The Zagorsk salmon breed of chickens is a very successful Soviet breed, ideal for the harsh conditions of Russia. A beginner who has decided to take up chicken farming, but does not know which breed to choose, can safely recommend Zagorsk chickens.
Bred by crossing four breeds at the Poultry Institute located in the city of Sergiev Posad, this breed became one of the most successful breeds of Soviet chickens. Its name was given in honor of the old name of the city - Zagorsk.
Two Russian and two foreign breeds of chickens were involved in the creation of the breed: Yurlovskaya vociferous and Russian white; Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
Zagorsk salmon chickens took all the best from these breeds: cold resistance, unpretentiousness in food, egg production, rapid weight gain and endurance.
Description of the breed
Zagorsk chickens have well-marked sexual dimorphism in coloration. The photo shows that the chickens have a fawn colored feather, similar in color to salmon meat, hence the second part of the name “salmon”. Roosters are silver-black. So it is unlikely to be confused, even if, as the photos below prove, this breed cannot boast of luxurious rooster tails.
Zagorsk salmon are interesting in their ability to distinguish a hen from a cockerel from the first day of life of the chicks, something that the vast majority of breeds cannot boast of.
In the video you can see how the Zagorskaya salmon hatches:
In the photo below you can clearly see the cockerel on the left and the hen on the right in the background.
Already on the fourth or fifth day, the chickens begin to develop flight feathers of a color characteristic of their sex: black for cockerels, red for hens.
If the owner has little experience and is afraid of making a mistake, then you can wait up to three weeks until the chickens are fully feathered. At this age, it is no longer possible to confuse a hen with a rooster.
Since the breed has a meat-egg orientation, such culling can be safely sent to the soup.
Zagorsk chickens gain weight very quickly. Already at three months the weight of a young rooster should be 2 kg. An adult bird grows up to 3.7 kg for roosters and 2.2 kg for chickens.
At such a growth rate, they are often hybridized to produce meat broilers. True, here you need to know certain nuances: when using Zagorsk salmon chickens for hybridization, the rooster must be a Kurchinsky Jubilee or Corish; if a Zagorsk rooster is taken for hybridization, the hen for it must be Adler silver or Hampshire.
For its type, Zagorskaya has very good egg production. It is not uncommon for chickens to lay more than 200 eggs per year. At the same time, chickens begin to lay eggs at the same age as industrial egg crosses: 3.5-4 months.Eggs weigh from 60 to 65 g, which, again, is comparable to industrial crosses. Thus, the Zagorsk breed of chickens loses to industrial egg-laying chickens only in annual egg production.
While eggs from industrial breeds often have thin, fragile shells, brown eggs from Zagorje chickens have a dense shell. This increases the shelf life of eggs and reduces losses during transportation.
In chickens, egg production does not decrease when replacing a rooster in the herd or transferring the herd to another room, which is also a big advantage of the breed.
There is a known case when chickens had their bedding replaced from sawdust to straw, that is, their living conditions were improved. Egg production dropped and returned to normal only after a few days. The Zagorskis are likely to be indifferent to such changes.
There are no original features other than color in the exterior of the Zagorsk salmon. It belongs to the so-called ordinary ones, because when it was developed, the emphasis was placed not on the original appearance, but on such characteristics as:
- meat and egg productivity;
- good response to feed;
- ability to consume bulk feed;
- omnivorous;
- high immunity;
- stress resistance;
- unpretentiousness in content.
The goals were fully achieved and now the Zagorsk salmon is considered the best chicken for the village.
The food must be of high quality, but table scraps can be given to the chickens.
Chickens have a good-natured character and a well-expressed brooding instinct.They get along well with other breeds of chickens, and due to their high qualities as brood hens, Zagorsk laying hens can be used to breed chickens of other breeds.
Zagorsk salmon. Characteristic.
Content Features
Zagorsk salmon, despite their rather serious weight, are tightly built, fit and “athletic” chickens. What they use shamelessly. Having the ability to fly to a height of 2 m, they can easily fly over many fences separating the poultry yard from the vegetable garden.
The Zagorsk people are not lacking in observation skills. Any hole leading to the desired vegetable garden will certainly be discovered by them. And taking into account the omnivorous nature of Zagorsk salmon, which is usually defined in the description of the breed as a characteristic originally laid down during the breeding of this breed, you can be sure that they will certainly save you from the Colorado potato beetle. Because not a single plant pest in their right mind and sober memory will live where nothing grows.
It is better to fight the beetle using more traditional methods, and for chickens, build an enclosure closed at the top, which will not allow the bird to roam where it wants.
Walking is, without exaggeration, vital for Zagorsk salmon. Keeping them in cages does not make the slightest sense, since their egg production decreases and the quality of the meat deteriorates.
To spend the night, Zagorsk cats need an insulated chicken coop, preferably with a high perch. Chickens of any breed, if they can fly, prefer to spend the night as high as possible. The Zagorskis are no exception. The photo shows a good roost option for Zagorsk salmon.
Feeding
As a truly rustic breed of chicken, the Zagorskaya is not too picky about feed and can look for its own food.In the latter case, be prepared for the raids of the chicken horde on the gardens. And don't be surprised if birds start hunting mice.
Zagorskys happily eat kitchen scraps, but you shouldn’t completely deprive them of grain feed. They also respond well to feeding chicken feed, which contains all the vitamins and microelements that chickens need.
If the bird does not have the opportunity to roam freely, coarse sand should be poured into a separate bowl, which helps the chickens digest the food they eat. Feed chalk should be mixed into the feed in very moderate quantities.
Chickens are given meat and bone and fish meal as animal protein. You can also give finely chopped raw fish, but in this case you must strictly ensure that the chickens eat everything and the fish does not rot in the feeder. To prevent vitamin D hypovitaminosis, fish oil is introduced into the diet.
A good food for chickens can be a mixture of wheat with small shrimp shells. The latter provide chickens with the necessary calcium and microelements.
The chickens are fed finely ground grain. In the first days, give a finely chopped boiled egg. It's also a good idea to add powdered eggshells. Gradually begin to add chopped herbs and vegetables.
Conclusion
Considering the unpretentiousness of the Zagorsk salmon, the rapid weight gain of chickens and the fairly high egg production, the breed can be recommended to both amateur chicken breeders and novice farmers as a starting breed. Then you can switch to more productive, but also more capricious chicken breeds, or continue breeding Zagorsk salmon.
