Growing turkeys at home from 1 day for meat for beginners

Cultivation of turkeys for meat is a profitable additional income for owners of private houses. There are breeds that quickly gain weight and are unpretentious in care. On farms, grown turkeys are taken for seasonal cultivation for meat or hatched at home from eggs from the 1st day of life. For permanent breeding, several females and a male are left. In this case, an insulated poultry house and an incubator will be required to keep the birds.

Features of meat birds

Turkeys are often equated with chickens, ducks and geese. But there are fundamental differences in behavior and content:

• birds get depressed, they have bouts of rabies;
• males are twice as heavy as females;
• meat turkeys have a higher need for a balanced vitamin diet due to rapid weight gain;
• despite their power and length, legs are the weak point of meat breeds. For the proper development of bones and tarsus, they need movement. Deficiency of vitamins D3 and B, hypervitaminosis A, dark room and dirty bedding lead to leg diseases, oppression of birds and spoilage of meat;
• during breeding there is a problem of early mortality. Turkey poults do not have enough strength to break through the shell, and young animals sometimes have no appetite;
• Turkey stomach acidity is higher than that of chickens. The environment in their digestive tract is favorable for the development of bacteria. Therefore, histomonosis is typical for birds - inflammation of the stomach and caecum.

The duration of fattening is affected by the puberty of meat turkeys. Females are slaughtered at 17 weeks. Later, fat is deposited in their body, which is necessary for the formation of the yolk in the eggs. Males are prepared for slaughter at the 20th or 25th week of life.

Meat turkeys are not typical representatives of the domestic fauna. Their homeland is North America. Only Russian hybrids are adapted to life in a temperate and southern climate.

Choice of meat breed

Meat turkeys are divided into three types:

• heavyweight - weigh 35 kilograms;
• medium - 20 kilograms;
• light - 15 kilograms.

Medium and light weight turkeys can be kept in cages or perches. Heavyweights are fattened only on the litter. Early maturing crosses are suitable for fattening. In private farms, the following breeds are chosen for breeding:

• broad-breasted white;
• North Caucasian bronze;
• hybrid converter;
• bronze 708.

Big-6 cross turkeys are suitable for seasonal fattening. They are fattened for no longer than five months. Over the summer, birds gain 10 kilograms. A high rate of mass gain is also noted in Victoria crosses - by the 20th week they weigh 15 kilograms.

Advantages and disadvantages of breeding

Pros of keeping meat turkeys:

• meat and eggs are valued more than chicken;
• Food and house setup pay off in the first season;
• forming a turkey family saves money to buy chicks in the spring.

Cons:

• veterinarian's permission is required to sell products;
• turkey poults need vaccination;
• necessary to carefully select the diet for birds;
• weakness of hatchery chicks.

Turkeys are more sensitive to vitamin deficiencies. Avitaminosis turns into their diseases and unsuitability for fattening. But the problem of balanced nutrition for birds is solved with the help of compound feed.

Productivity and purpose

Breeds of turkeys belong to two agricultural areas:

• egg - from one female they receive 110-180 eggs per year, there are 10-15 pieces in the clutch, the weight of turkeys is 7-8 kilograms;
• meat - egg production - 80-100 eggs per year, females weigh 9 kilograms, males - 15-20 kilograms.

Egg breeds have early puberty and are ready to be laid for the first time at 7 months. Meat-oriented turkeys grow rapidly, gaining half their mass by four months and are ready for slaughter at six months.

Requirements for maintenance and care at home

Turkeys are considered unpretentious birds. But in the feeding and maintenance of meat breeds, there are features associated with the large size and weight of birds.

Room and walking

Meat turkeys are contained in two ways:

• on the range - the birds spend the day on the pasture, which allows you to save on feed and get high quality meat;
• in a cage - includes a short daily walk, plant food is required;
• on the floor - turkeys move freely around the house.

When rearing birds year-round, floor and pasture rearing are combined. In winter, meat turkeys are kept in a warm room, and in summer they are released to graze.

Beginner tips for building a poultry house:

• optimal temperature for turkeys - +17-22 degrees;
• permissible air humidity - 60 percent. To avoid dampness, the floor of the poultry house is raised 40 centimeters above the ground, the gaps are closed;
• indoors you need to maintain fresh air, open a window for ventilation or install an exhaust hood. Ammonia fumes accumulate in a stuffy room, poisoning birds;
• the floor is covered with peat, straw or sawdust. In summer, a thin layer of fine sand or gravel is poured;
• for dry and wet food, separate round feeders are hung at the level of the turkey's head;
• to keep the litter dry, put cup or nipple drinkers - birds do not spill water and drink as much as they need;
• for light and medium-weight rocks, perches are installed - horizontal wooden rounded planks are fixed between two walls. Containers are placed under the perches to collect manure, which is used as fertilizer, as well as dirty bedding;
• to raise chicks in the corners put high cardboard boxes with sawdust at the bottom - nests for hens.

The cages are placed in 2-3 tiers, so that it is convenient to clean them and get the birds. Each cage is equipped with an individual feeder and drinker, which are fixed on the door. For walking next to the poultry house, a pen is separated and fenced with a metal mesh 2.5 meters high.

The area of the corral and premises is calculated based on the large size of fattened birds - no more than two per square meter. In the corral and indoors, turkeys are provided with basins of ashes for bathing.

Climate

For meat turkeys, overheating is fatal. Therefore, the temperature in the room should not be increased above 30 degrees. Above the corral, you need to make a canopy and equip a walking area in the shade of trees. At low temperatures, the weight gain of birds decreases and feed consumption increases. If the turkey poults huddle together in a dense flock, then the room needs additional heating.

Wintering birds

Turkeys are kept only in a heated room. Frost and dampness are fatal even for breeds with high immunity.

In winter, the litter is laid in a 30 cm layer, loosened every day and changed at least once every 10 days. The daylight hours of birds should last 14 hours, so lamps should be installed in the house for additional lighting in winter.

In sunny weather and light frost, turkeys are released for a walk around the pen, after removing the snow.

Puberty and breeding

Maturity of meat turkeys occurs at 8-9 months. Heavy breeds require artificial insemination. Medium and light breeds breed on their own, so they are more often chosen for home breeding. The turkey family consists of ten females and one male. Manufacturers choose a turkey that is equal in size to turkeys.

Natural

One turkey can hatch 15 eggs. Embryos mature within 28 days. Mothers watch the chicks in the first month of life: they teach them to walk, look for food and water. During this period, it is important to monitor the dryness of the litter and the heat in the house. Chicks are sensitive to drafts.

Hatching

To breed chicks in the incubator, choose large smooth eggs of the correct shape. Turkey poults also appear 28 days later. But they begin to hatch on the 25th day. If it is difficult for them to break into the light, pieces of the shell are broken off with tweezers, being careful not to injure the chick.

In the incubator, 37.8 degrees of heat is set in the first days, in the middle of the term it is reduced to 37.5 degrees.By the 25th day, the temperature is maintained at 35 degrees. Hatched chicks are seated in cardboard boxes with straw and kept in a warm room at a temperature of +30 degrees.

Secrets of fattening for meat

The diet of meat turkeys is based on cereals, boiled vegetables and herbs. The proportion of components in the diet is increased or decreased for birds of different ages and purposes.

Turkeys

Feeding chicks from the first days lays the foundation for their he althy development. In the first two days, turkeys are fed with a boiled egg, pounded in cottage cheese with wheat porridge. Then wet mixtures are prepared from meat or fish broth with the addition of soybean meal, eggs and cottage cheese.

From the first month of life, the diet of birds includes cereals, boiled potatoes and carrots. The percentage of ingredients is shown in the table:

1-2 months2-4 monthsCorn3740Wheat -18Peas Soybean meal 9Feed yeast 3.5 8 Dry reverse or milk5 -Herbal (alfalfa) flour3 5

Product	Percentage by age
7	-
9
5		Meat and bone meal
5

As a mineral supplement, turkeys are given s alt. Birds also need to replace the hard shells of insects and snails - crushed shells.

Adults

The basis of the diet of meat turkeys is wheat, barley and oats, as well as juicy grass and vegetables. In the wild, birds fed on insects, snails, plant seeds, cereals, and weeds. They like the bitterness of wormwood, yarrow and gentian, and beech cones are a treat.

Bitter plants and hard shells of beetles reduce the acidity of the stomach and stimulate appetite, which sometimes disappears in closed birds. The secret to a he althy adult turkey appetite is spices in the diet. Pepper, green and onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, anise have a beneficial effect on the mood of birds. The meat of turkeys that have spent the summer in the pasture has a more beautiful color and good taste.

Feeding during breeding season

In the diet of turkeys, before laying eggs, add cottage cheese, fish and meat and bone meal to saturate the body with calcium. Otherwise, due to a deficiency of a microelement, the formation of the egg shell will be disrupted or laying hens will peck it.

Producer males are not fattened, so they are given less barley. Emphasis is placed on juicy green food and boiled root crops - sources of vitamins.

Slaughter fattening

The peculiarity of meat turkey nutrition is the concentrated content of nutrients that contribute to weight gain.

Intensive fattening is carried out from the age of four months. The main share of the diet is barley, oats, wheat and corn. When grazing on pasture, preference is given to alfalfa fields or planting a crop in a walking area.

Is it profitable to grow turkeys for meat

The sale of home-produced turkey is considered a profitable business for the following reasons:

• meat is in demand due to its beneficial properties;
• extra income comes from selling eggs.

Beginning breeders are advised to start by buying twenty chicks and rearing seasonally to gain experience. The proceeds from the sale of the first batch of meat will be used to buy new birds next year.

When growing the second shift of turkeys, you can correct mistakes in feeding and keeping, and in the fall leave a few females and a male for breeding. With a gradual increase in livestock and proper maintenance, income will also increase.

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