How long does it take to grow turkeys at home?

Turkey breast

Growing turkeys for meat is a fairly promising poultry industry, and has a number of advantages. The bird grows quickly and gains weight, an adult male, depending on the breed, is able to gain weight over 20 kg, the female is 2 times less.

Turkey meat belongs to dietary products, suitable for people with allergic diseases, pregnant and lactating women, small children. It is appreciated for its rich content of vitamins and amino acids, low cholesterol levels. The presence of folate and vitamin K in the liver makes it especially beneficial for people with low hemoglobin levels.

Sometimes the carcass of a home-grown turkey reaches 35 kg

Overview of turkey breeds for growing for meat

The number of turkey breeds is significantly less than that of other farm birds. Therefore, poultry breeding requires finding the best option for growing in certain conditions. These birds are afraid of drafts and dampness, do not tolerate very strong heat and cold. Experienced poultry farmers advise to choose only breeding birds, from which you can get a good return.

The following breeds of turkeys are most popular:

• North Caucasian bronze - these turkeys are distinguished by good acclimatization to various conditions of detention, appetite and resistance to infections. Their breeding is more common in the south of the country. Males are able to reach a weight of 14 kg, females - 7-8 kg.

Pale turkeys - or as they are also called the North Caucasian bronze

• White broad-chested - birds grow very quickly and adapt well to different climates. The breed is divided into 3 groups: light, medium and heavy. The live weight of males of the last group is 23-25 ​​kg, turkeys - 10 kg. It should be borne in mind that these turkeys slow down their growth after six months of fattening, so it is better to stop growing and start slaughter after this period.

Wide-breasted white turkeys

• Bronze broad-breasted - adult males reach a weight of 17-22 kg, females - 10-14 kg. Turkeys are distinguished by high egg production - up to 120 eggs per year, this is especially true for poultry farmers who plan to breed turkeys on an ongoing basis. The only drawback of birds is poor adaptation to grazing conditions.

Bronze broad-breasted turkeys

• Moscow Bronze and White - both bird breeds are characterized by a powerful physique and excellent reproduction. The average weight of the male is 13 kg, that of the female is 7 kg. Moscow ones are distinguished by good acclimatization, bronze ones - unpretentious to food and living conditions.In addition, Moscow bronze turkey poults are distinguished by their high vitality.

Moscow turkey breeds: white and bronze

Features of fattening adult turkeys for meat

Turkey poultry nutrition table

You can feed turkeys for slaughter from any age. There are fundamental differences between fattening adults and raising turkeys for meat. In any case, the bird should gain maximum weight by the time of slaughter. To do this, you should follow the correct feeding regimen and ensure proper conditions of detention.

Adult turkeys begin to feed intensively 20-30 days before slaughter. This usually happens from August to October. During this period, turkeys need to provide free grazing. This will allow them to eat greens rich in vitamins and minerals. The main food for poultry should be compound feed and various flour mash.

How to make compound feed at home

The usual feed for a turkey is 800 g per day. You can cook it yourself, it includes:

• Corn;
• Chopped greens;
• Cottage cheese;
• Milk;
• Flour mixtures;
• Waste: egg, meat, fish.

12-14 hours before slaughter, the turkeys are transferred to a dark room and feeding is stopped, providing only water.

Features of growing and fattening turkey poults for meat

Growing turkey poults for meat requires special attention in the first 15-20 days of chicks' life. Since they still have poorly developed thermoregulation, it is necessary to ensure the correct temperature regime - 35 ° -37 ° and air humidity 75%. After 10 days, these indicators gradually decrease. Breeding in the early days requires lighting around the clock so the chicks can find food and water.

Approximate Feeding Rates for Turkey Poults

The litter should always be clean, for this it needs to be changed frequently. As a bedding, you can use chopped straw and crushed corn stalks, dry shavings, sunflower husks. On 1 m², you can place ten turkeys until they reach eight weeks of age, then five chicks for the same period. Later, three turkeys are settled on 1m².

When purchasing turkey poults for fattening, you should choose mobile chicks, firmly on their feet, with clean fluff and shiny eyes. A scarred umbilical cord, dry bottom, retracted yolk are also signs of a healthy turkey. Usually, turkeys for growing for meat are taken in the spring, so that they can gain the necessary mass over the summer by autumn.

In the first 10 days of life, chicks are fed every two hours. Usually, a special food is prepared, which includes:

• Hard boiled eggs;
• Wheat and corn flour;
• Green onions;
• Carrot;
• Wheat bran;
• Cottage cheese.

You can prepare it like this: rub the eggs through a sieve, add a small amount of corn or wheat flour, finely chopped onions and carrots, mix with boiled millet porridge.

It is better to serve such food on sheets of paper, and from 3-5 days you can teach them to feed from special troughs. Do not forget about the presence of fresh water in the drinking bowls; half-eaten food must always be removed, otherwise it will turn sour.

Feeding rates

After three days, poultry farmers are advised to put separate feeders for fine river sand and fishmeal, since the chicks are in dire need of mineral supplements. In the second week of life, dry food is added to feeding with wet mash, which is poured into separate trays.

These feeds are made up of carefully crushed grain (60%), peas (25%), sunflower meal (2%), chalk (5%). After 10 days from the moment of hatching, you need to introduce large quantities of young greens into the diet of turkey poults - nettle, onion, clover, alfalfa, dandelion. Up to 1 month, there is a transition to 6 meals a day.

Upon reaching two months of age, the chicks are fed 4 times a day with the same wet mash with an increased amount of inexpensive fish or animal minced meat based on curdled milk.

Whole grain is allowed to be given after 40 days of the chick's life, you can also start feeding with compound feed for chickens.

Compound feed intended for other farm animals is not suitable in this case. It is important to add fats, salt, chalk, shells, bone meal to the diet.

How much time will be spent on raising turkey poults for slaughter depends on the quality of the feed and the correct feeding regime. During the summer, they should reach the greatest weight, since during this period all conditions for pasture feeding are created.

On average, a turkey is ready for slaughter in 4-5 months, here is how much compound feed will be required to grow one individual, not counting greens and other additives:

• The female will eat 16 kg of compound feed in 4 months;
• The male will need 32 kg for the same period of time.

Uzbekistan field turkey

Upon reaching 4 months of age, young turkeys are prepared for slaughter using the intensive feeding method. It consists in the forced intake of food. For this, special dumplings are prepared, which include:

• Corn flour - 20%;
• Oat flour -15%;
• Wheat bran - 25%;
• Barley flour -25%;
• Salt - 1%;
• Baker's yeast -3%;

The ingredients are mixed with milk or water to form narrow and long pellets. The turkey's beak is opened and the prepared food is introduced. This procedure is carried out 2 times a day, which allows you to add 25% of the daily food intake to natural feeding. In addition, there is a daily weight gain of 100 g.

Such fattening lasts 15-25 days, but after 10 days the turkey is ready for slaughter. Turkeys need to be fed a little more time until fully ripe.

By observing the conditions of keeping and feeding turkeys, providing a balanced diet, you can guarantee success in raising poultry for meat.

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Video: Slaughtering and plucking a turkey

The turkey is the largest and most common bird in the backyard. This is primarily due to:

• its unpretentiousness in nutrition and maintenance;
• rapid weight gain;
• taste and dietary properties of meat.

But in order to achieve good results, as in any other business, it is necessary to seriously approach the issue of raising this bird. First of all, you need to stock up on at least a minimal baggage of knowledge in the field of breeding turkeys at home.

General information about turkeys

We owe the appearance of turkey in our vastness to America. It was from there, about 500 years ago, that she came to Spain, where she took root well and became widespread throughout the world. Through genetic experiments, a variety of breeds have been bred that have certain characteristics. The most common types are:

1. Bronze turkey. It belongs to the light type. The average weight of a male is 7-8 kg, of a female 5-6.
2. Moscow bronze. Live weight of a turkey is 10-19 kg, turkeys -8-10.
3. Canadian broad-breasted breed. This is the heaviest bird. The live weight of the male reaches 30 kg.
4. Moscow white. Weight 12-13 kg.
5. White broad-breasted. Their weight is 20-25 kg.

Other species of this large poultry are also found in the farmsteads.Regardless of the breed, all of them are a source of a dietary product-meat, which does not have fat deposits, is rich in enzymes and proteins, is easily digested and has a bright taste.

Features of fattening turkeys at home

Proper nutrition and maintenance of poultry directly affects its growth and meat quality. Raising a turkey for slaughter is not at all difficult. You can start feeding both an adult bird and newly hatched turkey poults. The difference is this. The fattening period for an adult is approximately 20-30 days, during this time, weight is gained, and nutrient saturation occurs. Most often, the time frame for active feeding falls on the month of August-October. The turkeys are grazed, they just need any greens. Feed should contain as much nutrients as possible. Can be purchased and fed with compound feed. The norm is 800 grams per day per individual or cook it yourself from grain, chopped herbs, cottage cheese, milk, flour mixture, add egg, fish and meat waste.

But the turkey poults that have just seen the light of day, require special attention. Conditions of detention and proper nutrition are also important. The percentage of survival, the harmony of development and the rate of growth depend on the observance of these standards. The first 15-20 days are the most critical. Turkeys must be kept in a room where it is warm enough -25-27 degrees, the floor must also be warm and clean (the litter must be replaced frequently). Lamps for additional heating are used around the clock. Gradually, at two weeks of age, the young are taken out into the street (provided there is no dampness) for 30-40 minutes.

In feeding, you should adhere to the basic important rules. The turkey poults must always have food (mixed feed or dry mixture). The first month of life they are fed with a damp mash of yogurt or milk. Such a mixture is given 7-8 times a day, it is carefully monitored so that it does not sour and does not become a good environment for the development of harmful bacteria and viruses. As the turkey grows, so does the frequency of the mash feed. After a month, they switch to six meals a day, from two to four. In the first days of the life of young animals, it is recommended to give porridge cooked in milk, such food is a good start for further growth. It is good to add chopped greens to feed. It can be nettles, clover, onion feathers. As well as fish oil and some yeast. At the age of 1 month, turkeys are fed with finely crushed grain. To ensure good digestion and prevent parasites, a mixture of chalk, charcoal, and sand is placed in a specially designated container. Don't forget about water. It should be clean and at room temperature. Changes in weight are an indicator of the growth of the young. As soon as you can clearly see the sexual characteristics of the young, the females should be separated from the males, since they also differ in the rate of weight gain.

You can start feeding turkeys for slaughter from 3-4 months of age. For this, they are limited in movement and significantly increase the amount of feed. In addition to natural feeding, forced feeding is also used. The bird's beak is opened and food is injected into the esophagus. These can be bread rolls and a kind of dumplings, which are prepared as follows. Corn, barley, oat flour, wheat bran, a little salt and bread yeast are taken, everything is thoroughly mixed and poured with milk. From the resulting substance, thin flagella are twisted. They are also used as an additional feed, which is given twice a day, gradually increasing the amount of food. How long the intensive feeding period lasts depends on what result you want to achieve. The average time for obtaining good indicators is 20-30 days, but after ten days of intensive feeding, slaughter can be carried out.

How long it will take to raise turkeys for slaughter depends entirely on the quality of its content and nutritional value. On average, it is 4-5 months. During this period, turkeys, depending also on the breed, reach the greatest mass. To calculate the correct amount of feed required for feeding poultry for slaughter, you need to consult a professional or consult the scientific literature. Quite often on forums on the internet, professional amateurs share tables where they describe the daily feed rate in grams per head. Alternatively, you can use this information, but for a guaranteed result, it is better to get expert advice.

It is possible to ensure full-fledged feeding only when using a complete feed saturated with the necessary vitamins, amino acids, micro and macro elements. The easiest way is compound feed. It is made in special factories and contains all the necessary nutrients. Approximate consumption of compound feed:

• To grow young animals for 1 individual, 52 kg are needed (33-34 weeks of fattening);
• The female eats about 16 kg of feed in 16 weeks (for slaughter);
• Male - for the same period eats -32 kg.

Rational nutrition can be provided by self-preparation of feed. To do this, use crushed grain, various cereals, flour (bone, barley), herbs, dairy products, vitamins, antibiotics, fats, yeast. A well-prepared mixture and correctly calculated norms, as well as the frequency of food intake, will ensure the normal development of the bird and will contribute to good weight gain.

How long it takes to grow a turkey for meat depends entirely on the effort you are willing to put in and the results you want to achieve. In addition to belonging to the breed (depending on this, the timing also fluctuates), the moment for which you grow the bird is also important:

• providing meat for personal use;
• cultivation for sale.

source

Slaughter preparation

The bird is ready for slaughter when its weight reaches more than 12 kg, usually turkeys already at 8 months of age grow to these parameters. Broilers are ready for slaughter even earlier, they are subjected to the procedure after 4-6 months. If you are late, the meat will not lose its dietary value, but it will not be as tender.

Even males at the age of 2-3 years have to be slaughtered, because as producers they lose value, their meat is further processed and suitable for consumption. It should also be remembered that the slaughtering procedure is carried out before molting, otherwise it will not be possible to pluck the carcass perfectly because of the large number of hemp.

Prepare the bird before slaughter. It is important that the stomach and esophagus of the turkey are free of food at the time of manipulation. Otherwise, it will be more difficult to gut it, and the quality may suffer: after 2 days, the goiter and cloaca will acquire a bluish tint:

• On the eve of the scheduled day, you cannot feed the bird, the minimum period is 14 hours, but it is better if it is not there for a day.
• It is necessary to place the turkeys in a dark room, but water should be freely available, this will help free the intestines from feces, the bird will not lose weight.
• It is allowed to give a solution of Glauber's salt, it will make the turkey feces liquid, it will leave the body faster.
• It is good to include rye flour or bran in the bird's diet, before slaughter.
• A concentrated saline solution is needed, for its preparation you will need salt - 400 g, this amount is dissolved in a liter of boiling water.
• Then the liquid is cooled and already cool is poured into the throat of the turkey, half of the carcass must be filled. Calculating the amount is simple: 1 glass per 1 kg of carcass.
• The throat is tied tightly with a string, and the body of the turkey is hung by the legs in a cool room or clean and dry cellar. After 18 or 20 hours, the thread is untied, and brine is poured out of the carcass.

How to freeze meat?

When it is decided to freeze the meat, then this should not be done right away, the necessary processes must end in it, then it will be much higher in quality. In addition, in uncooled carcasses, freezing occurs only from above, the lower warm layers give in to it with difficulty, and the decomposition process can begin.

The most favorable time for freezing at home is winter. After pre-cooling, the meat is frozen. They are taken outside in frosty weather and immersed in very cold water. This is done several times until ice glaze with a thickness of at least 0.5 mm and no more than 1 mm appears on the skin. Then the carcasses are wrapped in paper (but not newspapers), and placed in a box, covered with straw. It is stored in such a container at 8-12 ° C.

How long meat is thawed also matters. Defrosting very quickly is not recommended, since the liquid at the time of freezing is displaced from the muscle fibers and freezes between them. With gradual defrosting, it returns again, and the meat restores its nutritional properties. If this is not done, the dissolved substances will not have time to penetrate back, and it will become of inferior quality, it will be dry and less looped.

If everything is done correctly, you will end up with an exceptional, nutritionally valuable and tasty product. It will be gladly purchased by acquaintances and retail outlets for sale, and the farmer will not be left behind.

source

Diet turkey meat is useful for children and adults, and especially for people prone to allergies. Poultry meat has a lot of taste advantages, and everything that is grown at home will be an environmentally friendly product and can be used for food without thinking about the dangers to health.

Growing turkeys for meat at home

Feeding turkeys

The very first food for them will be a boiled egg, carefully chopped, about 5 g per baby. For a variety of feeding, you can offer them homemade or store cheese, as well as millet. In the first three days, the chicks are fed in small portions, but often (after 3 hours) well-cooked cereal porridges. Chicks need to mix in food with grated carrots and finely chopped grass or green onion feathers, which is very useful for them as a fight against intestinal parasites. In the future, you need to observe what kind of porridge will be eaten best of all, and that one should be offered, always mixing various greens.

Feeding turkeys

From the fourth day of the chicks' life, you can give a mash based on milk, yogurt or skim milk, adding a little cottage cheese. It is advisable to prepare it immediately before feeding so that the food does not have time to sour and disappear.

From the age of one week, babies can add more varied greens to their food. Fresh plants will serve as a vitamin complex in the diet of turkey poults, therefore, between feedings without porridge, you can give finely chopped or twisted dandelion through a meat grinder, cabbage leaves and clover, plantain or nettle, previously scalded with boiling water. Sometimes you need to add fish oil to cereals, which contains a lot of vitamins for the growth and development of poultry.

At a month and a half, turkeys can include whole or sprouted grains in their diet. Boiled food waste or chopped apples and pears are added to the mash.

Attention! When feeding potatoes, it is imperative to remove the sprouts from it, and drain the water after the decoction of vegetables, thereby excluding poisoning and death.

Turkey diet

From two months, the diet of grown birds should include trace elements and vitamins necessary for growth, four meals a day are recommended. Along with the compound feed, alternating, you need to add corn and millet grains, yeast and bone meal, shells and chalk, and table salt should be added in very small quantities. Compound feed must be strictly poultry; feed intended for large animals, which contains a lot of salt and few nutrients, must not be given.The high salt content will soon kill the bird.

If the poultry feed is difficult to access, then you need to prepare it yourself. You will need grain 60% crushed into fine grains, 25% legumes, 25% sunflower meal and 4% chalk, all this mixture will be considered mixed feed.

Advice! In the summer, prepare brooms from a set of acacia, birch, poplar and linden. You need to hang them indoors so that the birds can reach them. Also, dry broom leaves are ground and added to the mash.

From autumn to spring, 3 g per day are added to the mash, chopped needles and silage, rose hips and rowan berries to provide feed with valuable natural vitamins. Sprinkle food for chicks on a flat, level surface, such as heavy paper or waste material. Each time you feed them, you need to pour fresh clean warm water, frequent water changes contain fewer microbes and this measure will become one of the methods of disease prevention.

How and what to feed turkeys

Important! Cleanliness of feeders and drinkers will protect birds from diseases.

For babies, water should be poured into a container so that they cannot get into it. After the end of drinking, it is advisable to remove the container so that the chicks do not accidentally get wet.

The drinker for adult turkeys should be heavy and up to neck level, and the feeder, as for chickens, should be in the form of troughs or troughs. In winter, it is imperative to warm the water and pour it slightly warm into the drinking bowl.

Nipple drinkers for turkey poults

Keeping turkey poults

Rules for keeping turkeys

Small and tender chicks are very susceptible to the environment, unlike adults, so it is worth considering a few important rules:

• the temperature of the content is 33 degrees of heat from the first to the fifth day of life, 27 degrees to the tenth day and then gradually decreasing to 23 degrees;
• chicks react poorly to a sharp temperature drop and strong drafts;
• chicks do not need to be allowed out in the rain or dew until they are five weeks old. At this age, skin growths form on the necks of the chicks. Make sure that they never get wet on the street;
• avoid damaging the chicks' beak. To do this, a cardboard bedding is laid for them under food, and a solid base will damage the beak and guaranteed death;
• protect chicks from adults on a flat surface without pits, so that the kids are less injured;
• to avoid various diseases and injuries, you must not place them together with other types of chicks. Development and adaptation of turkey poults is slower than, for example, chickens.

Basic requirements for the premises

How to set up a turkey house

It is worth taking care of the previously suitable conditions for keeping, especially in the cold season, otherwise all the work on growing turkey poults will be in vain.

1. In winter, you need to insulate the room as much as possible. Cover the floor with dry straw and trample it down, and when the temperature drops to -10 ° C, provide the house with an additional heater.
2. In the summer period of the year, ensure the ventilation of the room (without a draft) from dampness and excess air humidity.
3. Lighting in winter lasts about 14 hours a day, and additional lighting will increase the egg production of adults.

Walking turkeys

Birds love long walks, besides, they run fast, and in case of danger they can fly. Given their behavior, you need a large space in the form of a mesh enclosure or a quiet and calm environment, if there is none, you should carefully trim the wings of adults.

Walking turkeys

Attention! Restriction in a small space leads to obesity and disease in poultry.

1. Walking is mandatory and will only benefit the birds. By independently obtaining food, they will receive more nutrients, and the presence of bushes or trees will protect them from the scorching sun in summer. When walking in an aviary, you need to create an artificial shade in one of the parts of the fence and take care of the presence of water.
2. At the beginning of the second week of life, the chicks are released for a walk for about 20 minutes, which will be enough for the first time, given the good calm weather. With each subsequent time, the walking time increases. Monitor the weather at this time so that the chicks do not catch cold.Important! Chicks are released for full-scale walking only after the appearance of real feathers.

   Chick walks are allowed after plumage

3. On street walking, drinkers with water and feeders with food are placed, as well as in a buried aviary. As early as one and a half months, the birds will begin to use the nests, so they are installed indoors at a height of 45 cm and 35 cm in diameter per individual.
4. It is necessary to let turkeys out for a walk not only in summer, but also in winter in calm weather at least 25 degrees, having previously spread straw on this place in order to avoid frostbite of the limbs of birds. Also, to attract them for a walk, you can lay out brooms made of dried nettles and bunches of hay for a long eating and a long walk, harvested from the summer.

   Fenced turkey walk

Fattening for young meat

From four months of age, they begin to fatten to increase the weight of the turkeys. The month of increased nutrition from August to September should be held on free grazing and three meals a day, including a bag and grain crops in the diet.

How turkeys are fed

For limited grazing, feeding consists of four times per day. The food should be more flour mixture, cottage cheese, egg waste and greens, boiled potatoes and fodder beets, legumes, sprouted grains and including meat waste.

A wet mash should be prepared at the rate of: 80 gr. milk and 100 gr. flour mixing everything. Yeast and malted foods, soaked or steamed grains will help increase your appetite during weight gain.

Turkey poultry fattening diet
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1. The malted food is prepared as follows: pour one kilogram of flour mixture with two liters of boiling water and mix everything, and after two hours add the rest of the ingredients and knead until the food is loose.
2. For the preparation of yeast food: take 50 g of fresh or 25 g of dry yeast for baking dissolve in lukewarm water, and then add a little 10 kg of dry flour composition, then keep it warm for six hours. Feeding lasts 45 minutes, after which the leftovers are removed and then they give root crops or useful greens. Pour a lot of water. In a separate feeder for individuals, chalk and shells should be poured.
3. Of the germinated grains, wheat, oats or barley are usually used. The grain is pre-soaked and then poured onto the racks in a layer 10 cm thick. At a positive temperature above 22 degrees, the grain will germinate in three days.

What to do if birds are not gaining weight

The next month they do not walk the birds, but keep them indoors and dim the lights. They give compound feed and protein mixtures, and a mash at least twice a day. For a positive result of weight gain, one bird should eat about 800 grams of compound feed per day, and together with a mash, almost a kilogram per unit of an individual. During these months, you should provide many different grains with oats and buckwheat, which will provide sufficient protein and fat. The cake of various plants included in the diet will additionally affect the rapid weight gain of the bird and provide it with amino acids.

Caged turkeys before slaughter

Forced feeding

Pellets are prepared from a special batch: flour from corn and barley, 20% each, from wheat and add bran to 15% each, flour from oats 25% and common salt 1%. Add 5% yeast to the mixture and, per 100 g of the resulting mixture, pour 150 g of liquid of your choice, knead the hard dough. First, rolls of dough are made about 2 cm thick and 6 cm long. The finished pellet is moistened with water and placed in the bird's esophagus.With one hand, you need to open the beak of the individual, and with the other hand, lay the pellet, with a slow movement, gently press on the part of the neck from below and push it into the goiter. With this fattening, it is worth monitoring the filling of the turkey crop with food. Having increased the consumption of food, slowly begin feeding from twice a day to 30% of the food per day. With forced weight gain for an individual, the feeding period is reduced to two weeks.

Poultry machine feeding scheme

Self-feeding

Birds are allowed to graze in fields with harvested melons, grains or sunflowers. They feed the birds two or three times right in the pasture with unlimited containers with preferably cool water. Warm water, of course, will be worse to drink, so it is worth replacing it several times a day with fresh and cooler water. It is best to equip an artificial shade at the walking site, using the structure of a hut and a canopy. With this method, large areas are needed, but the advantage is the insignificant consumption of grain crops, and weight gain is faster and better.

Fatty turkey carcasses

Reference! The older the bird is, the harder the meat and, accordingly, the worse the taste.

Fattening of adult poultry

First, it is worth inspecting the birds, you may not have to intensively feed everyone. For those who need fattening when probing, the skin forms a fold, while it is very thin without fat, and the bones are sharper and strongly protrude. This also includes the average weight of birds. But a well-fed individual with rounded body shapes and palpable subcutaneous fat in the lower abdomen is already ready for slaughter. After inspection, the entire selected individual is sent to an additional set of missing kilograms. During the weight gain of young animals, it is imperative that they maintain a good appetite, peace and quiet, and given that vision and touch work well for the bird, they will pay attention to the shape and even color of food of a lighter color.

Home fattened turkey

The fattening period lasts about a month and will be the best time at the end of autumn. Fattening consists of four meals a day without walking. The composition and variety of the forage is the same as for young animals, which is dominated by a flour mixture. Adults of common turkeys reach up to 12 kg, and turkeys up to 16 kg when breeding purebred birds will have different weight data.

Large turkey on the scales

Advice! During hot summer days, food intake decreases accordingly and leads to a loss of kilograms. You need to feed more vegetation and grated carrots these days, which will increase your appetite and prevent weight loss.

The secret to feeding turkey for delicious meat

1. Tasty and healthy meat directly depends on a properly balanced diet, including biologically active additives and necessary for feathered matter. Compound feed with nutritious components will reduce the consumption of cereals and provide a correct, balanced nutrition for poultry.

   Compound feed for turkeys

2. For the successful assimilation of grain by individuals, vegetation, dried straw or hay should be added to the diet. Nuts or acorns mixed with vegetable oil or finely chopped bacon will provide juicy and tender turkey meat at the output.
3. During fattening, it is worth excluding the intake of fish oil and fish meal 10 days before the end of the term, otherwise the meat will have a fishy flavor. Corn and alfalfa give the meat a yellowish hue. Oats and barley give the meat a lighter color. If it is necessary to lighten the meat at the end of feeding, give more of this grain.

Sorting turkeys and the need for fattening

In conclusion, it is worth noting that for breeding a turkey for meat, you need to monitor its diet. A variety of feed will have a positive effect on the strong immunity and health of the bird. In summer and winter, for turkeys, food must be both wet and dry. Those birds that eat what they themselves find, without human participation, of course, will not achieve much weight.

It is important to take part in the fattening of the turkey and monitor the quality of bird nutrition.

Feeding errors

Video - Feeding turkeys

Video - Breeding turkeys at home

Turkeys are beautiful and majestic animals ideal for keeping on a home farm. However, breeding, keeping and caring for turkeys is a headache for many novice poultry farmers. How to breed turkeys correctly?

Turkeys: breeding, maintenance, care at home

The most famous breeds for breeding

If you have chosen turkeys as a breeding bird, the first thing you need to do is decide on the breed. They usually choose it in accordance with the goals, method of content and personal desire. Before buying individuals, you need to learn how to navigate the characteristics and main features of the chosen breed - this is the only way to organize proper care. In Russia, several of the most common breeds are distinguished.

Bronze	Red and brown striped feathers, black necks in males. Females are more modest in color. They are good for keeping in the fresh air, they do not require special conditions.	13	7	up to 100
Moscow bronze	Hardy individuals intended both for breeding in production conditions and for a home farm. Relief chest, elongated torso. Feel good when grazing.	15	9	100
Bronze broad-breasted	In appearance they are similar to their bronze ancestor, but larger and larger in the body. Low egg production, inability to walk. Are intended more for industrial content.	14	8	70-80
North Caucasian bronze	They first appeared in the USSR, in 1946. One of the most common breeds for growing at home. Large birds adapt well to any conditions.	14	7	80
White broad-breasted	Oval body with large chest and broad back. They are characterized by rich plumage, strong legs. Grown for healthy dietary meat and eggs.	15	7	100-120
North Caucasian white	Hardy birds with good performance and quick weight gain. They are well kept in pasture conditions, not picky about food.	13	7	up to 180

Read also: Turkey breeds

Negative and positive aspects of breeding

Home farmers are increasingly opting for turkey farming. Some breed turkeys for personal consumption, some make a profit from the sale of meat and egg products. Either way, turkey breeding has its advantages and disadvantages. Before deciding whether to do this business, you need to know them.

Bronze broad-breasted turkey

The advantages of content are the following:

• dietary turkey meat is very useful for humans, all thanks to low cholesterol, vitamins, amino acids and trace elements;
• the cost of a turkey growing business quickly pays off;
• for the purpose of earning money, you can sell not only meat and egg products, but also down, feathers;
• turkeys gain weight quickly and rapidly;
• undemanding to conditions of detention and unpretentiousness to nutrition.

Turkey meat is considered dietary

Turkeys are excellent pets for keeping at home and running a business selling meat, eggs, fluff. But some breeders refuse to keep turkeys. They justify this with the following disadvantages of keeping turkeys:

• low productivity - turkeys produce much fewer eggs than chickens;
• the risk of death of chicks after birth;
• demanding for water - use only fresh liquid at room temperature;
• turkeys are often sick, especially if hygiene rules are violated when caring for them;
• the tendency of turkeys to obesity.

Obesity turkey

The note! Turkeys first appeared in America, domesticated them about a thousand years ago. Europe saw birds only in the 16th century.

Features of caring for turkeys

Turkeys are unpretentious animals that can withstand cold temperatures down to -15 ° C, but they still prefer dry and warm care.Make sure that the pen is not damp and that there is always warm bedding on the floor - you need to keep the legs of the turkeys warm. Change the bedding at least twice every seven days. Equip each paddock with small boxes of sand and ash to prevent parasites.

Ash bath for birds

You should especially carefully approach the issue of caring for young animals. Provide chicks with a dry and warm place for the first time. For these purposes, you can use a cardboard box or box. In a temporary dwelling, the temperature must be at least 36 degrees, in addition, it must be constantly illuminated. When the chicks mature, you can move them to a common stall. When arranging a nest, you need to raise its walls high, isolating the hen from other individuals.

Turkey nest

Read also: DIY turkey nest

Requirements for the premises

Experienced livestock breeders have specific room requirements for comfortable keeping and profitable turkey breeding. To set up a comfortable house, follow the instructions below.

Step 1. Decide on the size of the room. The correct calculation is as follows: at least 1 m2 for two turkeys. Ideally, there should be 1 m2 per individual.

Turkey house on a small flock of birds

Turkey house project for 15-30 heads

Step 2. When the house is set up, check the room temperature. The acceptable temperature in summer is 20 ° C, in winter it is no colder than 5 ° C.

Step 3. Adjust lighting. You can illuminate the poultry house with a conventional 60-watt light bulb.

Lighting in the poultry house

Step 4. Be sure to equip ventilation, this will help eliminate dampness.

Step 5. Equip the perches according to the number of birds in the pen (one perch per bird), the distance between them is 60 cm or more.

Step 6. Check the height of the perches. Correct indicators: about 70-80 cm from the floor, width - from 5 to 7 cm, height - from 8 to 10 cm.

Turkey roosts

The note! If you keep all individuals in the same pen, the flock should be no more than 5 females per male, otherwise not all hens will be covered.

Do turkeys need walking?

Turkeys are prone to obesity, so they need to spend enough time walking. While walking, the bird eats useful food, finds worms, beetles, eats greens, seeds and nuts. The ideal place for walking in summer is dry ground with shrubs and green grass. Make sure that the bird can find shade and hide there from the heat. For walking turkeys, you can equip special outdoor enclosures. Install feeders with oats and barley, drinkers, and change the water regularly.

Walking for turkeys

It is especially important to walk the turkeys during the winter - take daily walks for several hours, but not in too windy weather. Cover the area with plenty of straw to keep the turkeys from freezing their feet. You should also scatter food to lure pets out for a walk. If there are too many turkeys, divide the herd into small groups (each with one breeder).

Organization of walking turkeys

Breeding turkeys

Experts recommend for beginners to start breeding with grown young individuals. The best option is three or four month old individuals. By this time, they get used to the classic food, and their immunity is getting stronger. When breeding from scratch in the house, it is necessary to have individuals of different sexes. One male - for 8-10 females. If there are more of them, the male will not be able to properly perform his duties.

North Caucasian silver turkey and turkey

Female eggs incubate for about a month. The bird should be rooted in the spring. Ideally, there are about 17 eggs under one turkey, and all are freely located under the female. Under an inexperienced turkey, which became a mother for the first time, it is better not to lay a large number of eggs. At the very bottom of the nest, place a thin layer of earth, and put dried straws on top.Put the nest in an isolated place, put a drinker and a feeding plate with food next to it.

The note! Female turkeys can raise about 80 babies. A turkey is able to hatch even other people's chicks - chickens or ducks.

Hatched turkey poults

Using incubators and brooders

Turkeys are wonderful mothers who hatch responsibly and then raise and protect their offspring. Sometimes they give themselves up to their duties so much that they forget to eat - in this case, forcefully remove the hen from the nest and take it to food. While the turkey is feeding, you can inspect the eggs for scratches or dents. After hatching, it is recommended to immediately add the babies to the hen and keep them with the mother for about 6-8 weeks.

Bronze turkey with chickens

On a home farm, you can use an incubator. Eggs that are intended for incubator rearing must be removed from the poultry and transferred to storage. Place eggs on the tray with the pointed end downward - this saves a lot of space. From the moment the eggs are placed in the incubator to hatching, it takes about 28 days. Turn eggs up to day 22 inclusive 12 times a day so that they warm up evenly. You should also observe a strict temperature regime.

1-3	37,8-38	29-29,5	closed
6-12	37,6-37,8	29-29,5	ajar 15 mm
13-25	37,5-37,6	28-28,5	ajar 15 mm
26	37,2	29-30	ajar 20 mm
27	37-37,2	30-33	ajar 20 mm
28	37	35	ajar 20 mm, open completely 3 hours before sampling

Setting eggs in the incubator

Video - Turkeys: breeding and maintenance

In the video, an experienced livestock breeder tells the audience where turkeys came from in Russia. You will learn how to organize the keeping of a bird from egg to adult. The video covers the incubation process, as well as the main issues of care and maintenance. You will also see how to properly equip an aviary and how animals behave while walking.

Nutrition for proper and complete growth

To successfully raise turkeys on a home farm, feed them properly. In most cases, poultry farmers use a combined type of food. Feed the birds with sprouted grains, dry or damp mash. In the fall and spring, take your pets for walks in the pasture so they can feast on the greens. Use vitamins and food: add chopped carrots, chopped cabbage and beets. Food can be diluted with dried, steamed herbs.

Turkey feed recipes

Turkeys love oats, grains, and barley, but germinate them first. During the breeding time, feed the pets about four to five times daily, during the other period - three times. In the morning and in the afternoon, you can feed with wet food, and in the late afternoon - with dry grain. To make turkey meat tastier and more tender, experienced livestock breeders recommend increasing the concentration of juicy mixtures, gradually reducing the number of grains.

To improve the quality of meat, poultry farmers recommend increasing the concentration of juicy mixtures

Small chicks need to be fed eight times to ensure good health of the brood later on. Three days after hatching, feed dry flour grits, which are mixed halfway with chopped hard-boiled eggs. For up to a month, feed your little ones with small cereals mixed with a variety of nutritious herbs - lettuce, cabbage leaves, nettles and clovers. You can also use a combination feed containing all the elements required for healthy growth.

Feeding at puberty

Puberty in turkeys occurs when they reach 8-10 months. Females lay eggs starting at 10 months. Watch the birds closely during this time, feed them about five times daily. In winter, feed moistened grain feed, finely chopped carrots, and grass flour. In summer, any grain crops mixed with fresh herbs are suitable. Sexually mature individuals should be fed with a mixture of yeast, carrots, greens, sprouted grains and cottage cheese.

Adult turkey and turkey

Yeast	5
Carrots and greens	70-80
Cottage cheese	20
Sprouted grain	100

The note! The weight of one egg laid by a turkey is 70 to 90 grams - much more than that of chickens. Eggshells are pockmarked, not brown or white.

Video - How to feed turkey poults?

The brood owner explains the basic principles of poultry feeding. From the video you will learn how to feed babies from 0 to 7 days inclusive. The farmer also considers the following questions: in what percentage to add feed, whether it is worth introducing greens into the diet, and also how to properly give the turkey poultry water.

Growing turkeys for meat

To grow turkeys for meat in a farm, use hybrids (individuals that were born from crossing representatives of different breeds). Purchase chicks weighing at least 50 grams, which were removed from the incubator no more than eight hours ago. The most common meat production technology used by many Russian farmers is that young turkeys should be kept in cages until they are eight weeks old before being moved to the floor. Babies should eat fortified feed. Feed the birds about eight times daily, but gradually reduce the number of feeds to 4 times. Otherwise, the rules for caring for individuals intended for slaughter do not differ from the rules for keeping other individuals. It is recommended to slaughter animals at 16 weeks, males at 22 weeks.

Growing turkeys on a farm

The main diseases of domestic turkeys

Some diseases are contagious and are transmitted from other animals that are kept on the farm. Most often, ailments are caused by certain infections and viruses, and in many cases they can be prevented. Experts identify several main infectious diseases of turkeys:

• respiratory mycoplasmosis... Runny nose due to excessive moisture in the pen, as well as due to unbalanced nutrition;
• tuberculosis... One of the most dangerous ailments. Acts on the upper respiratory tract, lungs and other organs. Transmitted through dirty water, eggs, foul bedding and tools;
• histomoniasis... The defeat of the cecum. The disease spreads to the digestive system. Develops in individuals that were placed in an untreated room, where chickens or geese were previously kept;

Turkeys histomoniasis

• worms. The most common disease that affects not only the digestive system, but also the respiratory system. Infection occurs through land, food, water, as well as from other birds;
• smallpox. It is not treated - the dead bird is burned. It is transmitted to turkeys from chickens through food or water, as well as through contact with sick animals. Sometimes transmitted by insect vectors.

To avoid the development of diseases, feed pets only with proven food, provide the turkeys with decent conditions, periodically clean up the pen, keep food bowls and drinkers clean, and periodically inspect animals and vaccinate them. Proper care will help save your pets from the most common diseases.

The first manifestation of smallpox in a turkey

Turkey breeding business

Some novice farmers often think about breeding turkeys. They are attracted by the low competition, as well as the high return on this business. This is more profitable than breeding chickens - the turkey is larger, and its meat is more nutritious and tastier. One individual gives about 100 eggs annually and more than 600 kilograms of meat when fattening offspring. However, there are important points to consider when planning a business.

Step 1. Decide what you want to create a business for. Choose a breed, carefully study all the rules for caring for turkeys, acquire useful equipment and collect initial capital.

Step 2. Draw up a competent business plan for your business, in which all aspects are considered.Determine the main stages of the business, analyze all financial costs, indicate the possible risks, the expected profit.

Step 3. Register the farm with the relevant authorities. Obtain quality certificates and all permits from the sanitary-epidemiological and veterinary services.

Breeding turkeys in a large production environment

Step 4. Rent an area, land or farm. Equip the poultry house, create all the conditions for proper care of pets. Purchase turkeys from specialized farms. For self-breeding, purchase an incubator.

Step 5. Take up the sale of products. It is best to define marketing methods in advance. You can choose to sell on the market or make contacts with retail outlets - shops and restaurants.

The note! Place an ad in your local newspaper for the sale of the product. If possible, place ads on the Internet - this will several times increase your chances of selling the product.

Sale of Inuk carcasses on the market

Benefits of a turkey breeding business

Breeding turkeys is a fairly profitable business that requires large investments at the initial stage. In the first few months, you will be engaged in raising the acquired young stock, which requires constant financial investments. First you need to pay for the construction of a pen, its insulation, the purchase of turkey poults, feed, electricity. In addition, you will have to pay for utilities and feed every month.

After about six months, the profit received from the sale of products will cover the initial costs. Soon, your farm will acquire a new livestock, which will bring new income. For example, if you buy 30 turkey poults and several adults at the beginning, you will receive about 150 thousand rubles after six months of work. At the same time, by increasing the number of birds, you will increase your profit.

Turkey breeding is a profitable business

Breeding turkeys on a farm is an interesting and profitable process even for an inexperienced and novice farmer. It is not difficult at all if you know the theoretical information well. Observe all the conditions of keeping, properly care for the birds, feed them on time and take care of your pets, then they will grow strong, healthy and bring you long-awaited profit.