How to properly raise turkeys at home?

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, and that one should be offered, mixing always with 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 cereals crushed into fine grains 60%, legumes 25%, sunflower meal 25% and chalk 4%, 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 they are fed, 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, they lay a bedding made of cardboard under their 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. Self-foraging, they will get 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 walk 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 a month and a half, birds will begin to use 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 the turkeys go 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 10 kg of dry flour composition a little, 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 grain foods 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 mix: 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, 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 shed. 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 in a row. 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 protrude strongly. 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 the bird's eyesight and touch work well, they will pay attention to the shape and even color of food of a lighter color.

Home fat 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, the prevailing 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 dietary supplements and essential 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

America is considered the birthplace of turkeys. Turkeys were domesticated about a thousand years ago. They came to Europe only in the 16th century, after four travels of Christopher Columbus.

Description

Turkeys are colorful, majestic and at the same time, poultry of different sizes. They love space and freedom.... From the first days of life in the turkey community, a hierarchy begins to build.

Turkeys walking in the yard

A brave and cocky male appears and gluttons are already visible - applicants for fattening for meat. In flocks of male turkeys, the right to fertilize female turkeys belongs to only one turkey, which is at the top of the hierarchy.

Pros and cons of withdrawal

The clear advantage of raising a turkey herd at home is getting wholesome meat and eggs. Turkey meat is a dietary meat that is low in cholesterol and high in minerals and vitamins.

Turkey eggs

It is hypoallergenic and easy to digest, useful for pregnant women, young children and athletes. Eggs also have a large set of useful components, occupy the 3rd place in terms of the amount of nutrients, after quail eggs and guinea fowl eggs.

Note! The only drawback in keeping and raising turkeys is that they produce much fewer eggs than, for example, chickens. The number of eggs from turkeys can reach up to 100 pieces per year, while chickens produce up to 340.

But, if we consider that turkey meat costs twice as much as chicken and eggs in terms of the amount of nutrients and weight three times higher than chicken, then this minus does not seem so significant.

The most famous breeds for breeding

The most common breed of turkeys for breeding in a private courtyard is the breed North Caucasian bronze... She has an elongated body, small chest and bronze plumage.

These birds are very mobile, long-legged and well adapted to foraging. Live weight of adult males from 13 to 18 kg, females 7-8 kg. Egg production of turkeys varies from 80 to 100 eggs per year.

A very profitable breed for keeping is white broad-breasted... They are classified into three main types:

• Heavy: the weight of males reaches 25 kg, the weight of females is up to 10 kg;
• Average: males weigh 15 kg and females 7 kg;
• Lungs: turkeys weigh 7 kg and turkeys up to 5 kg.

White broad-breasted breed

Turkeys mature for egg production by 9 months of age, bringing up to 115-125 eggs per year.

The broad-breasted bronze turkey breed has a high viability of young animals and almost one hundred percent fertility. The live weight of males is up to 18 kg, of females up to 10 kg.

Moscow white and bronze rocks are characterized by strong body construction, productive fertility and early egg production. Turkeys begin to lay as early as 6 months, they bring from 100 eggs per year. The live weight of males reaches 13 kg, females - 7 kg.

Conditions for keeping and growing

The main requirement in the maintenance of turkeys, which is worth focusing on, is the heat factor. Turkeys themselves are frost-resistant birds, but for full growth and development they need warmth and dryness in the enclosure.

Important! Create conditions in the pen that will exclude dampness and draft. The temperature in the summer season should be at least 20 degrees, and in the winter season the air temperature should not be lower than 5 degrees.

The room should be frequently ventilated.It is not uncommon for turkeys to be kept in "former" chicken coops, which are slightly modified for larger birds.

Turkeys in the aviary

The main indicators of the pen for 10 turkeys:

• Square not less than 5 square meters, since up to 2 birds can be placed on 1 square meter (ideally, there should be 1 square meter per individual);
• Ventilation, to eliminate dampness;
• Straw bedding, which must be changed at least twice a week;
• Perches, arranged at a height of 70-80 cm from the floor, 5-7 cm wide and 8-10 cm high.
• Lighting can be carried out using a conventional electric lamp, the power of which should be 60 watts.
• In order not to start parasitic organisms in the turkey house, small boxes with sand and ash.

One turkey requires a minimum of 40 cm per roost, so there should be as many perches as the number of birds will be placed in the pen. The distance between the perches should be more than 60 cm.

Turkeys need constant walking. In the summer season, outside aviaries are set up for them near the poultry house, an area equal to the number of birds, at least one square meter is allocated per bird.
Conditions for arranging a summer enclosure:

• On the territory of the corral there should be a canopy, under which birds can hide from direct sunlight in hot weather;
• It will be ideal if it grows on the territory alfalfa, oats and cloverthat sow in early spring;
• Drinking bowls, the water in which should change as it gets dirty, at least once a day;
• Feeders with barley, or oats.

Keeping turkeys in a cage

In the winter season, when the air temperature is below 10 degrees, it is also recommended to let turkeys go for walks. To do this, a layer of straw is lined on the territory of the corral so that the birds do not freeze their paws, and feed is scattered throughout the corral.

Walking turkeys is simply necessary, otherwise they will only get fat without gaining muscle mass.
Most turkey breeders keep heterosexual individuals separately.

In this case, only one manufacturer is launched to females. But there are poultry farmers who prefer to keep all birds in one enclosure. In this case, there should be no more than 5 females per male in a turkey flock, otherwise he will not be able to cover all the turkeys.

If the herd of turkeys is large, then it is better to divide it into small groups., each of which will have one manufacturer.

Care and feeding during puberty

Puberty in turkeys occurs at the age of 8-10 months. For the most complete development, turkeys must be fed with a special mixture, which consists of:

• Yeast - 5 grams;
• Carrots and greens 70-80 grams;
• Cottage cheese 20 grams;
• Sprouted corn 100g.

Youngsters on the run

The turkey begins to lay eggs from 10 months. Very often they suffer from the "brooding" syndrome, so in order to collect the eggs they have taken out, they often have to drive them away.

It is very important to monitor the feeding of the roosting individuals. When birds are just starting to lay, they need to be fed up to 5 times a day. In the winter season, you need to give moistened cereals, finely chopped carrots, grass flour. In the summer, cereals with herbs.

After mating, the egg-laying process begins.

How to maintain and grow

Young turkey poults

During lay, a young turkey can lay up to 17 eggs that need to be tested for fertility. To do this, the eggs must be lowered in turn into a container of water, if the egg sinks, then we return it to the nest, if it floats up, to the refrigerator.

The hatching process lasts up to 28 days. During this time, make sure that the turkey eats on time. Feeding is done in the morning. It is best to feed the hen with soaked and swollen oats.When the turkey is eating, it is imperative to cover the eggs with a warm cloth for this time to prevent hypothermia.

One turkey is able to hatch and raise not only its offspring, but also someone else's. One bird is capable of raising 75-80 turkeys.

How to keep and how to care for turkeys

The heat factor is the basis for growing turkey poults. Chilled young animals are highly susceptible to various diseases, which can prevent them from gaining the necessary weight, even with a good balanced feed.

Turkey poults should be bred in cardboard boxes with fabric bedding, or dry fine sawdust. For 10 babies, a container with dimensions of one meter by one meter and a wall height of up to 40 cm is suitable.

Feeding turkeys

Heating and lighting is carried out by electric lamps, the power of which must be at least 40 watts. Light bulbs are fixed on top of the box, using a table lamp. You can lower the lamp directly into the box, but for this, it is necessary that it be in a special weighted glass shade.

The first two days of turkey poults are kept under round-the-clock lighting, gradually reducing the light regime by 30-35 minutes.

From 20 days, the light regime lasts 15 hours. In addition, for the first 10 days of babies' life, it is worth maintaining the temperature to +36 degrees, gradually lowering and bringing it to + 25 degrees. At two months, the temperature should be +20 degrees.

Turkey chicks

Under such conditions, it is recommended to keep the turkey poults until the end of feeding., that is, up to 7 months.
Turkeys are prone to developing diseases, most of which are fatal.

The main diseases of domestic turkeys and turkeys

• Coccidosis - the development of the simplest microorganisms in the bird's body, leading to the death of the carrier.
• Trichomoniasis incidence occurs in the body of birds when Trichomonas is absorbed by drinking water, or contact with other species of birds that are carriers of the infection.
• Tuberculosis... It develops if the rules for keeping turkeys are not followed. Direct sunlight is the only source of healing for a sick bird.
• Pasteurellosis... Most often occurs in fattened turkey poults, whose age is from 1 to 2 months. The reason is the pecking of manure by turkeys and the harmful substance pasteurella contained in it, which is destroyed from direct sunlight in a day.
• Development parasitic organisms in the digestive tract.
• Aspergillosis - a fungal disease of the pulmonary system of organs, which develops as a result of the presence of straw or other litter on the territory of the aviary, containing fungal microorganisms.

Important! From the first days of life, prevention of diseases and reinforcement of chicks with vitamins are carried out to develop their own immunity.

Prevention of young stock during rearing

• On the 1st day, the solution is drunk ascorbic acid with glucose, since the turkey is still weak and unable to assimilate other complex elements;
• From the second to the fifth day is given irex vital (a pinch is diluted per liter of water);
• You can also amino-vital (pinch per liter of water).

Keeping turkey chickens

The earlier the poultry begins to feed, the more viable they become. On the first day, it is best to feed a hard-boiled and minced egg.

Then a specialized compound feed is given for young animals up to 40-45 days old, and also include milk mash, return, sour milk and buttermilk in the diet. It is imperative to give babies finely cut nettle, dandelion, and clover greens. In a month and a half, you can transfer them to an adult diet.

• From 6th to 10th day given to chicks in small quantities furozolidone, which is for the prevention of gastrointestinal diseases;
• From the 15th to the 20th day, turkeys need to be drunk amproliumwhich goes against coccidia;
• Before releasing turkey poults for walking, you need to give them ASD-2 - faction against fungal and aspergillosis;
• In 40 days it is soldered metronidazole, within 4 days (4 tablets per liter of water). It will protect the young from the development of the simplest microorganisms that are formed when the earthworms chew and can cause the death of the turkey.

Important! For the first 10 days of life, feed babies only with boiled water.

What to feed the birds

In preparation for the winter period, it is recommended to harvest linden, birch and poplar brooms for turkeys, which are subsequently hung in the house at a height accessible to turkeys and are a source of additional vitamins.

Compound feed for feeding

The diet of adults includes:

• Compound feed, which contains proteins, vitamins and proteins. Usually used to feed brood males.
• Oatspreferably sprouted.
• Best fed to turkeys for fattening wheat.
• Tops vegetable crops (in summer).
• Shredded vegetables (potatoes, carrots, turnips).
• Greens (alfalfa, green onions, clover, dandelions).
• Young twigs trees, hay, sauerkraut (in winter).

If you raise a poultry for fattening, then you need to feed it more with wheat and other grains. During morning feeding, it is better to moisten grain crops with water, and give dry food in the evening. In order for the meat to be tender and juicy, you need to feed as much greens and vegetables as possible.

In order for laying turkeys to be carried in a balanced way, their diet should also include:

• 150 grams boiled potatoes per day, despite the fact that the laying hen produces up to 9 eggs per month, if from 15 to 18 eggs per month, then potatoes, respectively, from 110 to 130 grams.
• Bone flour and table salt should be up to 2 grams daily, regardless of how many eggs the bird gives out.
• Fish waste should be 30 grams for 9 eggs per month, 40 grams for 15 eggs per month, 50 grams if the turkey produces 18 eggs.
• Cottage cheese, if laying hens is 3 eggs per month, then 3 grams per day, 9 eggs, then 5 grams, 15-20 eggs, then 10 grams.

Important to remember! That turkey nutrition should always be balanced, enriched with essential vitamins and microelements, feeding should always be done on time.

Mature turkey

Breeding turkeys on a personal backyard, subject to all the necessary measures for the care and rearing of young animals, will become a very interesting and profitable activity even for a novice farmer.

Maintain and raise a free-range turkey herd in summer and cellular content in winter will give a large number of large eggs and dietary meat, enriched with vitamins and various microelements. Recently, broiler breeds of turkeys, which are kept for fattening, are gaining popularity. They are not picky about food and are easy to maintain.

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 a large chest and a 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, place 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 chicks

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 that they can feast on the greens. Use vitamins and top dressing: 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 greens - 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 between 70 and 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 poults 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. According to the most common meat production technology used by many Russian farmers, young turkey poults should be kept in cages until they are eight weeks old, only then can they be 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... Lesion 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 payback of 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 determine the 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 the 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.

It is not for nothing that the farmers call the king's bird turkey poultry. Growing them at home has several advantages. Firstly, the turkey meat is dietary and extremely tasty, and secondly, the bird itself grows to an impressive size.

How to start growing turkey poults at home

There are several criteria by which poultry is selected for breeding. In appearance, healthy turkey poults differ from weak ones, which immediately catches the eye.

Healthy chicks are active, clean, responsive to sound and light, the down is dry, soft, with a uniform coverage of the entire body.

Any draft is contraindicated for chicks, which should be taken into account, first of all, upon delivery. It is advisable to prepare a place in advance, since the high-quality maintenance of turkey poults from the first day affects their condition and further development.

The cage where small turkeys are located should be warm, always dry and with the possibility of ventilation. It is best to install a pallet to make cleaning easier and cleaner for the chicks.

Such a dwelling is heated and illuminated with the help of ordinary and infrared lamps. After all, 3-5 day old turkeys, which are harder to grow at home than young ones, should be kept at a temperature of 33-35 degrees. When chicks are cool, they gather in heaps, try not to move, do not approach the stern, when it is hot, they can lie with open beaks and outstretched wings.

The lack of light and heat in the cage, even for the shortest period, threatens overcrowding and piling of turkeys one on top of another in search of warmth, which leads to rapid death. This is especially true for chicks from 4 to 7 days old.

There should always be a drinking bowl with clean water at room temperature and a food tray in the cage. Moreover, it is necessary to ensure that the poults do not get wet and do not trample the feed. Therefore, so that growing turkey poults at home for beginners does not seem troublesome and difficult, vacuum drinking bowls and trays with sides are recommended.

Starting from the 10th day of life, turkey poults can be transferred to a freer cage with a temperature of about 20 degrees and an open-air cage for walking in the fresh air.

Proper feeding and diet

The nutrition of the chicks is a very important point. At the initial stage, when growing turkey poults at home, the diet is a combined feed with the necessary vitamins, microelements, various natural additives.

Ready-made feed should not exclude the use of chicks, especially at the initial stage, mashed cottage cheese, steamed millet, boiled eggs. Turkey poults are happy to eat finely chopped greens (green onions, bum, nettles, carrot tops, clover).

For the prevention of intestinal diseases, drinking water may contain a small solution of manganese, and for better digestion, be sure to put a separate tray with fine gravel, shells and chalk.

In the early days, the risk of death associated with improper digestion is very high. If the turkey “froze” for a long time with his eyes closed, ruffled, drooped and dropped his feathers, then he has stomach problems. It is urgent to put a pea of ​​black pepper deeper into the beak.

In the first week, the turkey poults are poured with food every three hours, after that four meals a day are enough, with the obligatory addition of a mash to the diet.

Meshanka is a mixture of bran or chopped grains (millet, rolled oats, wheat) with herbs, sour milk. The mixture should always be fresh, crumbly and not sour. It should be given so much that the poults can cope with it within 15-20 minutes.

Starting from 1.5 months of age, turkey poults are fed only with dry food, herbs, finely chopped vegetables.

Knowing how to care for turkeys from the first days, providing them with correct and balanced nutrition, good living conditions, you can avoid unpleasant moments associated with diseases and death of chicks.

Features of walking turkey poults in an aviary

Growing poultry means having a special and free space for them to walk. Therefore, starting from 10-13 days of life, turkeys need to be released into fresh air.

For this lesson, an aviary should be equipped, fenced and covered with a net to protect against drafts and predators. It is better if the entire territory of the enclosure is sprinkled with sand or sawdust.

As with a pen, there should be water bowls and feed trays. Turkey poults, especially on warm, hot days, consume a lot of water, you need to monitor its amount.

In addition to feeders, place trays for gravel, shell, chalk in the aviary.

Heat also adversely affects the condition of the bird, they can refuse food, move little, and this leads to slow growth and weight gain. Therefore, the aviary should be equipped with several places with a canopy.

Turkey poults love to climb, take off on perches, which also need to be installed in the main pen and in the aviary.

Small home-grown turkey poults are afraid of dampness and moisture. Do not let them out into the fresh air through dew, as well as immediately after rain.

Features of temperature and light conditions

Little chicks need round-the-clock lighting. For this, the lamps are located at a distance of 1.5-2 meters from the location of the birds. In the early days, this is necessary for their full adaptation, finding feeders and trays with water.

If you arrange lamps with a blue or green tint, the bird will grow more actively. Also, for rapid growth, daylight hours, on the contrary, are extended. The use of fluorescent light bulbs will significantly reduce energy consumption.

With each day of growing up, daylight hours should decrease slightly, and eventually come down to 16 hours.

From birth, turkey poults do not know how to keep their body warm, and acquire such skills only by the age of two weeks. Ensuring correct thermoregulation is the main condition for successfully raising turkey poults at home.

For the first 4-5 days, the temperature in the house or cage should be kept at 33-35 degrees, and only after 10 days can it be gradually reduced to 22-20 degrees.

In this case, incandescent lamps are located at the edges of the heated room, and not in the center. Thus, the chicks will be able to choose a more comfortable place for themselves.

Heaters are never used to keep the cage warm, nor are they installed on the sides to avoid poultry crowding to the warmer edge.

Correct cultivation of turkey poults at home (there are plenty of videos on this topic on the Internet) provides for separate maintenance from other types of poultry, in order to exclude the transmission of infectious diseases.

Features of the behavior of turkey poults

Sometimes, among turkeys, there is such a phenomenon as cannibalism. It is expressed in the pecking of both its own body and the body of its relatives.

Causes:

• dry environment in the house, lack of water;
• poor maintenance, feather parasites, insects;
• improper diet, lack or excess of protein;
• adding new turkey poults to a group of birds.

When wounds, scratches, turkey poults appear on the skin, feeling itching, they peck at the diseased surface even more, which leads to deeper wounds and damage. For this reason, many young animals die.

To avoid this, you need to know how to raise turkey poults, protecting them from such a phenomenon.

Prevention methods:

• monitor a sufficient amount of fiber in the diet of turkey poults;
• avoid crowding, providing a good walking area;
• monitor the cleanliness of the room, carry out disinfection actions before moving in;
• add abrasive substances to grind down beaks;
• keep in a bright room, avoid bright aggressive colors;
• beak cutting - only as a last resort.

Sometimes, in order to avoid the spread of mass cannibalism, it is necessary to resettle or remove the most aggressive turkey poults.

Growing turkey poults at home is the most profitable and advantageous option, it is not easy, but it pays for itself quickly. By showing maximum attention to the chicks, especially in the first two weeks of their life, you can absolutely do without serious losses and, in the end, get tasty dietary meat.

Problems of growing turkey poults - video