Before Sahabat Juara starts a chicken farming business, one of the important factors to pay attention to is choosing quality chicken seeds. So, how do you choose DOC that is healthy and has good quality? Come on, read this article until the end, okay?
What is DOC?
DOC (Day Old Chicken) is a one day old chick that is used as seed for chicken farming. DOC is usually used to refer to broiler chickens and laying chickens.
DOC is an important factor that determines the success and continuity of a chicken farming business, because the quality of DOC will affect the growth, production, health and selling value of chickens.
How to Choose a Quality DOC
To choose a quality DOC, you need to pay attention to several things, such as:
1. DOC Source
It is very important to buy DOC from an experienced, professional and trusted breeding company. Before buying, you can search for information about breeding companies in your area via the internet.
You can also ask for recommendations from other breeders who have subscribed to the company's DOC. Make sure that the breeding company has an animal health certificate, business permit and quality standards that comply with SNI, Friends of Champion.
2. DOC's physical condition
After finding several references to chicken breeding companies, you need to check the physical condition of the DOC before buying it. A quality DOC must be healthy, not disabled, not exposed to infectious diseases, agile, and have a good body shape.
These are some of the characteristics of a quality DOC, such as:
- Eyes are bright, not watery, not swollen, and there is no dirt.
- The fur is bright, dry, not damp, and there are no fleas or mites.
- The beak is closed, not bent, and there are no wounds or inflammation.
- The legs are strong, straight, not bent, and there are no wounds or red spots.
- The genitals are symmetrical, erect, and there are no wounds or inflammation.
- The navel is closed, dry, and has no wounds or inflammation.
- The rectum is clean, dry, and there is no dirt or mucus.
- Normal weight, which is around 35-40 grams per head.
3. DOC vaccination
Make sure that the DOC you buy has been vaccinated, especially the ND (Newcastle Disease) vaccine, which is a very dangerous disease for chickens.
You can ask for proof of vaccination from the breeding company or check for signs of vaccination yourself on the DOC, such as:
- A sign of live ND vaccination, namely the presence of a blue injection mark on the DOC's right wing.
- The sign that the ND vaccination is dead is the presence of a red injection mark on the DOC's left wing.
- A sign of IB (Infectious Bronchitis) vaccination, namely the presence of yellow droplet marks on the DOC's eyes.
4. DOC sorting
Next, sort the DOC according to its quality, namely:
- Super grade 1 DOC is DOC that has the best quality, namely healthy, not disabled, not affected by disease, agile, has a good body shape, and weighs between 38-40 grams per head.
- DOC grade 2 is DOC that has medium quality, namely healthy, not disabled, not affected by disease, agile, has a fairly good body shape, and weighs between 36-38 grams per head.
- Grade 3 DOC is DOC that has low quality, namely healthy, not disabled, not affected by disease, less agile, has a poor body shape, and weighs between 34-36 grams per head. You can choose a DOC according to your goals, conditions and budget, Champion Friends.
How to Care for DOC
After you buy a DOC that meets the criteria you need, you need to care for the DOC well so that its growth is optimal. To keep DOC healthy, you need to do several things, such as:
- Give DOC brown sugar solution when you first arrive, to provide energy and reduce stress due to travel.
- Place the DOC in a closed, clean, comfortable and safe cage, to prevent the entry of wind, pests and predators.
- Install lighting in the cage, to help the DOC's vision at night and warm the DOC's body.
- Use brooder or heaters in the cage, to maintain temperature and humidity in accordance with DOC requirements.
- Provide feed that is nutritious, nutritious and in accordance with DOC needs, such as concentrate, corn, bran and forage.
- Provide clean, fresh and sufficient drinking water to maintain DOC hydration and health.
- Carry out vaccinations according to the specified schedule and dose, to increase the DOC's immunity against disease.
- Carry out regular and thorough health checks, to detect any symptoms or signs of disease.
- Carry out pest and disease control effectively and efficiently, to prevent or overcome problems that arise.
What about Champion Friends, you don't need to be confused anymore when choosing a quality DOC, right? Champion Agrocommerce provides quality chicken seeds and everything you need for raising. You can get the products here.
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Reference:
1. How to Choose Quality Broiler Chicken Seeds (DOC). URL: https://blog.broilerx.com/blog/cara-memilih-bibit-ayam-broiler-doc-yang-berkualitas/ (accessed 11/30/2023)
2. Tips for Caring for Good DOC (Day Old Chicken). URL: https://sinauternak.com/tips-merawat-doc/#google_vignette (accessed 11/30/2023)