North Caucasian turkeys: varieties and characteristics of the breed, breeding

Turkeys of the North Caucasian breed belong to the meat direction and are one of the largest varieties of poultry. They are popular in private households due to their precocity and rapid weight gain. The resulting turkey has a low fat content and is valued as a dietary product. The birds are adapted to grazing and indoor keeping and look impressive due to their unusual color.

History of the breed

The North Caucasian turkey first appeared in 1946 in the Stavropol Territory. The broiler look was obtained as a result of crossing the American breed of broad-breasted bronze and local turkeys.The new breed adopted the fleshiness from foreign ancestors. The genes of domestic poultry have made broilers resistant to cold and unpretentious care. Wide-breasted turkeys are only suitable for indoor keeping, while Stavropol hybrids can be released on pasture.

The breed was officially recognized in 1964, became popular in the North Caucasus, in the southern regions of Russia, and also interested foreign breeders. Birds were purchased by farms in Bulgaria, Germany and Central Asia.

Characteristics and description of birds

External features of the North Caucasian turkeys:

large body expanding towards the sternum;
raised chest muscles;
powerful wings tightly fitting to the body;
strong long legs;
a small head on a neck of medium length is covered with red coral growths.

Females differ from males in a smaller size and a small growth above the beak. The age of turkeys can be recognized by their paws - in older individuals they brighten. The growths on the head serve as an indicator of mood. Corals darken in restless birds.

Productivity Metrics:

the weight of an adult turkey is 13-14 kilograms;
turkey weight - 7 kilograms;
weight turkey at 4 months - 4 kilograms;
egg production of one female per year - 75-80 eggs;
fertility is over 90 percent;
chick survival rate is 80-90 percent.

Turkey poults are ready for slaughter at 5-6 months. Sexual maturity of birds occurs at 9 months.

Varieties

North Caucasian turkeys are distinguished by color: white, bronze and silver.

White

Three subspecies are distinguished by productivity:

heavyweight - 35 kilograms;
medium - 16 kilograms;
light - 10 kilograms.

Pros and consneat appearance of the carcass after slaughter and plucking;high egg production of turkeys - 100 eggs per year.plumage quickly gets dirty.

The breed is used in breeding work. When keeping snow-white turkeys, you need to especially carefully monitor the cleanliness in the house.

Bronze

A distinctive feature of the breed is the golden hue of feathers with a green tint. The dark plumage looks stiff and from a distance resembles a shiny shell, decorated with a wide tail-fan.

Pros and consbeautiful exterior;high fatness.maternal instinct is less developed than in other varieties.

Bronze turkeys are distinguished by strong immunity and high survival rate of chicks. Adult birds gain 22 kilograms. The breed is often grown on private farms. An incubator will be required to hatch the chicks.

Silver

The breed is distinguished by colored plumage and white fluff. The body constitution of birds is the same as in other varieties: broad chest and back, heaviness, strong wings and legs.

Pros and consthe highest egg production - 110 eggs per year;beautiful plumage does not get dirty;carcasses look presentable.inferior in mass to white and bronze relatives.

The average weight of silver turkeys is 15 kilograms.

Pros and cons of North Caucasian turkeys

Pros and consprecocity;fast weight gain;high survival rate of offspring;adaptability to warm and temperate climates;strong immunity;versatility by type of content;preservation of productivity when crossing with other breeds;high quality dietary meat.inferior in weight to broad-chested American turkeys;unpresentable appearance of a plucked carcass.

The proportion of fat in North Caucasian turkey is 8 percent. After slaughter, 58 percent of the carcass weight goes to sale.The advantage of the breed is a calm character. North Caucasian turkeys live in a herd and tolerate keeping in a confined space well. Bronze turkeys appear black when plucked due to their dark plumage.

Rules of maintenance and care

Brick or wooden building is suitable for breeding North Caucasian turkeys. Optimum planting density per square meter:

five day old chicks - 15;
two-month-old turkeys - 10;
young birds from four months - 5.

One square meter is enough for two adult birds. But a smaller area will already lead to conflicts. North Caucasian turkeys are kept outside in the summer and indoors in the winter.

Requirements for the arrangement of the poultry house:

optimal temperature - +17 degrees;
lighting - natural and artificial;
humidity - 60 percent;
ventilation - for ventilation in winter, an exhaust hood is installed, in summer a window is opened;
litter - peat, sawdust, straw.

North Caucasian turkeys will survive in temperatures below five degrees Celsius, but will stop gaining weight and laying. The litter is changed at least once every ten days and loosened every day.

Poultry equipment:

feeders - round hanging, separate for different types of feed;
drinkers - cup or nipple systems are bird-friendly, water does not splash on the litter;
perches with trays underneath to collect droppings.

In the summer, next to the poultry house, they enclose a grass-sown area for walking. Birds gain mass faster in the fresh air. The fence is made of metal mesh 2.5 meters high.

It is useful for turkeys to bathe in ashes to prevent skin parasites. In winter, basins of ash are placed in the poultry house, and in summer they are taken out to the walking area.

Meeting plan

Feeding hatched chicks start with boiled finely chopped eggs. On the third day they are given cottage cheese and wheat porridge. From the fourth day, turkeys can be fed with starter feed softened in meat or fish broth. Wet talker is also prepared with cottage cheese, soybean meal. In the second week of life, boiled potatoes, carrots, bone meal and chopped herbs are added to the mash.

Approximate calf diet:

Corn374033 Wheat Barley Peas -Soybean meal 99 3.55 8 5 Herbal (alfalfa) flour3 57Loose chalk, crushed limestone or shell0.45 1.7 -

Component	Percent by age
Component	1-2 months	2-4 months	5-6 months

-	18	10
-	-	35
7	-
	-		Feed yeast
5	3,3		Meat and bone meal
5	1,4		Dry reverse or milk
-	-

1,9		S alt	-
0.4

In the diet of adult turkeys, the proportion of barley is reduced to twenty percent and fodder yeast is added. Laying hens are given dairy products, fish and meat and bone meal.

Reproduction methods

North Caucasian turkeys breed naturally. There is one male for every 10 females. The natural way of reproduction is traumatic for females. Males are twice as heavy and hurt them with their claws. Therefore, farmers choose medium-sized turkeys for breeding and cut their claws. In poultry farms, artificial insemination is more often used. But both methods give equally high results.

For incubation, choose large eggs with even shells. One mother hen incubates 15 eggs. Chicks begin to break through the shell on the 25th day.

Frequent diseases

Common diseases of turkeys:

enteritis - accompanied by diarrhea, difficulty swallowing, lack of appetite and lethargy;
cannibalism - manifested in aggressive behavior, birds peck at weak relatives.

Sick turkeys are isolated from the flock. Enteritis is treated with antibiotics and the freshness of feed is monitored. Aggressive individuals are given more bone meal and meat waste mixed in the broth.

Diseases dangerous for adult birds:

histomonosis - parasites in the intestines, internal organs, muscles;
aspergillosis - a fungal infection of the respiratory tract;
coccidiosis is the spread of coccidia bacteria in the intestines and liver.

Unhe althy birds refuse food, become lethargic. With the development of a fungus in the respiratory tract, turkeys stretch their necks, throw their heads back. With worms and bacterial damage to the intestines, birds lose weight and suffer from diarrhea with green or bloody impurities.

Infections are treated with antibiotics at the first signs of illness. But diseases in the acute phase often lead to the death of birds in a day or two. Therefore, it is important to carry out prevention - vaccinate chicks, disinfect the poultry house and protect turkeys from contact with wild birds.