive measures to maintain immunity. Chickens are not vaccinated against infections, since the growing period of the bird is short. It is not advisable to administer the vaccine:

You should always make sure your chickens drink plenty of water. Otherwise, dry food may cause blockage of the esophagus. Farmers for intensive fattening in the 6th week use homemade grain mixtures:

• compound feed from ground wheat 35%, corn 20%, barley 16%;
• sunflower cake – 13%;
• herbal flour – 2%;
• fish and meat and bone meal – 3% each;
• yeast – 6%.

Broilers should receive mineral supplements and vitamins. Fillers promote proper bone formation. Chicks gain a lot of weight already in the first month. They must have a strong skeleton to support the high mass of muscle tissue.

Poultry farmers claim that caring for COBB 500 individuals is easy. They are not demanding in terms of maintenance and feeding. It is necessary to follow ordinary rules for caring for broiler chicks.

When purchasing cross-country chickens, you should always remember that the birds are bred to be sold for meat, and not to produce breeding stock.

Raising chickens

Day old Cobb chicks 500

From the first days of raising chickens, it is necessary to provide the young animals with comfortable conditions, as this is the key to obtaining a large volume of high-quality meat. In the first 2 weeks of life, chicks need lighting 24 hours a day . From 14 days you can leave the light on only for 12 hours. Chicks should not be kept in excessive crowding, and each individual should be able to freely approach the drinking bowl and feeder.

If there are more than 20 birds on a farm, they are vaccinated against infectious diseases, the scheme of which is approved by the veterinary service. Without them, it is impossible to count on the young animals being strong and there is a high risk of losing the entire herd due to the virus.

Using a red lamp to warm chicks

In the first 10 days of life, chicks need elevated temperatures, and a blue lamp or a special red lamp is used to warm them.

Month old broiler

With high-quality nutrition, young animals reach a decent size within a month . If several chickens die during the growing process, this is normal, since natural mortality occurs.

Pros and cons of Czech birds

Popular broilers are of interest not only to amateur poultry farmers, but also to farmers, since due to their enviable productivity indicators they allow you to set up a truly profitable business.

The obvious advantages of the cross include:

• High average daily weight gain;
• low cost per 1 kg of live weight gain, which is explained by low feed costs;
• early achievement of slaughter condition - at 1-1.5 months of age;
• excellent organoleptic qualities of meat;
• large yield of meat;
• evenness of birds of the same age in weight and size;
• high safety of young animals;
• resistance to common diseases;
• quick and trouble-free adaptation to a new place;
• the possibility of profitable maintenance in farms of all types and regardless of the form of ownership.

As for the minuses, the bird of Czech origin is somewhat upsetting due to the lack of the possibility of its breeding (a feature of almost all hybrids), the incubation instinct and sensitivity to low temperatures.

Raising chickens

Breeding Cobb 500 broiler chickens has one caveat: it is impossible to breed purebred birds at home. The hybrid was obtained as a result of complex crossing; only specialized poultry farms and farms can have good lines. It is best to buy hatching eggs or ready-made chicks.

How much do chickens cost? The price of Cobb 500 broilers is not that high. Eggs are very inexpensive, only 15-20 rubles apiece. However, the price of day-old chicks is also low, from 55 to 75 rubles per head.

To buy Cobb 500 cross broilers or hatching eggs, you need to choose proven farms where they have their own parent tribe, chickens are bred under normal conditions, and the sale has been going on for a long time. It also doesn’t hurt to study the breed from a photo to get an idea of ​​the appearance of the chickens.

Hatching eggs can be placed under a hen of a different breed or in an incubator. The material must be marked, the fertilization of the eggs is checked using an ovoscope, then they are gradually heated to a temperature of 25°C. When artificially breeding, the indicators in the incubator should be kept at 37.6-37.8°C. It is important to ensure the correct humidity level (50-60%) and good ventilation. Egg incubation lasts 21 days. The hatchability of chickens is high - at the level of 94-98%.

Raising small Cobb 500 cross chickens is also not particularly difficult. The main thing is to maintain temperature standards and round-the-clock lighting from the first day. The place must be kept very clean and cleaned daily. On industrial farms, to prevent diseases, antibiotics or special antibacterial agents for chickens are added to feed and drink.

Chicken diseases

Cross Cobb 500 has the advantage of good disease resistance. However, if the conditions in the poultry house are not observed, the following problems are possible:

• Avitaminosis. Occurs if unbalanced feed is used or there is not enough feed. To prevent this situation, it is enough to feed the chickens with special feed and follow the daily norms.
• Aspergillosis. The disease is caused by a fungus and affects the respiratory tract when the contents are disturbed (cold, humidity, dirt). Treatment is carried out by a veterinarian.
• Bronchial pneumonia. Heavy, wheezing breathing can occur as a result of a cold. Treatment requires veterinary care and antibiotics.
• Dyspepsia. Most often it occurs in chickens due to spoiled feed. The bird refuses to eat, the droppings change color and consistency.
• Salmonellosis. A bacterial infection, often caused by food or water. The disease is most dangerous for chickens under two weeks of age; treatment is not always effective.

Hybrid with great potential Source 24aul.ru