Turkey bronze: breed description and characteristics, growing at home

Bronze turkeys are broilers. Their feature is a dark shiny plumage with a metallic sheen. Farmers value bronze turkeys for their high meat productivity and egg production. With a balanced diet, the average weight gain per month is 1.5-2 kilograms. There are two varieties that differ in cultivation features.

Origin of the breed

Bronze turkeys were first bred in the 20th century in the US, which is why they are called American broad-chested. The selection used African and Norfolk turkeys.The breeders were faced with the task of bringing out a productive breed for industrial breeding. They succeeded: American bronze turkeys are gaining weight well, the breed is characterized by high egg production. But birds are only suitable for indoor keeping.

Domestic breeders continued the work of their American colleagues and improved the breed. In the North Caucasus, bronze turkeys appeared, adapted to growing on a pasture. The largest and fastest hybrids of the local and American bronze breed participated in the selection selection.

North Caucasian turkeys with bronze plumage are among the achievements of Russian breeding. The breed was registered in 1956 and is distributed in Central Asia and southern Russia.

Description of bronze turkeys

American broad-breasted turkeys stand out with plumage:

• on the neck - a brilliant bronze shade;
• on the back - a similar color, with a black transverse stripe at the end of each feather;
• on the chest - dark bronze;
• on the sides - black with a bronze sheen;
• on the shoulders - with a greenish tinge;
• wings - dark brown, with white, gray stripes across;
• tail - black, with light stripes and edge.

The large and heavy body of bronze broad-chested turkeys supports strong legs. The age of the birds is determined by the color of the paws: black - in young animals, light flesh, pink - in mature, old birds. The unfeathered part of the head is covered with white growths-corals. A long nasal growth hangs from the beak.

In the plumage of the North Caucasian turkeys, there are brighter bronze-green shades. The feathers on the body are shiny, and the tail is matte.

The external differences of domestic turkeys also include:

• elongated body, widening towards the sternum;
• less massive chest;
• red coral growths on the head.

Common in the appearance of the American and North Caucasian breeds are a wide massive body and a small head, long wings and a fan-shaped tail. An interesting feature of the domestic variety is that the red growths turn blue when the birds are alarmed.

General characteristics

Bronze turkeys are a highly productive meat breed.

The weight gain rate of varieties is shown in the following weight table:

4 months6.659 months 11-208-18

Age	Weight in kilograms
	American	North Caucasian
3 months	4,4	4

Birds fed at a poultry farm gain weight up to thirty kilograms. Turkeys in private farms rarely reach their maximum weight. Adult males outweigh females by 10 kilograms. Bronze turkeys lay 55-70 eggs per season. The survival rate of turkeys is 70 percent. Egg fertility is 90 percent. Females start laying at nine months old.

Main positives and negatives

Benefits of bronze turkey breeds:

• high meat productivity;
• good egg production;
• strong immunity;
• precocity;
• high survival rate of chicks;
• unpretentious content.

Flaws:

• sensitivity to drafts and dampness;
• birds gain a lot of weight if they are properly fed;
• an unbalanced diet leads to leg deformities in chicks.

It is necessary to distinguish between American and North Caucasian turkeys, since the former cannot be kept on free pasture. Birds of the domestic variety gain less weight. The bronze broad-breasted turkey looks unpresentable after slaughter because of the black plumage.

Rules for keeping and caring for birds

Bronze turkeys of foreign and domestic varieties require approximately the same conditions of detention. The differences relate to the arrangement of the poultry house. American broad-breasted turkeys are kept without walking, so ventilation must be provided in the room.

Construction of premises

Optimal house conditions:

• temperature +17 degrees and above;
• low humidity;
• natural and artificial lighting.

Successful growing at home depends on the correct calculation of the size of the room. When fattening, four three-month-old chicks or two adults are placed per square meter. How to set up a poultry house:

• build walls from bricks and insulate from inside chipboard;
• carefully seal gaps;
• lay self-leveling floor;
• install hoods and heating;
• equip nests for hens.

The floor of the house is covered with a thick layer of peat, straw, hay or sawdust. The litter is loosened every day and changed every 10 days. Despite the heavy weight, perches must be installed for turkeys.To make it convenient to remove the litter, pallets are placed under the perches. Duration of daylight hours for high productivity of turkeys - 14 hours. Therefore, it is necessary to install lamps for additional illumination of the poultry house in winter.

Installation of feeders and drinkers

Stainless steel hopper feeders are used to feed bronze turkeys. They are hung in the center of the room so that all the birds can come up. Separate dishes are allocated for dry and wet food. Uneaten leftovers are removed and the feeders are washed. Vacuum drinkers are installed for turkey poults, and cups for adult birds. Nipple drinkers are considered the most hygienic.

Walking area

A walking paddock is being set up for indoor birds. From the room make an exit to the area fenced with a grid in the fresh air. The land is sown with grass. Turkeys are let out for an hour a day. Also for birds put containers with ashes for bathing. In the summer, North Caucasian turkeys can be grown on grazing - released on a lawn with field herbs during the day, and driven into a poultry house in the evening.

What to feed bronze turkeys?

Intensive poultry farming is practiced on compound feed. The finished mixture contains cereals, vegetables, vitamins and stimulants that provide an optimal balance of substances in the body and a quick weight gain. When growing bronze turkeys for personal needs, breeders independently prepare a feed mixture from cereals. Fresh herbs and vegetables must be added to the diet. The main share is protein, which is contained in grain concentrates. Birds get fiber and vitamins from plants and vegetables.

Wet food is prepared for turkey poults - grains and vegetables are kneaded in meat or fish broth.

Young Animal Nutrition:

• 1-2 days - chopped boiled eggs, fat-free cottage cheese, small oatmeal;
• 3-10 days - chopped clover and alfalfa, nettles scalded with boiling water;
• 11-30 days - crushed grain is added instead of eggs; start at two grams per individual and increase to thirty grams by one month of age.

In the second month of life, turkeys are given 5 grams of cake per day. Also grown chicks like green onion feathers. Turkeys drink half a liter of water a day. From the tenth day after birth, young animals are given a weak solution of manganese to drink twice a week to prevent intestinal diseases. Turkey poults and adult birds are fed three times a day, and laying hens four times. Wet mixtures are given in the morning, and dry mixtures in the afternoon and evening.

Mature turkey diet:

• barley;
• wheat;
• corn;
• sunflower meal;
• peas;
• boiled chopped vegetables - potatoes, carrots, beets;
• wheat bran;
• feed yeast;
• meat and bone meal;
• sprouted barley and oats.

Green fodder will replace silage in winter. Chalk and s alt are given as mineral additives. Bronze turkeys, like all poultry, need solids for digestion - fine gravel, crushed eggshells or shells.

Subtleties of breeding

In small farms, birds are kept together, there is one male for 15 females. In large poultry farms, chicks are raised together until the sixth week of life, and then sorted by sex. When kept together, grown males arrange fights.

Medium-sized turkeys are chosen as producers, as a too heavy male can crush the female.In poultry farms, fertilization is carried out artificially. North Caucasian and American broad-breasted turkeys are bred within the breed. The productive period of turkey-producers is 4 years. Bronze turkeys are distinguished by precocity. But with constant lighting, egg production occurs 1.5 months earlier. Females lay eggs 5-9 months a year. The weight of a turkey egg is 90-100 grams.

Turkeys incubate their own masonry and planted eggs of ducks and chickens. Best of all, the incubation instinct is developed in two-year-old hens. Chicks hatch 28 days after clutch formation. It is difficult for newborn turkeys to break through the shell. Therefore, you need to carefully break off the pieces in the place of the chip. The hatched chicks are placed in a hen. Turkeys take care of their offspring for a month: they keep them warm, teach them to walk and get food.

Bird slaughter

Bronze turkeys are slaughtered at 4 months and turkeys at 5-6 months. Further fattening and maintenance do not pay off. The readiness of birds for slaughter is also determined by body weight.The optimal weight is 12 kilograms. But they usually focus on age, since there is a chance that the turkey will still gain weight. Later, the mass gain stops. Birds eat more food, but do not get heavier.

Diseases and their treatment

Bronze breeds of turkeys have strong immunity. But if the rules of hygiene in the poultry house are not followed, an unbalanced diet and lack of vaccinations, the birds become vulnerable to infections.

Common diseases:

• tuberculosis - carried by blood-sucking insects, leads to the death of livestock, makes meat and eggs unsuitable for sale;
• mycoplasmosis - a fungal infection of the respiratory tract develops in birds as a result of high humidity in the house, feeding spoiled vegetables and grains, treated with antibiotics;
• pox is an incurable disease of the skin, transmitted from sick birds to he althy ones, can completely destroy the livestock;
• coccidiosis is a bacterial infection transmitted through water, food and droppings;
• typhoid - also transmitted from sick birds, treated with antibiotics at the initial stage;
• histomoniasis - transmitted to turkeys from chickens, geese through bird contact or settling in a poultry house without prior antiseptic treatment.

The most common disease that occurs in all types of poultry is a parasitic infection. Turkeys become infected with worms through water from reservoirs, grass from swampy areas.

As a result of improper feeding, turkeys develop beriberi, enteritis. The lack of fresh air and light in the room causes a lack of vitamin D. Therefore, even when keeping the birds indoors, you need to let them out for a short walk.

Without vitamin A, turkeys become weak and lose their feathers. To replenish the substance in the diet, you need to add carrots. For the prevention of beriberi, ready-made mineral supplements - premixes are added to the feed for chicks and adult birds.

Unhe althy birds experience the following symptoms:

• lack of appetite;
• diarrhea with green or red impurities;
• apathy;
• reduced egg production;
• temperature increase;
• mucous discharge from the nose, eyes;
• shortness of breath.

Sick individuals are removed and a veterinarian is called. It is not recommended to treat birds on your own, as this can lead to an outbreak of a dangerous disease. Bacterial infections develop quickly and have similar symptoms. A veterinarian can accurately determine the disease. In case of detection of typhus, smallpox or tuberculosis, it will be necessary to destroy sick birds, and keep the rest of the livestock in quarantine.To prevent infections, the walls of the house are covered with slaked lime, and the dishes are treated with antibacterial agents once a month.

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