The Tianshan Snow Chicken is a herbivorous bird belonging to the Phasianidae family. It is native to the top of the Tianshan Mountains in my country. It is a unique rare bird species in my country, but its number is extremely small. It has been successfully artificially bred and domesticated. Let’s take a look at what level of protected animals the Tianshan snow chicken is, how to raise snow chickens and other issues.

1. What levels of protected animals are the Tianshan Snow Chicken?

The Tianshan Snow Chicken is a national second-level protected animal. It is the chicken that grows at the highest altitude on the earth. It is generally distributed at an altitude of 3,000 to 6,000 meters, up to and above the snow line. Snow chickens are found in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Gansu and other places in my country.

The Tianshan Snow Chicken is small in size, strong and about 60 centimeters in length. It weighs about 1.5 kilograms, has sharp and quick reactions, snow-white and compact feathers, dark and delicious meat, sweet and tender, and has high edible and medicinal value. Tianshan Snow Chicken is cold-tolerant and heat-resistant and has strong disease resistance. It can be raised in different seasons across the country.

2. Feeding and management of Tianshan Snow Chicken

Tianshan Snow Chicken mainly eats grass, has strong grass-gathering ability and developed digestive organs, and can use a large amount of forage and grass. Leaves, likes to eat flowers, roots, stems, leaves and seeds of a variety of plants.

Under artificial breeding conditions, forage grass and concentrated feed can be fed together. Generally, grass feed can account for 60%-80% of the diet. There must be a certain amount of plant feed in the diet to meet the needs of mating and egg laying.

The artificially domesticated Tianshan Snow Chicken has lost its original ability to fly and does not need to be prevented from flying out and escaping. The raising standards and methods can be the same as ordinary domestic chickens.

3. Recommended feed formula for breeding Tianshan Snow Chicken

Feed during the non-breeding period: Feed formula for the non-breeding period for breeder chickens: 61% rice flour, 14% wheat bran, alfalfa powder 12%, fish meal 8%, shell meal 3%, bone meal 1.5%, salt 0.5%, plus 20-30% wild plants.

Feed for the breeding period: Feed for the breeding period should be fed during the laying period. The feed formula is as follows: 40% corn, 20% wheat flour, 6.5% wild grass meal, 15% alfalfa meal, 10% fish meal, and shell meal. 3%, bone meal 2%, mineral additives 3%, vitamin additives 5 grams per 100 kilograms of feed, and salt 0.5%.