You can say a lot about the benefits of this poultry meat, the percentage of proteins in it and the like. As well as discuss the features of growing turkeys, especially the difficulty in preserving young animals and other nuances. But if you summarize the opinions of specialized professionals and those engaged in breeding turkeys at home, the conclusion suggests itself - it is quite a profitable business, whoever and whatsoever said. How to properly organize it on your farmstead, what to consider - with all this help to understand the proposed article.
The author was faced with the fact that not everyone understands the difference in terms of turkey and turkey. Someone even believes that these are completely different, although related birds. In fact, these words are nothing more than synonyms, although their semantic load is really different. It so happened that everything, cooked from turkey, is called turkey. That is, with reference to a living individual, a turkey( turkey) is spoken, and a dish from its( her) meat is turkey. According to the classification, this bird belongs to the turkey family, but it is known to professionals.
Selection and arrangement of a place for cultivation
Turkey is a large bird, therefore it will not be possible to use an old chicken coop for breeding it. It will have to be remade or erect a new construction. This is someone as convenient. On what to navigate?
The number of individuals that are planned to start. In addition, for 1 turkey, you need at least 2 m² for a walk. Plus - a calculation for some perspective.
Nases, nests should also be large. The height of the first above the floor is of the order of 0.8 m. The length of the bars is determined depending on the size of the room, this is understandable. But how many do they need? Each turkey will need about half a meter of "personal space."That's what we should proceed from.
Drafts must be excluded completely - this bird does not like them. Therefore, a shed, knocked down from a board( plywood, particleboard boards), in which a lot of slots - for turkeys is not an option. I'll have to think about how and how to seal the room( read here about building a chicken coop).
For effective growing of a bird, regular air refreshing in the house is required. How to organize it - at the discretion of the owner. But the choice is, in principle, small. Or put a forced hood, or constantly open all the windows, doors for airing. The first option for turkeys is preferable, since in the winter time, artificial ventilation will not cause sudden temperature changes.
And if you still assemble the circuit with the elements of automation( there is nothing complicated), then there will not be any personal involvement of the turkey breeder in this process. As an option - to install a button to turn on the fan in an apartment building. This kind of remote control.
Temperature mode
For a turkey, + 18 ± 2 ºС is considered comfortable, without sharp fluctuations. The temperature can be lowered to -5( but short-term).As for places for hatching eggs, here the requirements are more stringent - not below +10 degrees. Why? With a decrease in temperature, the turkeys will instinctively settle for eggs to "save" them from the cold. As a result, the young will be early, and it is much more difficult to take care of it. And the risk of death of individual individuals is significantly increased. If the norm is not more than 2 per dozen, then in this case you can lose 4 and 6 turkeys out of 10.
The floor should be permanently dry. A simplified version is litter made of shavings, sawdust or straw. But if it is supposed all-the-year-round cultivation of turkeys, then it is necessary to arrange flooring from the boards. To prevent it from freezing, they are taken as thick as at least "ten".If necessary, a heater can be laid under the floor. The only thing to consider is that the material should not absorb liquid. It is chosen in relation to the local climate. Suitable and expanded clay, and penokleks. In the latter case, the heat insulator needs to be laid with a certain slope to ensure drainage.
Selecting the type of turkeys
It is advisable to ask which turkeys should be grown in their region. But many experts advise paying attention to elite breeds, such as "Big 6( or 9)", "Universal", "BYuT 8".Such males gain weight of about 20 kg in just 4 - 4.5 months. And females do not lag behind them - up to 12 kg. The profitability of such a "home" production of turkey meat is estimated at least 50%.More than attractive, especially for beginners.
Care for turkeys
If adults do not require close attention, then babies need constant attention.
Content features:
- 1 feeder - for about fifty children.
- Put turkeys in one enclosure with the youngest of other poultry is impossible - only separately. It is necessary to understand why. The sight of turkeys, to put it mildly, is rather weak. If their young animals are kept with any other, it is not a fact that the turkeys will get anything from the feed. They are simply eaten by those that are more jovial. For example, chickens.
- In the first days the temperature in the sector of their placement is not less than +36 ºС.It is recommended to lower it daily to gradually bring it to the level of 26-27. But how much, the question is interesting. Here it is impossible to give an exact advice. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly monitor the behavior of children. If, for example, they do not experience discomfort at a decrease of 1.5-2 degrees at a time( and this immediately becomes noticeable), then everything is in order. But more significant temperature changes should not be done - turkeys, even adults, are quite sensitive to this.
Feeding characteristics of turkeys
For the first two or three weeks, it is recommended to feed juveniles with compound feed. Why them? In this case, you do not have to think about any additives, since everything necessary for the normal development of turkey in this food already exists. For the baby, fodder "PC-11", "Start" and similar in composition are perfectly suitable.
You can feed the same as chickens. But then you have to think about what else to bring to the feed. Turkey needs a little more protein, vitamins, fats and carbohydrates. Therefore, it will be necessary or additional to purchase special mixtures, or prepare them yourself. It is clear that the latter is much more difficult and for beginner poultry farmers is unacceptable. In the absence of practical experience, the dosage of components is unlikely to be met exactly.
In the first week of life, the turkey periodicity of their feeding is 3 hours, at least.
Food for babies is placed in small containers with low sides( for example, cardboard covers from shoe boxes).But the "dishes" must necessarily be made of soft material. The turkey has a tender beak, and if they are given food in a container made of clay, glass or similar, this can lead to damage to the beak. The turkey should not lack food. But it is not necessary to get involved in its abundance, as the period of suitability of mixed fodder is up to 3 days. All that is underfed should be thrown away.
Water for drinking
It must also be constantly, freely available. But necessarily cool( warm kids can refuse to drink) and absolutely clean. Here it is necessary to closely monitor this. The slightest contamination of water or the body of a drinking bowl initiates the development of various infections, and this for turkeys can have the most harmful consequences.
Care for adult turkeys
The basic care requirements are noted in item 1.What else should be considered?
- Dosage of feed for 1 specimen is based on the calculation of kilograms of weight: for males - 2.9;for the female - 2,6.From the age of 2 weeks turkeys can gradually add greens to their food. Especially useful for them are the leaves of nettle and dandelion, corn groats, green onions. By the way, this bird with pleasure consumes and dairy products - curdled milk, cottage cheese( to give only fat-free).
- Poultry should be daily. Constant finding in cramped conditions is fraught with obesity of turkeys.
- When organizing free space it must be fenced. Turkey turkey hunts to various greens and insects. The last for the owner does not matter, but if the bird goes to the garden, the problems with planting will be, and very serious.
Some remarks
- The recommended age for slaughtering a bird( days): males - about 125-130, females - about 105. By this time they are gaining a good weight.
- Since the turkey in terms of morbidity is in the "risk zone", you need to have at hand all you need, at least for the provision of primary care. Especially if the vet / clinic is far away. In this case, the owner himself unwillingly becomes a "treating doctor".What medicines( preparations) may be needed is a separate topic, but before proceeding with the purchase of turkeys, this issue should be investigated in detail!
- Do not forget about the need for regular disinfection turkey. This bird likes to walk( when the weather allows), so the house is empty most of the day and there should not be any problems with disinfection.
- Young turkeys by nature - "gulena".Someone may not return after a walk, but go "on their own business."They need to be recalculated constantly( driving home).
- If turkeys are prone to "air travel"( this happens quite often), then their wings are cut off or the freedom of movement is limited by installing the grid over the paddock.
