Proper raising of turkeys. Home business: raising turkeys at home for beginners. Raising turkeys for meat

People who live in the private sector and have a small plot of land often wonder what kind of birds can be raised on the plot. One of the most attractive options is raising turkeys at home. With the right approach, this is a fairly profitable and low-cost business, and the output is environmentally friendly dietary meat, so there will be no difficulties with sales.

Advantages of turkey over other poultry

Turkey is one of the largest poultry; with proper rearing of turkeys at home, males of some breeds reach a weight of 25-30 kg, females reach a weight of 10-12 kg. Turkey meat is not inferior in taste to chicken, but it is dietary and less likely to cause allergies. Eggs are also suitable for food; some gourmets prefer them to chicken eggs.

An adult turkey is unpretentious, can live in the open air, tolerates even negative temperatures, feeds on pasture, grows quickly and gains weight. In addition, the turkey is an excellent hen; if favorable conditions are created, it can hatch 2-3 broods of chicks per season.
However, there is an opinion that raising a turkey is a very difficult and troublesome task, and the chicks need care like little children. In this article we will tell you in detail everything about turkeys: breeding, growing and caring for business at home.

Raising turkeys at home from scratch

If you decide to start raising turkeys at home, first of all you need to decide on the breed of birds. When choosing a breed, you should pay attention to factors such as endurance and adaptability to your climate, egg production, hatching ability, average body weight of an adult bird and the taste of the meat. In Russia and the CIS countries the following breeds are most common: bronze broad-chested, white broad-chested, Moscow white, Moscow bronze, North Caucasian bronze, as well as their hybrids.
For beginners, raising turkeys at home is quite a troublesome task, so it is better to choose the most unpretentious breed that is adapted to your climatic conditions. Next season you can experiment with other breeds.

There are two ways to get turkeys:

• Buy an adult family. To begin with, it will be enough to purchase 1 turkey and 3-5 turkeys. It is better to do this in the middle of winter, so that the bird has time to adapt by the beginning of the first egg laying (early spring). The bird must be strong, healthy and young (8-10 months). A turkey usually lays up to 30 eggs and hatches about 15 chicks. The remaining eggs can be hatched using an incubator, if you decide to sell the birds for meat or start selling chicks, or sell them. In free conditions, a turkey can lay up to 200 eggs in one season.

The process of hatching chicks is quite troublesome, but the presence of a hen makes subsequent care of the turkey chicks very easy.

• Buy chicks. In this case, you can choose both day-old and grown-up birds. It is important to buy chicks only from a reliable supplier. Turkey poults must be strong, clean and dry, well coated.

Premises requirements

An adult turkey is an unpretentious bird; it does not need a warm room or expensive feed. But the chick, in the first weeks of life, needs special care. Before you start raising turkeys at home for business, you need to organize a warm poultry house and a place for walking.
In the first 2 weeks of life, chicks need a room temperature of at least 30 degrees and air humidity of about 73%. Chicks have very poor eyesight, so the house needs to be well lit, and feeders and drinkers should be placed in the brightest places. Often the chicks are placed in a box, and a table lamp is placed above it, this makes them warm and light. At first, the light in the house should be on around the clock; by 3-4 weeks, the duration of daylight hours should be gradually reduced to 12-14 hours.

To raise healthy birds, you need a dry, clean and spacious house. The size of the room should be approximately 0.5 square meters. m. per bird. To ensure that turkey poults do not suffer from small predators such as rats, you should ensure that there are no cracks in the floor, walls and ceiling of the room. The floor in the room should be hard, preferably wooden. Turkey poults require bedding that needs to be turned periodically (at least once a day). It is best to use hay, chopped straw or corn stalks as bedding material; the optimal layer thickness is 10-15 cm.

Many novice poultry farmers believe that it is good to use dry sawdust as bedding. In fact, turkey poults can peck at such litter, which will lead to digestive disorders and diseases of the chicks.

For an adult turkey in a poultry house, you need to build perches at a height of 90-100 cm from the floor level. They should be strong, smooth and non-slip so that the turkey can sit on them comfortably. The thickness of the perch should be approximately 5-6 cm.

How to choose a place for walking

The turkey tends to be obese, so it needs plenty of room to roam. For chicks, at least 1 square meter is usually recommended. m. for 5 pieces, for an adult bird - 1 sq. m per piece.

On the walking area, you need to provide a shaded area in case of heat, and place drinking bowls throughout the area. But the feeders should be in one specific place so that the turkeys get used to returning to the feeding place at the end of the day.

Young animals can go quite far from home, therefore, if turkey poults are raised without a brood hen, the walking area must be fenced off. Otherwise, you will have to look for the chicks for a long time. An older bird also walks far from home, but in the evening returns to its roosting site.
One of the biggest problems for poultry farmers is predators. Turkey chicks can be harmed by cats, dogs, foxes, crows, kites, etc. A fenced area will also help protect chicks from predators. For an adult turkey, the height of the fence should be about 2 m. For turkey poults, you can use cages constructed of metal mesh.

Turkey nutrition and feeding

To raise healthy turkeys at home, it is very important to choose the right feeders and diet. In the first 10-14 days, it is better to use starter complete feed for chicks. An adult eats about 260 g of food per day, a male eats 350 g per day. Per day, one turkey should eat 120 grams of grain, 50 grams of dirt, 40 grams of bran, 400 grams of green and succulent feed, 35 grams of grass meal, 5 grams of meat and bone meal, 10 grams of chalk and 2 grams of salt and gravel.

From the first days of life, it is very important to add green food to the diet; they contain many vitamins and microelements. At first, chopped green onions and nettles are added to the feed, later - herbs such as knotweed, clover, alfalfa, wheatgrass, etc. Low-fat cottage cheese and other fermented milk products can be added to turkey poults. From 2 weeks, meat and fish waste, boiled into hard-boiled eggs, dried and crushed eggshells.
An adult bird is unpretentious in food. It feeds mainly on grain, grass and insects, including the Colorado potato beetle. Separately, turkeys need to place containers with sand or crushed shells.

Chicks have very weak beaks, so at first it is better to cover the feeders with a cloth or use feeders made of soft materials (old silicone baking molds work well).

Advice. When raising turkeys at home, it is important to ensure that the food in the feeders does not turn sour - this can lead to digestive disorders and diseases.

Drinkers for turkeys and bird watering

If small turkey chicks get wet, this can lead to hypothermia and death of the chick. Therefore, when raising turkeys at home, it is important to ensure that the turkey poults cannot turn over the drinker or climb into it with their paws. Vacuum drinkers can handle this best.
In the first days of life, chicks should be given only boiled water. Make sure that there is always water in the drinking bowls, periodically change the water and wash the drinking bowls.

Disease Prevention

Problems can be avoided if you follow a few rules:

• The poultry house, feeders and drinking bowls must be kept clean and periodically disinfected. To disinfect a room, it is best to use quicklime;
• At the first signs of the disease, it is important to quickly identify the cause and correctly prescribe treatment. If possible, it is best to contact a veterinarian with the first sick bird;
• Many poultry farmers advise feeding the chicks with antibiotics on the 4-5th day of life, and a little later with vitamins to increase immunity;
• There are diseases that chicks get sick with relatively easily at a certain age, but infection in older birds is difficult to tolerate. Therefore, to avoid the spread of infection, chicks of different ages should not be kept together, as well as chicks purchased from different suppliers.

Hatching chicks

Hatching of chicks lasts on average 28 days. You need to place 15-20 eggs under one hen. Eggs must be fresh (no more than 3 weeks), clean (but not washed), without scratches or chips. Eggs intended for incubation should be stored with the pointed side down. Medium-sized eggs are selected; too large ones should not be used.

During the egg-laying period, you should not feed the laying hen with feed that increases the strength of the shell (for example, corn). This may result in the chick being unable to break through the shell and not hatching.

The nest should be comfortable, its bottom should be covered with hay or straw. The feeder and drinker should be located close to the nest so that the hen leaves it for a short time.

As mentioned above, raising turkeys is a fairly profitable business. Let's try to evaluate the profitability of such a business. All calculations will be made based on 10 chicks.

Let's calculate the costs of breeding, maintaining and caring for turkeys. We will assume that poultry space is available.

• Fencing of the walking area: 2000 RUR;
• Week-old chicks: on average 350 rubles/piece. - 3500 rubles. or 1 adult family (1 female and 1 male) 3500/piece - 7000 rubles;
• Preventive and medicinal products: 1000 rubles per season;
• Compound feed: the cost of starter feed is from 32 rubles per kilogram, the cost of feed for turkeys older than 8 weeks is 20 rubles per kilogram. The feeding rate is 800 grams per day per individual. Turkeys begin to be fattened for slaughter at 3-4 months of age. To do this, their movement is limited and the amount of food is increased. The average period of intensive fattening of turkeys is 10-30 days. In 16 weeks (for slaughter), the female eats about 16 kilograms of feed, the male – 32 kilograms.
• Heating, lighting, water - 3000 rubles per season.

Expenses

Let's calculate the approximate costs that can be incurred when purchasing and fattening 10 week-old chicks until slaughter (16 weeks). 2000 + 3500 + 1000 + (16+32)/2*10*20 + 3000 = 12300 rubles. There may be other expenses, such as gas costs. Conventionally, we believe that our expenses will be 13,000 rubles per season.

Income

With proper care and compliance with the maintenance rules, turkey mortality does not exceed 10%. Zero mortality is very rare even among experienced farmers. Thus, we believe that 9 turkeys will be sold. Let's assume that the average live weight of turkeys is 20 kilograms, turkeys - 10 kilograms. Thus, the average live weight is 135 kilograms. Sale by live weight is 150 rubles per kilogram and we get 135 * 150 = 20,250 rubles. Profit for the season will be 7,250 rubles. The profitability of this business is about 55%.

Ways to increase profitability

• 1 adult female is capable of reproducing up to 30 chicks per year, so next season you can save on buying chicks or adults;
• Buying chicks will cost 30% less if you purchase them in small wholesale (100-500 pcs);
• You can reduce feed costs by raising poultry on pasture most of the day.

Advice. By purchasing chicks in bulk, some of them can be sold at retail. The cost of a chick increases on average by 7-10 rubles for every day of keeping. In addition, many poultry farmers prefer to buy grown poultry, since caring for turkey poults in the first 2 weeks of life is a very responsible and troublesome task.

How to organize sales

Recently, consumers have increasingly complained about the poor quality of industrially raised poultry. Homemade turkey meat is environmentally friendly, has excellent taste and rich aroma. It is turkey that is used in preparing food for children and people in need of dietary nutrition. Therefore, given adequate prices for meat, there are quite a lot of people who want to buy homemade turkey. At the same time, poultry farmers usually prefer to breed other birds: chicken, goose, duck, mulard. That is, there is little competition in this business.

Among all domestic animals, turkeys gain weight the fastest, and their eggs and meat are valued for their high taste. That is why raising turkeys at home is considered an economically profitable area of ​​agriculture.

Features of breeding adult birds and young birds at home for beginners are described in this article. You will learn how to properly maintain and feed livestock, as well as which breeds are best to choose for breeding for meat.

To raise turkeys at home, a novice poultry farmer needs to take into account several important points: living conditions, care rules and feeding features.

In general, turkeys are considered unpretentious birds. They are kept in ordinary insulated poultry houses with ventilation, and green grass, grain mixtures and animal feed can be used for feeding.

Peculiarities

Raising turkeys at home for beginners has some features. Firstly, a poultry house with windows, perches and nests is equipped for the birds. If the birds will be in it in winter, the room is insulated. Summer shelter can be made not so reliable. The main thing is that there are no drafts inside (Figure 1).

Secondly, you need to provide a walk where the turkeys will be during the day. The paddock is fenced with a net and feeders and drinking bowls are placed throughout its territory.

Figure 1. Keeping turkeys in summer and winter

Thirdly, it is necessary to take care of the internal arrangement of the poultry house. Perches are installed in it at a height of 50-60 cm from the floor, and nests for laying hens are placed in the corners. Separately, a small pen is equipped for keeping females with young animals.

Terms

Raising turkeys requires compliance with certain conditions, which mainly relate to the microclimate inside the poultry house.

Among the conditions for raising turkeys at home for beginners are:(Figure 2):

• Temperature in winter should not fall below zero, and in summer it should not rise above 22 degrees. To do this, supply and exhaust ventilation is installed, the building is insulated and supply and exhaust ventilation is installed in it.
• Poultry house floor covered with a layer of straw or sawdust. The bedding is changed two to three times a week, as damp flooring can cause colds in birds.
• The herd contains both females and males. As a rule, there should be 5-8 females per male. In the case of keeping several families with males, separate poultry houses with paddocks are set up.

Figure 2. Keeping turkeys in cages and on the range

The food supply also plays an important role. Turkeys readily eat grain mixtures with bran, wet mash and fresh greens. The diet must include mineral supplements (chalk, shell, limestone and table salt) and animal feed (fish and meat and bone meal, dairy products and meat waste).

Step-by-step raising of turkeys

There are several stages in raising turkeys. First of all, it is necessary to breed or buy young animals.

Note: Beginning poultry farmers are recommended to buy already grown young birds at the age of 3-4 months. Such chicks are already prepared for the diet of adult birds and quickly gain weight.

Previously purchased young animals can be raised and kept for further replenishment of the herd. To do this, eggs are collected and placed under a laying hen or in an incubator. The poults will hatch in 27-28 days. In the first few days they are kept in a special brooder, where a stable temperature is maintained. For feeding, use a boiled egg with chopped herbs.

Gradually, the chicks are transferred to an adult diet, given wet mash and crushed grain. Starting from the age of four months, birds actively increase their live weight and after about a year they can be sent for slaughter. This condition mainly affects females, since their egg production decreases significantly over the course of a year. Males are sent to slaughter 5-6 years after hatching or if there are serious external defects.

Growing methods

Turkeys can be raised free range or in cages. Both methods have both advantages and some disadvantages.

Possible difficulties

The main difficulties in raising turkeys are related to raising young animals. Adults tolerate cold well and are unpretentious in food. But turkey poults are very sensitive to temperature conditions and the quality of feed.

Note: It often happens that newborn turkey poults die from cold or poisoning. Therefore, they are kept in special brooders, and the quality of feed is strictly controlled.

Due to the high risk of death of young animals, many poultry farmers prefer to purchase already grown 4-month-old young animals. Such birds are already quite strong and accustomed to adult food, so raising them does not pose any special problems.

Raising turkeys at home: video

To better understand the features of raising turkeys, we recommend that you watch the video. In it you will find all the necessary information about keeping, caring for and feeding birds.

Raising turkey poults at home for beginners

Turkeys have a well-developed brooding instinct, so on homestead farms it is advisable to use this natural method of breeding young animals. In addition, adult turkeys not only hatch the chicks, but also teach them to drink, eat, take care of them during walks and protect them from enemies.

Peculiarities

The room in which the young animals will be kept must be dry, with good ventilation and optimal temperature conditions.

Since turkey poults are very sensitive to temperature, the house must be constantly kept warm, and the temperature depends on the age of the chicks:

• From the first to the fourth day after hatching - 35-37 degrees;
• Until 10 days - 30-35 degrees;
• From 11 to 15 - no more than 29 degrees;
• At the age of 16-20 days, the temperature in the room for turkey poults should reach 25-27 degrees;
• On days 21-25, the optimal temperature should remain at 24-25 degrees;
• Until day 30, turkey poults are transferred to a temperature of no more than 23 degrees.

If it is impossible to provide the required temperature naturally (for example, in cool weather), household heaters or electric lamps are used for heating. Figure 3 shows a drawing for making a cage for turkey poults with your own hands.

Figure 3. Drawing and photo of a cage for keeping turkey poults. Designations on the drawing: 1 - perch, 2 - litter box, 3 - feeder, 4 - drinking bowl, 5 - nest, 6 - gravel feeder, 7 - vestibule, 8 - walk

All equipment must be treated with blowtorches and disinfectant solutions to prevent diseases. Near the poultry house you should also equip a special fenced area for walking - a solarium.

The floor of the poultry house is sprinkled with sawdust, straw or peat, but in the first few days after the transfer of the young animals, the litter should be covered with paper so that the turkey poults do not eat it. The sheets of paper are removed only after the chicks learn to eat from the feeder on their own.

Methodology

Turkey poults, unlike adults, are very demanding when it comes to feed. In order to raise healthy and productive young animals, it is necessary to form a varied diet rich in fiber. Figure 4 shows options for brooders for keeping turkey poults.

Figure 4. Options for brooders for keeping turkey poults

This feature is explained by the fact that the structure of the digestive tract is different between turkey poults and adult turkeys. In particular, chicks have longer intestines, so food stays in the digestive organs longer.

That is why the consumption of low-quality, contaminated or sour feed by young animals leads to intestinal blockage. Subsequently, pathogenic microorganisms begin to develop in the digestive organs, which can lead to the death of the bird. However, in the first few weeks of growing (up to a month of age), it is also not recommended to abuse feeds rich in fiber (straw, hay, aged grass), since such products lead to intestinal blockage.

The frequency of feedings also plays an important role.:

• For up to 10 days, turkey poults are fed up to 9 times a day, gradually reducing the frequency;
• Already at the age of one month, the chicks feed six times a day;
• When turkey poults are two months old, the feeding frequency is 4 times a day.

It is necessary to distribute feed with strict time intervals for the full growth and development of young animals. The largest part of the diet should be protein and fortified foods. Various dairy products also serve as good food for turkey poults: skim milk cottage cheese, high-quality yogurt, buttermilk and milk powder (Figure 5).

In the first days after hatching, turkey poults are fed boiled eggs mixed with finely ground corn, oatmeal or wheat (the ratio is 1:4). After this, the proportion of cereal and eggs is made uniform.

From the third to the tenth day of life, turkey poults are recommended to be fed with the following ratio of product: V:

• 68 percent wheat or corn flour;
• 10 percent wheat bran;
• 10 percent boiled eggs (hard-boiled);
• 10 percent fresh cottage cheese;
• Two percent chalk or shells.

All these ingredients should be mixed evenly in a damp mixture. The feeding should be supplemented with high quality yogurt, which is poured into the drinking bowl.

Figure 5. Main types of feed for turkey poults

Then they begin to introduce fresh chopped herbs into the mash, first half the mass, gradually increasing the share. You can use nettle, clover, alfalfa and green onions. However, onions should be given only during the daytime. Despite the fact that this product helps prevent many diseases, it makes turkeys thirsty.

When the chicks reach ten days of age, their diet changes and becomes as follows (figures are given as percentages):

• Corn and oatmeal - 30 each;
• Wheat bran - 20;
• Cottage cheese - 16;
• Ground chalk - 2;
• Bone meal - 1;
• Table salt - 0.5.

Oatmeal must be sifted before adding to the wet mixture. Fresh chopped greens are also added to the feed (the mass should be half the weight of the mash). The basis for the wet mash should be high-quality milk or curdled milk.

Mineral feed (chalk, shells, bone meal) plays a special role in the development of young animals. They are included in the diet from the age of four days. Mineral feed can be mixed into flour or given in separate feeders (Figure 6).

Note: Important! You should not give turkey poults musty food or moldy foods, especially those of animal origin. It is also necessary to take into account that turkey poults are very demanding in terms of housing and feeding conditions: they do not tolerate low temperatures and changes in feed. Therefore, in the first days of life, chicks must be attracted to feeders by sprinkling food and water with chopped greens, and feeders should be placed so that the young can freely approach them.

Figure 6. Important elements of the diet for turkey poults: 1 - crushed cereals, 2 - green feed, 3 - bone meal

The water should only be fresh and at room temperature, and the design of the drinking bowl should be designed so that the chicks can freely reach the water, but cannot climb into it (Figure 7).

Wet mash should always be fresh, so it is recommended to prepare them immediately before feeding, and after it carefully remove all food residues. In order not to provoke illness and death of young animals, feeders and drinking bowls must be periodically cleaned of food residues.

Figure 7. Options for drinking bowls for turkey poults

Figure 8 shows several options for feeders for young animals that can be made at home from scrap materials. It is not allowed to keep turkey poults together with other birds, as this can cause the disease enterohepatitis.

Raising turkey poults at home: video

Immediately after hatching, it is better to keep young animals in special closed brooders, since it is easier to create an optimal microclimate for turkey poults. Recommendations for keeping turkey poults at home are given in the video.

Raising turkeys for meat at home

Turkeys are large birds, and with the correct selection of the breed, up to 30 kg of meat can be obtained from one individual. But in order for raising turkeys for meat at home to be successful, you need to take into account some features of the process.

First of all, you need to choose the right breed.

Figure 8. Types of homemade feeders for turkey poults

It is better to give preference to large crosses (for example, Big-6), which have low egg production but quickly gain weight.

What is needed for this

Raising turkey poults for meat at home for beginners involves the correct selection of individuals. To do this, strong and healthy individuals are selected and placed in a brooder with stable temperature and humidity.

It is necessary to take care of the optimal microclimate of the poultry house. It should be warm, but there should also be a constant flow of fresh air. Turkey poults are very sensitive to toxic gases, and if exposed to high levels they can die.

Figure 9. Example of a diet for fattening turkeys for meat

In addition, it is necessary to ensure the correct lighting mode by extending the light cycle with lamps. You also need to take care of the quality of feed (Figure 9). This requirement applies to both young animals and adults. For fattening for meat, it is better to use special industrially produced feed. They are balanced in nutrients and vitamins. You can make compound feed yourself, using several types of crushed grain and mineral supplements.

Which breeds are best suited

Meat breeds of turkeys or large crosses are suitable for fattening. These breeds include the broad-chested white and the Big-6 cross.

These breeds were bred by breeders specifically for fattening for meat. Birds quickly gain weight, and the slaughter yield is several tens of kilograms.

Rules and features

Growing meat turkey breeds does not differ significantly from other species. Birds also require exercise and a balanced diet.

Figure 10. Features of keeping turkey poults and Big-6 cross turkeys

Since birds quickly gain weight, wet mash and grain feeds are most often used for feeding them (Figure 10). Many poultry farmers prefer industrially produced feed. But this feeding option has a significant drawback - the high cost and high consumption of ready-made feed. Therefore, compound feed is often prepared with your own hands, using crushed grain with mineral supplements.

Turkeys Big 6: growing at home

Raising Big 6 turkeys at home is considered one of the most profitable, since the birds quickly gain a lot of weight and do not require special housing conditions.

At the same time, you should know some rules and features of breeding this heavy cross, so that the slaughter yield is high with minimal labor costs.

Technology for growing heavy-cross turkeys Big-6

The technology for raising these birds is in many ways similar to raising chickens. For them, you need to build a poultry house with a walk and equip it in accordance with the physiology of the birds.

Breeding Big-6 turkeys includes the following stages:

• In winter, the poultry house should be warm: at least 15 degrees. For this purpose, the room is insulated and heating devices are installed.
• Sudden temperature fluctuations should not be allowed, as individuals catch cold easily. Therefore, in both summer and winter, the room temperature should be approximately the same.
• Lamps are installed in the poultry house to extend daylight hours and increase the productivity of birds.
• The floor is covered with a thick layer of bedding, which is changed twice a week.

Secrets of raising turkey poults at home

Big 6 turkey chicks are raised in the same way as other chicks. In the first week they are kept in a special box, a brooder, in which a stable temperature and lighting regime is maintained. The floor is covered with a soft cloth, and the food is poured onto a cardboard.

Note: Newborn turkey chicks have soft beaks and can easily be injured by the hard material of the feeder. Therefore, soft and thick cardboard is used for feeding.

Pour clean water into a separate container and change it regularly. On the first day, a boiled egg with chopped herbs is used for feeding, and then special feed is gradually introduced.

Conditions for raising turkey poults

The main condition for raising turkey poults at home, which novice poultry farmers should take into account, is maintaining a stable temperature and humidity regime.

Turkey poults are very sensitive to sudden temperature changes. This condition is especially true for the Big 6 breed. Even adult birds can catch a cold in the winter or overheat in the summer, and turkey poults even die if the growing conditions are not met.

Turkey poults Big-6: growing at home

Raising Big 6 turkey poults at home is not difficult if you know the basic features of their maintenance and feeding.

In terms of food, the chicks of this cross do not differ from the chicks of other breeds, but are more sensitive to the maintenance regime. Therefore, it is recommended to build durable and reliable poultry houses, or purchase already grown chicks from specialized farms.

Peculiarities

Big-6 turkey poults grow quickly, and since they are most often bred for slaughter for meat, it makes sense to use commercially produced feed for feeding.

Ready-made food is more expensive than homemade food, and its consumption is quite high. Therefore, many poultry farmers prepare their own feed. To do this, it is enough to place several types of grain (corn, wheat, oats, barley, etc.) in a crusher, combine the resulting mixture with a small amount of table salt and meat and bone meal and give it to the birds in dry form or as wet mash prepared with milk or yogurt .

Technology

Technologically, the process of growing Big-6 turkeys is no different from other breeds. Poultry houses with perches and nests are also built for them, and a fenced run is equipped outside.

More attention should be paid to feeding. Since birds grow quickly and are heavy, their feed consumption is quite high. Turkey chicks begin to be fed with compound feed within a few weeks after hatching.

Adults must be allowed out for walking. This gives them the opportunity to independently find fortified food and insects, which will be an excellent addition to the diet and will help the birds gain weight faster. At the same time, obesity should not be allowed, and 7-10 days before slaughter, fish meal and similar products are excluded from the diet so that the meat does not acquire an unpleasant aftertaste.

Growing conditions

The main condition for growing is to ensure a stable temperature regime. To reduce the temperature in summer, supply and exhaust ventilation and active ventilation are used, and in winter, heating devices are turned on.

The productivity of birds is also seriously affected by the length of daylight hours. In winter, lamps are turned on in the poultry house to extend daylight hours to 16 hours.

Broiler turkeys: growing at home

Broiler turkeys are advantageous because they gain much more weight with a standard feeding diet. These breeds appeared relatively recently, and were developed by crossing various local breeds.

Despite the fact that birds practically do not require special housing and feeding conditions, some nuances in their breeding still exist.

Conditions for keeping broiler turkeys

The peculiarities of the conditions for raising broiler turkeys at home primarily concern young animals. For the first three weeks of life, the chicks are kept on deep litter. Special feed is used for feeding.

Note: Since turkey poults quickly gain weight, this is the period during which the chicks can catch a cold and die.

Moreover, even adult individuals are considered quite sensitive to the conditions of detention. Advantage should be given to cage rearing, since in this case the birds get more free space and quickly gain the required weight.

The best breeds (characteristics and distinctive qualities)

There are quite a lot of broiler turkeys. The most popular is the large cross Big-6, but there are other breeds that are less demanding in terms of growing conditions.

Among the popular types of broiler turkeys are(Figure 11):

1. Canadian broad chested was bred by breeders. Birds are highly productive and early maturing. The weight of turkey poults can reach 5 kg already at one and a half months, and after 3 months they are completely ready for slaughter.
2. White broad-breasted was also selectively bred. Slaughter weight can reach 25 kg. At the same time, females are distinguished by high egg production. The breed is demanding on the quality of feed.
3. Moscow bronze It is distinguished not only by its high meat productivity, but also by its beautiful plumage. The weight of one-year-old males exceeds 12 kg, and females are distinguished by high egg production.

Peculiarities

The most common mistake when fattening broiler turkeys is including too fatty feeds in the diet. In this case, turkeys not only gain weight, but also quickly become fat. This negatively affects the health of the birds and the quality of their meat.

Figure 11. Main breeds of broiler turkeys: 1 - Canadian broad-breasted, 2 - white broad-breasted, 3 - Moscow bronze

The diet of broiler turkeys must be balanced in terms of basic indicators. Birds are given wet mash and dry grain mixtures, pouring them into different feeders. The mash mixtures are given out several times a day, after first cleaning them of food residues. Grain mixtures are constantly added as the birds eat them. Green food is given in limited quantities. The diet must be supplemented with mineral supplements, however, fish waste, fish oil or flour are completely excluded from the diet a week before slaughter, so that the meat does not acquire an unpleasant aftertaste.

Pros and cons of growing

Since turkey poults are very sensitive to feeding and housing conditions, the possibility of developing all kinds of diseases should be foreseen in advance and appropriate precautions should be taken. Figure 12 shows signs of the most common diseases of young turkeys.

The tendency of young animals to get sick is considered the main disadvantage of raising birds.:

• Pullorosis (white diarrhea) develops if young animals were obtained from a sick bird or kept with adult turkeys. If the first signs of illness are present, a sick bird, regardless of age, is sent for slaughter.
• Pasteurellosis (cholera) is an infectious disease that develops in an acute form and leads to significant losses among birds. To prevent the development of cholera, it is necessary to strictly observe sanitary and hygienic standards and regularly disinfect premises for keeping birds.
• Paratyphoid mainly affects turkey poults in the first three months of life. For prevention, it is necessary to keep the premises clean and give turkey poults 3-4 mg of furazolidone per head.
• Infectious sinusitis (runny nose) characterized by an inflammatory process in the infraorbital cavities with the accumulation of purulent contents. The disease can be triggered by a lack of vitamins A and D in the diet, as well as by keeping too many turkey poults in one room. Antibiotics (furazolidone, streptomycin) are used for treatment. For prevention, it is necessary to properly feed the young, keep the birds at the optimal temperature and regularly walk in the fresh air.
• Histaminosis(the disease is also called “black head”). This disease affects the liver and cecum. Mostly young individuals are affected from two weeks to three months. As a preventive measure, young animals are fed furazolidone from the third day of life.
• Candidiasis characterized by loose stool mixed with blood.
• Trichomoniasis- liver and intestinal disease in turkey poults. For prevention, chicks are given a solution of trichopolum (20 mg per liter of water) once every two weeks from the third to the eighth day of life.
• Aspergillosis caused by fungal microflora and affects the respiratory tract. To prevent the development of the disease, young animals should be kept in warm and dry rooms and should not be fed moldy feed.

Figure 12. Diseases of turkeys: 1 - pullorosis, 2 - pasteurellosis, 3 - infectious sinusitis, 4 - histaminosis

In addition, turkey poults are prone to pecking (cannibalism), which indicates an insufficient content of vitamins, minerals and proteins in the diet. That is why young animals need to be fed with complete, balanced and protein-rich feed, the beaks of turkey poults must be trimmed at an early age, and overly aggressive individuals must be slaughtered.

However, despite certain difficulties, raising turkeys is considered economically profitable. Firstly, this is explained by the benefits of turkey meat. It has virtually no cholesterol, but contains many vitamins and nutrients.

Secondly, turkey eggs are also considered very tasty and healthy, and their properties are second only to quail eggs.

In addition, local breeds of turkeys are unpretentious in terms of housing and feeding conditions. Certain difficulties can arise only when breeding broiler hybrids.

Raising broiler turkeys at home: video

To raise broiler turkeys, you should take into account some features of their maintenance. Since these species require certain conditions to be met in feeding and rearing, we recommend that you watch the video, which shows in detail exactly how to feed broiler turkeys.

Raise turkeys in a cage

However, raising turkeys in cages has several important advantages. Firstly, birds do not need to change their bedding frequently. Secondly, feed consumption is significantly reduced, while the birds steadily gain weight. However, it should be borne in mind that this type of housing is only suitable for small breeds.

Peculiarities

The main nuances of cellular content are:(Figure 13):

• Choose only light breeds of birds that will feel comfortable in the limited space of the cage;
• Males are kept separately, one at a time. This allows you to preserve their fertility and reduce the risk of injury;
• Mostly bunk cages are used. This significantly saves space and makes caring for birds easier.

In addition, when kept in cages, birds gain weight faster. But this feature applies only to adult individuals, since young animals in cages grow much slower than when kept on range.

Raising turkeys on the range

Figure 13. Drawing and photo of cages for turkeys

Feeders and drinking bowls are placed in the walking area, into which wet mash, grain mixtures and mineral supplements are placed throughout the day. Despite the fact that aviary keeping requires a large space, it is considered beneficial, since birds can independently look for food, actively develop and reproduce, and quickly reach slaughter weight.

In Russia, a small number of farmers work on raising turkeys. But this business is quite profitable and relevant, and you can earn decent financial capital from it without any special costs or problems.

The most important advantages are the ability to quickly recoup your investment, as well as the huge demand for meat. Let's look at all the main aspects of such a business, analyze its subtleties, and find out how to start making money by raising turkeys yourself.

How profitable is it to raise turkeys at home?

Turkeys are a fast-growing breed. Therefore, already at six months of age they gain a lot of weight, and they can already be prepared for sale. The demand for this poultry meat among the population of our country will only increase. The last factor is due to the fact that turkey meat is eaten by people leading a healthy lifestyle, and their number is constantly growing today. Many reputable nutritionists and doctors recommend eating turkey meat.

The turkey meat itself is very juicy, but not greasy. This product is delicious, especially the eggs. Turkey meat contains a lot of necessary substances for our body - iron, protein, amino acids, etc. The meat is especially useful for children, the elderly, and also for those who suffer from diseases of the digestive tract.

Pros and cons of raising turkeys

Like all types of business, turkey farming has its positive and negative sides.

Business benefits

• everyone who breeds this bird for sale not only receives financial benefits, but can always eat healthy, dietary, and very tasty meat;
• Turkey eggs are much tastier and healthier than chicken eggs;
• growing turkey meat is a profitable, very profitable, and quickly payback business that brings a stable high income;
• turkey meat costs much more than chicken;
• turkeys are easy to care for and can eat almost all types of food;
• in summer the bird can even feed on ordinary grass and some insects.

Business Disadvantages

• There is a fairly high mortality rate among young birds;
• turkeys need to be vaccinated, hence the additional costs;
• Turkeys hatch a few eggs.

The most popular breeds for breeding

The best option is to buy young animals from farms that have proven themselves well. Of course, you can buy poultry from private individuals, but only from those who offer healthy, hardy individuals. The success of the business depends on the correct choice of young animals.

There are both meat and egg breeds on the market. Therefore, you first need to decide for what purpose you will raise these birds:

• breeding for meat for sale;
• sale of eggs;
• sale of young animals.

Meat breeds of turkeys

As a rule, farmers raise broiler turkeys to sell for meat. Here are the most popular ones:

1. White broad-chested.
2. BIG-6.
3. BAT-8.

Egg breeds of turkeys

These individuals can also grow to quite large sizes, therefore, they can also be sold for meat:

1. Virginskaya.
2. BIG-9.
3. Station wagon.
4. Khation.
5. Bronze broad-chested.
6. White Moscow.

Egg-meat breeds of turkeys

This is the most profitable solution for farmers. Such birds have a high percentage of meat and high egg production:

1. Black Tikhoretskaya.
2. Fawn.
3. Canadian bronze.

How to properly care for turkeys

The issue of caring for young animals should be approached very carefully. At first, the bird needs to be provided with a warm, dry room. A regular cardboard box of the required size will do.

In this temporary housing, the ambient temperature should be at least 35 degrees. Moreover, it should have good lighting. As soon as the chicks mature a little, they can be “sent” to a common chicken coop. At first, the hens will need to be protected from the grown young animals.

Premises requirements

According to the experience of professional farmers, certain requirements are put forward for turkey housing. This will help improve the comfort of growing, and, consequently, increase the profitability of the business.

So, to make a comfortable home for turkeys, you need to:

1. Decide on the size of the room. The correct calculation is: at least 1 per 2 square meters. for 2 individuals. If possible, it is best to create conditions such that each turkey is allocated one “square”;
2. After arranging the room, you need to check what the temperature is in it. In summer there should be at least 20 degrees, in winter - at least 5;
3. Set up the lighting correctly. As a rule, a 60-watt light bulb will be sufficient for a comfortable stay for birds;
4. Provide good ventilation to minimize dampness;
5. Based on the number of birds, arrange perches. One perch is needed per bird. The distance between them should be at least half a meter;
6. Adjust the height of the perches correctly. It should be approximately 75-90 cm from the floor, width – 10 cm, height – 10 cm.

Good to know! If all individuals are kept in your pen at the same time, then such a flock should consist of no more than 5 hens per turkey. Otherwise, not all turkeys will be covered.

Walking turkeys - is it necessary?

Turkeys tend to be obese. Therefore, they need to be outside for quite a long time and walk. During the walk, the turkey will eat healthy food, look for worms and beetles, and eat greens, seeds, and nuts.

The most ideal place for walking in the summer is on dry ground, with green grass and bushes. It is also very important that there is shade so that the turkey can find it, hiding from the heat.

To organize walks for turkeys, you can create special enclosures for them. You need to place feeders in them, pouring oats and barley into them, and constantly monitor the cleanliness of the water.

It is very important to take turkeys outside during the winter. You can take them out for 4-5 hours, but not in very windy weather. The walking area can be covered with ordinary straw so that the bird does not get frostbite on its paws. You also need to scatter food there to make it easier to lure the bird outside. If there are a lot of heads, then they should be divided into separate “subgroups”. Each of them must have one bird - a male.

Meat fattening of young animals at home

Starting from 4 months, birds begin to be fattened so that they gain as much body weight as possible. August-September are considered months of increased feeding. It is carried out on free-range birds, and consists of three meals a day. The diet should mainly contain grain crops.

How to properly fatten turkeys

In case of limited walks, meals are divided into 4-5 times. The “menu” should consist of a mixture of: cottage cheese, flour, herbs, egg waste, boiled potatoes, beets, legumes, sprouted grains, meat waste.

Wet food is prepared from:

• 10 g milk;
• 100 g flour.

To ensure that the bird has a good appetite, it can be increased with the help of yeast and malted food, as well as steamed grain.

Diet

Salted food should be prepared as follows: 1 kg. pour 2 liters of flour mixture. boiled water, mix, and after 3 hours add all other ingredients and mix until loose.

Yeast food is prepared: take 50 g of fresh baking yeast and dissolve it in boiling water. Then about 15 kg is added there. flour mixture. Then the mixture is left to infuse for 24 hours.

Feeding should last no more than an hour. Then all food remnants are removed, and the birds are given greens and plant waste. Chalk with shells is distributed into separate containers in the chicken coop.

The most common grains farmers feed turkeys are barley or oats. Before feeding, the grain must be soaked, and then poured onto pre-arranged racks in a layer of 10 cm. If it is summer and the temperature exceeds 25 degrees, then the grain should germinate in a couple of days.

What to do if the birds don't get bigger? The next month they are no longer allowed outside and are left indoors with poor lighting. They are fed with compound feed, protein supplements, and mash twice a day.

To achieve maximum results, one turkey should eat at least a kilogram of feed per day, and if you count it with mash, then about 1.5 kg for each healthy bird.

Force-feeding

Very often it happens that it is necessary to resort to the measure of forced fattening of young animals. Rolls, dumplings, and dumplings made from various flour mixtures are forcibly inserted into the bird's beak. The dough, in this case, must be kneaded with milk or a mixture of barley, oats, flour, and bran.

Feeding is carried out twice a day in 3 doses. After the bird has eaten everything, it is given greens. The pellets should be about 7 cm in length and 2 cm thick.

To feed a bird, you need to pick it up, open its beak, and put food in it. Then you need to put a little pressure on the lower part of the neck so that the food passes into the crop. It is important to ensure that the latter is not overfilled.

How to breed turkeys at home

Turkeys are usually propagated using two methods:

1. Incubator.
2. Naturally, with the help of turkeys.

Both methods show high effectiveness. But, each has its own subtleties and nuances that you definitely need to know about. Also, they have their pros and cons, based on which you should choose yours.

Thus, using the incubator method, a huge number of chicks can be hatched simultaneously. If you approach the process correctly, hatchability can reach 100%. But the farmer, at the same time, will have to personally care for the young animals, since he will not have hens. And to achieve good results, you will have to work hard.

Hens are excellent at incubating chicks. But, at one time, the female is not able to hatch more than 15-17 eggs. Moreover, it often happens that some eggs simply do not hatch. But, with this method, you don’t have to constantly look after your flock, but you won’t be able to greatly increase the number of chicks.

So, based on everything described above, it is worth concluding that for home breeding of turkey meat it is best to use the incubator method if it is necessary to breed a large number of individuals. But, if you decide to breed these birds for personal use, then a couple of hens will be enough to constantly have tasty and healthy meat on your table.

More about methods

Turkeys have excellent maternal instincts. They hatch and try to completely preserve their offspring. Moreover, sometimes it happens that they care so much about their cubs that they even forget to eat. If this happens, then farmers forcefully remove the mother from the nest and take her to the feeder.

While the turkey is eating, you need to carefully inspect the eggs for damage - dents, scratches, etc. After hatching, the turkey chicks should be immediately placed near the turkey and kept near her for 1.5-2 months.

You can also use the incubator method on your farm. Eggs that will be used within its framework must be taken from under the hen and transferred to an incubator for storage.

The eggs are placed on a special tray with the sharp top down - this way you can seriously save space. After placing the eggs in the incubator, the chicks should hatch around the 29th to 30th day. Until the 23rd day, each egg needs to be turned at least 12 times a day so that they warm up as evenly as possible.

How to feed turkeys correctly for normal development

In order for turkey poults to grow normally on a farm, you need to take their diet seriously. As a rule, farmers use a combination menu to diversify the diet. Sprouted grains, wet and dry mash are used.

In spring and autumn, birds need to be walked so that they can eat greens. Vitamins are used as supplements: beets and cabbage, chopped carrots are added to the food. It is also recommended to give food along with steamed greens.

The optimal diet for tasty meat

Turkeys are very fond of oats, various grains, and barley, which must first be sprouted. During the breeding period, birds need to be fed 5-6 times a day, in other periods - only three times.

In the morning and daytime, turkey poults need to be fed with wet food, and in the evening with dry food. To make turkey meat as tasty as possible, professional farmers advise planning the diet in such a way that it contains as much juicy food as possible, and gradually reducing the amount of grains.

The smallest individuals need to be fed at least 8 times - this will allow them to grow strong, healthy, and tasty. As soon as the chicks hatch, for three days they need to be given dry cereal, which is mixed with eggs.

Until they are one month old, birds need cereal, which is mixed with all kinds of greens: salads, cabbage, clover, nettles. You can also use ready-made combined feeds that contain all the essential microelements.

Feeding at puberty

Puberty occurs in turkeys after reaching 8-10 months of age. Females can lay eggs from 10 months. During this period, you need to monitor your herd as closely as possible - give them food at least five times a day.

In the winter, they need to be fed with soaked grain-based food, finely chopped carrots, and herbal flour. On warm days, the emphasis in feeding should be on grain mixed with fresh herbs.

Birds that are ripe for sexual relations must be fed with yeast mixtures mixed with carrots, cottage cheese, herbs, and grains. Adults should be given: 100 g of cottage cheese, 30 g of carrots, 90 g of greens, 10 g of yeast.

Good to know! On average, the weight of one turkey egg varies between 60-100 grams. This figure is much higher than that of laying hens. Moreover, the shells of turkey eggs are not light or brownish, but pockmarked.

Raising turkeys for meat

When raising these birds for the purpose of obtaining meat for further sale, hybrid breeds are used - turkeys, which were specially bred by crossing. Chicks should be purchased weighing at least 70-100 grams, and they should be taken from the incubator no more than 8 hours ago.

The most optimal technology for raising birds for slaughter, which is used by many of our farmers, implies that young animals should be constantly kept in cages until they reach eight weeks of age. Only then can they be taken out to the chicken coop.

Young animals must be constantly fed with various fortified supplements and mixed feed. Feeding should be carried out approximately 9 times a day, but gradually it should be reduced to 3-4 times a day.

Regarding other aspects of care, all the rules are completely similar to the methods and schemes described above. It is recommended to kill birds after they reach 15 weeks (females) and 23 weeks (males).

Frequent diseases of farm turkeys

Turkeys have diseases that can be transmitted from individual to individual, as well as a number of diseases that they can “pick up” from other animals. To a greater extent, they are provoked by a variety of infections and viruses, and most often they can be prevented.

Farmers identify several of the most dangerous and common turkey diseases:

• respiratory mycoplasmosis. It is a runny nose that is caused by too much humidity in the chicken coop. Also, it can be caused by improper or insufficient nutrition;
• tuberculosis. One of the most dangerous. It affects the upper parts of the respiratory system, lungs, and some other organs. Can be transmitted to birds through contaminated water or eggs, through excessively soiled bedding or farm equipment;
• damage to the cecum. The disease “operates” in the organs of the digestive tract. This disease affects those individuals who were placed in an uncleaned room where geese or chickens previously lived;
• histomoniasis – infection by worms. The most common disease that harms not only the digestive organs, but also the respiratory system. Infection occurs through water, soil, or from other sick birds;
• smallpox Incurable disease. A bird that has died must be burned. Turkeys become infected with it from chickens, during contact with another sick individual, through water. Smallpox is often transmitted to animals through sick insects.

To prevent turkeys from getting sick, you need to constantly feed your pets exclusively proven food. Also, they need to provide a favorable habitat in the flock, always clean the drinking bowls, and conduct a systematic inspection of the living creatures. These precautions will help you avoid the major diseases described above.

Turkey breeding as a business

Cash investments

If you are just a beginner entrepreneur, then first you will need to purchase young stock. In the case when you want to build a “turkey” business and you have minimal capital, then it will be enough to buy 30 pieces of young animals in the spring. All together they will cost you about 5 thousand rubles.

If you approach the matter wisely and follow all the rules described above, then in your country mini-farm by the end of summer there will be a flock of individuals, 16-18 kg each. each. Half of them can be sent for meat. Demand for it will be guaranteed, since these products are very popular among our citizens.

The entire remaining brood should be left to form a parent flock. To save on fortified feed, you need to equip an area where the bird will take walks.

The biggest expenses you will have to make are purchasing materials and building a poultry house. For 40 pieces you will need a room of 80 square meters. m. If you build such a building from scratch, then the implementation of the project will cost approximately 500 thousand rubles.

Profit and payback

You will feel your first profit six months after launching your business. It is at this age that the turkey will weigh approximately 15-20 kg. If you sell 10 pcs. at 400 rubles per kilogram, then the net income will be 50 thousand rubles. (minus RUB 10,000 expenses). Then you need to buy new young animals (about 4 thousand), and the proceeds from the first sale will be 20 thousand rubles.

In the future, you will only have to spend money on purchasing new turkeys. One is capable of consistently producing 15-20 chicks. Then you grow them and sell them - again you will get a good profit. Moreover, the offspring will definitely have several females, and in the future you will not have to buy more of them.

When you see that the time has come to expand, you will have to build new premises for posterity. Therefore, it is worth purchasing a large plot of land for your farm in advance. And then your sales markets will be buyers who purchase meat, eggs or chicks. These may include markets and shops, and other private entrepreneurs.

If 1 kg. meat costs about 300 rubles, then such products can even be supplied to restaurants and catering establishments.

Eggs from incubators can be sold to beginning farmers or individuals for 200-300 rubles. for 1 piece (depending on the breed of turkey), and day-old young animals cost 200-350 rubles.

Tips and tricks for raising turkeys from professionals

To ensure that the entire brood develops well and quickly gains weight, read these simple recommendations and always follow them:

1. Purity. Always try to ensure that your birds live in a clean environment. The house should be cleaned regularly while the birds themselves are out and about. The walking area should also be kept clean.

Raising turkeys is a responsible undertaking that requires a careful and carefully thought-out approach. Compliance with the rules and recommendations gives even a novice poultry farmer a chance to cope. The large size of the birds, high growth rate, and active demand for turkey meat make this activity profitable. Before purchasing the first batch of young animals or eggs, you need to prepare the place of detention, stock up on food, and the necessary equipment; calculate the costs of the upcoming undertaking to avoid surprises.

One broiler turkey is up to 20 kg of dietary meat

Many breeds of turkeys are adapted to cold winters, but keeping them in a barn without insulation will not allow turkeys to survive the cold safely. Therefore, you should think about building a well-insulated and spacious poultry house. Basic requirements for the premises:

Broiler turkey poults on roosts

1. Large nests and perches. For one turkey, approximately 50 cm of perch at a height of at least 80 cm from the floor. Nests are built 50 cm from the floor, measuring at least 70x50 cm.
2. No drafts. The site for construction is chosen in a place protected from the wind. Insulated walls without cracks or holes.
3. Availability of ventilation. The easiest way is a window, but it is not convenient in winter. If possible, the room is equipped with ventilation with a plug so that during ventilation the air temperature is maintained within normal limits.
4. Dry floor. Wood shavings or straw are suitable for temporary maintenance. If it is permanent, it is better to make a wooden, slightly sloping floor with insulation.
5. Feeders and drinkers. For wet food, steel or plastic containers are suitable; for dry ones - made of wood.

It's easy to build a poultry house

For the warm period, a pen is built: the enclosure for walking should be spacious, at least 2 m2 per bird. It is fenced with a net so that the birds do not wander off. This will also be a precaution against predatory animals.

Laying turkeys need covered nests

Raising chicks

Having arranged a room for turkeys, they begin to purchase the first livestock in the form of eggs or young animals. When purchasing eggs, an additional incubator is purchased. After hatching, the chicks require special housing conditions.

Properly organized place for turkey poults

Basic environmental requirements

Turkey chicks require close attention and care. Immediately after emergence, they are placed in a separate place: sharing with chicks of other species is not allowed. Turkeys' poor vision causes faster bird species to eat their food.

Grown-up turkey poults can be switched to feed

The first time after birth, turkey chicks need an elevated air temperature of at least 37°C, so the best option would be to isolate them from the adult population. The air temperature is gradually reduced by about 1° per day. The behavior of the chickens will help to determine more accurately: if it has not changed, then everything is in order. The heating system can be purchased or assembled independently. The structure for keeping chicks is called a brooder.

Ready-made brooder for keeping turkey poults

It is a box with mesh walls, equipped with heating, lighting, feeders and drinkers. If you have the skills to work with building materials and electrical wiring, you can make it yourself.

Open enclosures for walking are mandatory

Feeding turkey poults

Chicks hatched in an incubator without the participation of a hen are helpless at first; they must be taught to feed. In order for the chick to understand how to drink, its beak is dipped in water. To teach him to feed, they tap the feeder with a finger, imitating the sound with which an adult turkey pecks at grain. The type of food is determined by the owner: it can be ready-made combined food purchased in a store. You can also prepare food for the chicks yourself: in the first days they give them a boiled egg and cottage cheese; then grain crops are gradually added. For the first 7 days, food is given every 3 hours. As a feeder, use a vessel with low sides, but always made of soft material (for example, a lid from a cardboard box).

Turkey poults can be given mash feed from 10 days of age.

From the second week, finely chopped boiled vegetables, as well as chalk, bone meal and charcoal are introduced into the diet. Be sure to include green grass in your diet, but only finely chopped. Water plays an important role in the healthy growth of chicks and is changed several times a day.

In addition to the availability of feed, turkey poults must always have clean water.

It is unacceptable for chicks to drink dirty water with debris and debris. Drinking bowls are regularly cleaned of dirt and lichens.

Chick health

To minimize mortality among livestock and avoid an outbreak of infection, you should take care of veterinary care and the necessary vaccinations in advance. If the clinic is located too far away, it is necessary to have an understanding of common diseases among turkeys. They also collect a first aid kit with medications, and learn in advance how to use them in case the chick gets sick.

A veterinary first aid kit for chicks is a must.

To prevent infections, keep the house clean. To do this, they regularly disinfect it, and also treat feeders, drinking bowls, and work tools. You should not leave old food in the feeders, this can lead to its rotting and cause a wave of infection among the herd. For the same reason, young birds are housed separately from adult birds: if they peck at food that has fallen from the feeders, they risk getting an intestinal infection.

Caring for older turkeys

Raising turkeys at home becomes easier as the bird gets older. In the summer, they are transferred to a paddock for grazing, where they can provide themselves with additional food in the form of various insects, caterpillars, larvae and worms. The bird continues to be fed with cereals, vegetables, cottage cheese and herbs. If a turkey is bred for meat, then there should be enough feed for an increased gain. At the same time, this should not lead to obesity, which will spoil the turkey meat, so when feeding, adhere to the following scheme:

The diet of adult turkeys continues to include chalk, salt is added and the amount of bone meal is increased to 2.5 g per individual.

To ensure that turkey meat is of good quality, you need to have a balanced diet that includes:

• proteins found in grains and fresh beans;
• fats, but not more than 7%, otherwise the growth of the bird will slow down;
• carbohydrates found in grains and greens;
• fiber no more than 9% of the entire diet - it improves digestion;
• mineral elements and vitamins.

Jerusalem artichoke is an excellent vitamin supplement for feed

During the breeding season, males reduce their food intake during the day, so they are additionally fed raw beans and carrots, and females are given additional vitamin complexes. If turkeys are raised for meat, it is important not to miss the slaughter dates: females are slaughtered when they reach 16 weeks of age, and males - 22 weeks.

Meat breeds of turkeys

When raising turkeys for meat, breeders prefer to purchase hybrids that have impressive growth and weight gain. Common breeds:

When choosing young birds, novice poultry farmers need to focus on appearance: chicks should be active, have smooth, clean fluff, as well as a dry tail and umbilical cord. The droppings should not have a liquid consistency.

Financial costs

Raising turkey for meat is a profitable activity if organized correctly, so it is important to estimate the costs in advance.

1. The construction of a small poultry house for several dozen birds will cost approximately 30–40 thousand rubles. Consumption will decrease if you have a barn that can be converted into a poultry house, equipped with heating and ventilation.
2. With an initial cost of a brooder from 5 thousand rubles, and an incubator from 2 thousand rubles, you should add at least 7 thousand rubles to the costs.
3. A turkey egg costs from 60 to 100 rubles, young eggs cost about 150 rubles per individual. When purchasing 20 eggs, you will need at least 1,200 rubles, and 20 chicks - 3,000 rubles.
4. Average feed consumption per female: 3 kg per week; per male – 4 kg per week. The average cost of feed is 30 rubles per 1 kg. Thus, a herd of 20 heads with an equal ratio of males and females, and raising them to 16 weeks and 22 weeks, respectively, will require 62.4 thousand rubles for feed.

First you need to develop a business plan for turkey breeding

Hatching 20 chicks from eggs using an incubator and their further maintenance will require approximately 112 thousand rubles for the entire period before slaughter. The average cost of 1 kg of turkey meat is 300 rubles. With a female weighing 10 kg and a male weighing 20 kg, 20 individuals can generate up to 90 thousand rubles in income. Additional money can be earned for the eggs of hens or young animals bred in an incubator: some breeds lay up to 100 eggs per season from one individual; as well as for down and feathers.

The initial stage of breeding will require financial investments, but with proper organization, it will quickly pay off.

At home, you can start an enterprise with a small herd, and if it is productive, then gradually expand it to the required volume.

Raising turkeys at home is becoming increasingly popular among Russian poultry farmers. Turkeys are large and unpretentious birds and the lack of interest was due to limited information about their feeding and maintenance. In terms of the amount of meat, this bird cannot be compared with other birds. In addition to tasty and dietary meat, which is recognized by nutritionists around the world, they also get fluff and. Turkeys have low egg production, so these birds are rarely used for egg production and mainly to satisfy their own needs.

Is it profitable to grow

Raising turkeys at home is a profitable business

Raising turkeys at home can be called a very profitable business. Some individuals easily gain up to 30 or more kilograms of net weight, with the share of meat accounting for up to 80% of the total mass of the bird. Turkey meat is very healthy from a dietary point of view. It contains no cholesterol, but contains healthy amino acids and microelements in large quantities. Meat is low in calories and is easily digested by the body. It is recommended for young children and pregnant women. Turkey liver is very useful in dietary nutrition due to its high content of folic acid. Turkeys are not picky about their diet, so there are practically no problems with feeding. At the same time, turkey meat is noticeably more expensive than chicken.

Pros and cons

In general, when breeding turkeys at home, you can sell the following products:

• meat;
• eggs;
• down and feather;
• young birds.

Turkeys do not like drafts and this fact should be taken into account when building a poultry house.

In cold weather, electric heating systems should be used. Birds benefit from sunlight very much, so the windows in the turkey house are positioned in such a way that there are no dark areas left in the room. A layer of straw, at least 5-8 cm thick, should be placed on the floor of the poultry house. You can use sawdust or peat. Birds do not like drafts, which should be taken into account when regularly ventilating the room. Lighting devices should be installed in the poultry house, since practice has shown that daylight hours for turkeys should last at least 14 hours.

As soon as the bedding in the poultry house becomes very wet, it should be replaced, since dampness can provoke the development of colds in turkeys.

Required buildings

The inside of the poultry house should be equipped with nests, perches, feeders and drinkers

Raising young animals

Raising small turkey poults is associated with certain difficulties. Unfortunately, they have a high mortality rate, so you need to care for chickens especially carefully. The smallest turkey poults can be placed in a brooder. It is easy to create the necessary microclimate there. is a house for young animals. This can be a regular wooden or plywood box with a mesh door. Bedding should be placed at the bottom of the box, and a small feeder and drinking bowl should be installed inside. For the smallest chickens, sand can be used instead of bedding. Then it is replaced with sawdust or straw. Since the size of the brooder is usually small, it is not difficult to create the necessary lighting and maintain a comfortable temperature.

Microclimate for turkey poults

Small individuals require, first of all, increased temperature. Turkey chicks require + 32-350C in 1-2 days, then the temperature gradually decreases and is brought to + 200C for month-old chicks. When turkey poults reach the age of 36 days, they can be kept at the optimal temperature for adults, that is, + 180C. Small chicks require round-the-clock lighting, and at one month of age an eight-hour day of light can be maintained. The lighting intensity can also be gradually reduced. Little turkey chicks are very sensitive to harmful gases, in particular ammonia, so the area where the chicks are located must be regularly ventilated.

Feeding turkey poults

For the first 10 days of life, chicks should receive food at least 8 times a day.

The first is carried out no later than 12 hours from the moment of birth. If you are late with food, the chicks will peck at the litter. For the first 10 days, chicks should be fed 8 times a day. Every 10 days, the number of feedings is reduced by one, bringing it to 3 times by day 50. There are schemes of diets and components included in feed for small turkey poults. All requirements must be strictly observed.

The main cause of mortality in chickens is sour or low-quality feed. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully ensure that there are no food residues in the feeders, since due to high temperatures the food quickly deteriorates.

Video

In the video we will see how Big 6 crosses are grown at home.

Conclusions

1. Raising turkeys on private farms is very profitable.
2. For cell propagation you should purchase.
3. Proper nutrition and maintenance of birds guarantees high safety of the livestock.