Features of caring for and breeding turkeys at home. The most famous breeds for breeding. Prevention of young animals during rearing

21.09.2019

If before the turkeys in household could only be found in Mexico among the Mayan Indians, then with the discovery of America, raising turkeys at home became available to Europeans.

Turkey Breeding for Beginners

Turkeys are the fastest growing birds that can be found on a Russian farmstead. Within six months, with sufficient food, they grow to enormous sizes - the weight of males reaches 20 kilograms or more, and females - from 6 to 8 kg. The development of new breeds that lend themselves well to breeding at home also adds to their popularity.

Turkey meat has the following positive qualities:

Excellent taste;
High protein and iron content;
A dietary product that does not cause allergies.

Products from this bird are chosen by athletes, diabetics, pregnant women and everyone who leads healthy image life.

All the fears of beginners in raising turkeys are associated with the fear of improper care of the bird and ignorance of feeding features. The most difficult time is in the first month after hatching, when chickens are susceptible to infectious diseases. With age, turkeys become very unpretentious in caring for and feeding birds.

Advantages over other poultry in the backyard:

The gain in live weight per consumed feed unit is the highest among other poultry. This precocity allows you to get results even with errors in feeding or an unbalanced diet. The yield of meat from live weight is at least 50%, and fat - 15%.
Edible eggs, not inferior in quality to chicken eggs and significantly superior to waterfowl eggs (geese, ducks).
All turkeys are natural hens and can hatch 2-3 broods of chicks per season.
Adult birds live under open air, just a canopy and bedding are enough. They tolerate cold well and feed on pasture.

Interesting! Turkeys gain weight well on pastures, receiving most of their feed there. For a livestock of 1000, 4 hectares of pasture with grass is enough.

Turkey breeding as a business

Turkey farming can be highly organized profitable business, which will pay for itself in 12 months or less. The risk is minimal, and competition in the market is low, unlike the production of chicken meat and eggs.

This investment is also attractive because of the low barrier to entry into this business. To raise a trial livestock, 100 thousand rubles will be enough, and the first profit will begin in 5-6 months.

Main areas of turkey business:

Raising chicks for sale brings good income during the season. You can sell grown turkeys from the age of four weeks. Difficulties may arise with finding a sales market.
For sale, eggs in a flock contain one turkey for every 6-8 females. The average egg production reaches 200 eggs per year from one individual.
Breeding for meat requires much higher costs and feed supplies, but the profit margin in this business is very high. It takes 20-26 weeks to grow a bird to its optimal size. By this time, males easily gain 20 kilograms, females are slightly less. Further maintenance becomes unprofitable. Raising turkeys in an unheated room in winter is ineffective because most of the feed goes to heating the birds themselves.
Breeding is used as an additional source of income. The emphasis is on meat or egg production.

In many ways, it is easier to do business with turkeys than with chicken or geese. This is due to low competition in the market and the peculiarity of the bird. In any case, there is a lot of care and feeding work to be done.

The most popular breeds for breeding

Birds for both meat and egg production are popular for growing at home. Turkeys raised for eggs grow to large sizes and can be slaughtered for meat.

Turkey meat breeds:

Broad-chested white. The breed is a hybrid and is intended exclusively for producing dietary low-fat meat. The best early maturity among other breeds. Consists of three crosses - heavy (up to 25 kg), medium (up to 14 kg) and light (up to 7 kg).
BIG – 6 is another hybrid breed with very high early maturity. Birds are slaughtered on the 85-90th day of life. It has a characteristic white plumage with a black spot on the chest.
BUT – 8 and BUT – 9 are medium to large sized individuals with white plumage and powerful paws. Adults easily gain 25-26 kg.

Egg-laying species:

Breed Universal. They lay well and grow up to 18 kilograms. They have a powerful wide body, strong wings and paws.
Egg BIG – 9. These heavy and medium cross turkeys are used for both meat and egg poultry farming. Females lay up to 120 eggs per season.
Chiton. A simple and unpretentious breed, the females of which gain weight of 16-18 kg and lay 100 eggs per year.
Broad-chested bronze. A bird with beautiful bronze and green plumage, medium size. During the season, the bird lays 70-80 eggs.
Black Tikhoretskaya. Another universal breed in the household. Individuals are small - up to 10 kg with bright black plumage. Popular in the Caucasus and southern regions.

For home breeding, universal breeds that can produce meat and eggs are best suited. The size of the birds is chosen to be medium-sized - there are fewer problems with them and they are easier to place in the poultry house. Turkey crosses are better adapted to home conditions than pure hybrids.

Breeding poultry for subsequent sale for meat pays off within six months when using fast-growing breeds and the best hybrids. These birds will produce better weight gain on a poor diet.

Rules for caring for young animals

Small turkeys require special care and separate keeping from adult birds. Large individuals will take food from small ones, and males may peck or trample the young. Only stronger and older birds are placed in a common pen. What is important in raising chicks:

Maintain indoor humidity at 75% for up to 4 weeks, and temperature not lower than 25 degrees. Temperature fluctuations negatively affect the bird's appetite and health.
Chicks are given additional lighting, for young ones – around the clock, and from 6 weeks of age, daylight hours should not be less than 8 hours. Lighting also has an important effect on the physiology of turkey poults.
Conflicting and sick individuals are separated from the rest of the herd. Birds often exhibit temperament and may refuse to eat or drink. Try changing your diet.
The separation by hatching time should not exceed 2-3 weeks.
The best bedding for newly hatched chicks is fine river sand. Later it is replaced with sawdust and straw.
Healthy birds stand firmly on their feet, are nimble with good fluff and an overgrown umbilical cord. Starting from the age of one month, the likelihood of diseases in turkeys decreases.
For poultry of all ages, it is recommended to carry out regular preventive maintenance and disinfection of premises. Walls and feeders are treated with quicklime.

On days 4-5 from birth, chicks are given antibiotics and vitamins to boost immunity.

A sick turkey is shown to a veterinarian so that he can correctly identify the disease and prescribe treatment. Infectious birds are isolated from the rest of the flock.

What to feed turkeys

Now these large birds will surprise no one; they are often bred on private farmsteads instead of chickens and geese, because the live weight of one adult male is 30-40 kg, eggs are tastier than chicken eggs, and everyone has heard about them.

Raising turkeys at home comes with its own challenges. For example, small individuals require a lot of attention and special care:

they need to be kept in a box where the bottom is covered with small shavings or straw (on the newspaper, the legs of turkey poults move apart and are injured);
it is necessary to provide round-the-clock lighting and a constant temperature of 37 degrees;
change the water in the drinking bowl two to three times a day, using only warm water;
twice a week, disinfect the gastrointestinal tract of the chicks with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, etc.

Feeding small turkey poults from three days of age includes various reverse mash

You must provide balanced feeding for the birds. The ideal option is ready-made complete feed. If you cannot buy it for some reason, a mixture of crushed corn (10 parts), peas (30 parts) and wheat (60 parts) with the addition of a boiled egg, cottage cheese and sugar will also work.

Video about raising turkeys

Feeding small animals from three days of age includes various mashes made from skim milk or fermented milk, with the addition of potatoes, grated carrots, fish, cottage cheese, and herbs. Since mash spoils very quickly, it is necessary to prepare it immediately before you start feeding. Calculate the amount of feed so that the turkey poults eat everything within half an hour. At first, the chicks are fed seven times a day, later gradually decreasing to four times. It is advisable to add “Rowanushka” or “Aminovitan” to the feed of young animals.

Birds especially need vitamins A and E, as well as animal proteins. Their drinking bowls should always contain pure water, and in the feeders there is compound feed. In winter, to prevent vitamin deficiency in birds, add green hay, brooms from tree branches and sauerkraut to their diet.

Turkeys especially need vitamins A and E, as well as animal proteins

It may be quite troublesome to feed turkey chicks in the first month of their life, but then home breeding will only be a pleasure for you, because adult birds are unpretentious in food, but at the same time highly productive.

You can read more about all the nuances of feeding adults and turkey poults in our article:

In what conditions should birds be kept?

If you have previously raised chickens, there will be no problems with the premises, since keeping turkeys at home is possible in the same barns where the chickens lived. The main thing is that the inside is dry and light, and that the area of the poultry house allows the birds to walk freely.

In the bird room, be sure to install perches (thick beams) at a height of about 80 cm, so that each bird has 40 cm free space. For every five hens you will need to provide one nest. For convenience, you can arrange them in two tiers, installing them in the darkest places of the poultry house. The optimal size of the nest is 50 by 70 cm, a convenient height is 60 cm; in addition, it is advisable to build a threshold at the entrance of the nest. It is advisable to place males separately from females.

Perches should be installed in the turkey room

In order for turkeys to get sick as little as possible, you need to provide them with optimal living conditions:

in summer the temperature in the poultry house should be +20 degrees, and in winter not lower than -5 degrees;
do not allow sudden temperature fluctuations;
the room should be well ventilated (in winter on warm, windless days);
drafts, frost and dampness are destructive for turkeys;
Make sure that the straw or shavings on the floor are dry - change it twice a week.

Video about feeding and caring for turkeys

In summer, turkeys can be provided with walks in the mornings and evenings to avoid extreme heat. If possible, equip a platform for birds in front of the poultry house with 20 square meters of free space per bird. Make shady canopies, install feeders and drinkers, and sow the surface of the ground with clover, vetch, alfalfa or oats.

Seasonal content

Turkey is an unpretentious bird and tolerates any living conditions well. Depending on the place and purpose of raising poultry, the following types of placement are used:

Seasonal cultivation. At the beginning of spring, the birds are kept in the poultry house, and when the first greenery appears, they are released to graze. A simple canopy protects the turkeys from the rain, and feeders are also installed there. They are slaughtered in the fall before the onset of cold weather.
Floor maintenance in a heated poultry house. The method for year-round keeping allows the birds to move freely, which has a positive effect on the quality of the meat.
When there is a shortage of free space or when raising broiler breeds, cage placement is used. The birds are selected from light and medium crosses. 3 tiers of cages in a poultry house are considered optimal.

Breeding turkeys at home can turn into an interesting hobby and even a profitable business if you are serious about raising these large, majestic birds in order to obtain tasty and healthy meat.

Material updated 02/07/2018

An industry in poultry farming such as turkey breeding is becoming increasingly popular. As a business it is quite profitable. However, you should understand everything in great detail. At home, as well as on household plots and on large private farms, turkeys, the breeding of which is not very difficult, feel excellent.

This bird is most valued for its dietary meat, which is very juicy and tasty. Therefore, for some aspiring businessmen, growing it can turn into an excellent way to generate income.

Not chickens, but turkeys

Breeding of this bird began in America. There it was domesticated about ten centuries ago. The turkey bird arrived in Europe only in the sixteenth century, after Columbus’s fourth voyage. When this traveler landed on the American coast, he was sure that this was India. Apparently, this is why this large American bird was named so. A turkey or turkey is a beautiful and majestic representative of birds, although it is flightless.

This bird loves freedom and large space. Majestic and at the same time the largest and strongest domestic bird, the modern turkey (the breeding and maintenance of which requires certain knowledge and skills) is calmer and slower than its wild ancestors.

Description

The process of domestication of this bird entailed the creation of a large number of new breeds, which differ from each other mainly in plumage color and weight.

Despite the meat nature of turkeys, their eggs, down and feathers are also valued. Their carcasses contain more than fifty percent meat, about fifteen percent subcutaneous fat and more than ten percent internal fat.

Turkeys, whose breeding on an industrial scale for the purpose of obtaining eggs is unprofitable, are characterized by rapid growth with minimal expenditure on feed.

Characteristics of the bird

Like chickens, turkeys are considered big-legged. However, they do not rake the ground with their feet and do not graze like the latter. Turkeys do well on pastures and on field crops, which they do not damage because they do not dig anywhere with their limbs. There they run around and find suitable food.

Anatomical structure

The legs of turkeys, long and strong, are adapted to cover fairly large distances. Very interesting especially the rapidly growing shin bone, tarsus and tibia. Turkey ankles contain strong and hard bones that make it possible to carry large mass bodies, covering fairly long distances. The muscles on the lower leg of this bird contain a lot of zinc, which perfectly strengthens bones and tendons. That is why its meat in the human diet is an excellent source of this element.

Breeds

There are a great many breeds of turkeys. These are white broad-chested, and heavy Big-6, and BYuT-8, etc. Many of them were bred artificially. One of the most popular are the broad-breasted white turkeys, which are considered to be native to the United States.

This breed is distinguished by high meat characteristics, sufficient growth rate and good egg production. However, white turkeys, the breeding of which requires the creation of certain conditions, are very demanding in terms of feeding.

In this breed, experts distinguish three types of females: light, heavy and medium. Their main differences are reproductive qualities and meat precocity.

Another breed - the North Caucasian bronze - has been known among domestic poultry farmers for quite a long time. It adapts perfectly to pasture keeping. The wide body is elongated, with plumage tightly fitting to the body.

Breeding

Of course, turkeys are not as popular on the market as, for example, chickens, but their meat is also in high demand. Moreover, this figure is growing every year, especially in megacities.

Turkey breeding (as a business) can be started by assessing the demand for this product. The easiest way is to walk through food markets and ask the meat departments how much poultry they sell per day. In addition, it is necessary to imagine the level of competition, and also study the question of how turkeys, the price of which is considerable, are sold. If there is already a large poultry farm in a given region, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to compete with it. Therefore, it would be better to leave this idea and move on to something else. If you still decide to do this, you will need to register as a private entrepreneur and choose a tax system.

Premises

There are two types of raising turkeys - outdoors under a canopy and in specially equipped rooms. The first option is only suitable for residents of warm regions. In general, turkeys can withstand fairly low temperature conditions without any problems - up to fifteen degrees below zero. However, it will still be better if they are kept in comfortable conditions. Therefore, a well-equipped turkey farm is the best option. This is also worth considering.

And in the summer, when the temperature outside rises to fifteen degrees or higher, turkeys, the breeding and maintenance of which require certain costs, are transferred to the open air - with cages and a canopy over them.

Livestock

Each pen must have a certain number of birds. The livestock can be divided according to age. It is not recommended to keep more than fifteen birds in one cage that are not yet a month old, about 10 for two, and about 5 for older birds.

Taking into account the fact that the temperature regime should be maintained, it is necessary to take into account not only heating costs, but also the maximum insulation of the walls of the room, in order to be able to save at least a little in the future.

Market analysis

Like any other type of business, turkey breeding also requires certain investments. The business plan must clearly define the types of products produced. It is noteworthy that there are quite a lot of chickens and broilers on the shelves today. There is a lot of competition in this poultry industry. Whereas you can’t always see turkey in stores and not everywhere, which means that there’s really no one to compete with. Nevertheless, a novice businessman must definitely determine a marketing strategy for his products.

The manufacturer can offer the consumer the following types of goods: eggs and offal, feathers and down, and, of course, meat. Products can be supplied not only to trading network, but also to workshops involved in the production of semi-finished products, to meat processing plants or to sell through our own retail network.

The key to the success of a newly organized farm will largely depend on a properly drawn up business plan. In general, according to experts, breeding this large farm differs from all other types of agricultural activities: in this case, the return on investment is very high.

Main stages of the technological process

In addition to the premises, in order to successfully raise turkeys, a novice businessman will need to consider whole line important requirements, without which it is impossible to achieve the normal functioning of this enterprise.

The main stages of the technological process are as follows:

Equipping the premises with all necessary communications, such as electricity and ventilation, plumbing. In addition, heating devices must be installed.

Establishing an automatic supply of water, and if possible, then feed: this is done in order to minimize the number of personnel working on the farm, and therefore significantly save on wages.

Ensure cages are cleaned regularly: It is essential to maintain maximum cleanliness.

Equipment of a special area for poultry walking.

The presence of a competent, certified veterinarian who will constantly monitor the condition of turkeys and begin to treat them at the first symptoms of disease, preventing widespread deaths.

Selection of only high-quality food: experts recommend giving as little as possible (or even eliminating) various additives that are positioned as accelerating the growth of chicks.

Observing all these basic and very important rules, the future entrepreneur will be able to establish the normal operation of his small enterprise, the profile of which will be turkey breeding.

Where to buy young animals?

It must be purchased only in special incubators. These are either specialized large enterprises that cooperate with many farms, or small private firms that breed certain breeds of turkey.

But despite the fact that it is indeed possible to inexpensively purchase high-quality livestock from such private companies, experts still advise turning to larger breeders. This will allow us to resolve in the future, when selling eggs or meat, the issue of a quality certificate and a veterinary agreement. As practice shows, it is when collaborating with such large incubators that fewer problems arise when preparing the relevant documentation.

It is also necessary to take into account the fact that adult individuals differ in weight: this characteristic depends on the breed of the young. They are divided into:

lungs, females of which weigh five, and males - about ten kilograms;
averages: seven and ten, respectively;
heavy - 15 and 31 kg.

The most popular and in demand are the first two varieties of birds.

Factory equipment and feed

When starting to raise turkeys, you must first purchase a standard kit. It should include incubators and automatic waterers, cages with feeders, heaters and lamps, as well as thermometers. All this ensures normal conditions. A special point in the business plan is the expense item, that is, the funds that will be used to purchase feed and mineral supplements.

The use of the most modern technologies will allow the future businessman to mechanize his production, as well as create conditions for the life of this poultry that will help produce only high-quality products. It is very important to think in advance about how to care for them. After all, both the quality of meat and the number of eggs depend on this.

But unfortunately, modern mechanized equipment is quite expensive. This means that not every budding entrepreneur is able to afford it.

As for feed, in addition to it, turkeys need vitamins. You should not skimp on this component in their diet, since these birds are quite “capricious”.

Therefore, when developing a business plan, special attention should be paid to the natural mortality of poultry. On average, ten to fifteen percent of the heads do not survive to maturity.

Staff

To ensure the normal maintenance of turkeys, the future farmer will need to hire a veterinarian, as well as a manager, sales manager and driver, who will have to deliver goods to a variety of retail outlets. The number of workers, of course, primarily depends on the scale of activity and the number of livestock.

Business plan

In order to be able to soberly assess the profitability of the enterprise being opened, a novice entrepreneur needs to analyze all possible costs and income.

The expense item will need to include the cost of renting premises and utility bills, repairs on the future farm, employee salaries, purchase and installation necessary equipment, advertising, purchase of feed and multivitamins, registration of all necessary documentation. When calculating income in a business plan, you need to calculate the average revenue and monthly profit from breeding this bird.

conclusions

Raising turkeys is enough profitable business, the profitability of which is about one hundred or even one hundred and fifty percent. However, there are certain risks, for example, livestock diseases, which can cause huge losses. That is why you need to purchase only high-quality young animals: a turkey, the price of which seems very favorable, may ultimately turn out to be defective - sick or unsuitable for keeping. In addition, a good veterinarian must work on the farm.

In our country, few farmers raise turkeys for meat, since it is too troublesome and expensive. But turkey is valued much higher than broiler chickens. In addition, the demand for dietary meat is constantly growing. In this article we will take a closer look at raising turkeys at home, and try to figure out how to build a profitable, promising business from this activity.

Breed selection

Before you start raising turkeys at home, you need to choose the breed that you will breed. The success of your business largely depends on this. First of all, decide for what purpose you want to raise turkeys. There are breeds that are distinguished by high egg production. They are profitable to buy if you plan to sell eggs and young animals. Turkeys of meat breeds grow quickly and gain weight well.

The most a big problem is that many turkeys were bred through random crossbreeding. Such individuals have good endurance, but have low egg production and meat quality. Males gain weight no more than 8 kg, and females - 5 kg. These breeds can lead your business to bankruptcy. But experts have a different opinion. They believe that these turkey breeds require little care and have excellent survival rates, making them perfect for home raising for beginners. Experienced farmers do not recommend purchasing young animals from poultry farms. The simplest and most affordable option is households.

The most popular breeds

Broad-chested white. Adult males of this breed weigh on average about 25 kg. The weight of females reaches 10 kg. They produce 120 eggs per year. You can grow such a bird in any climatic conditions, since it has a high level of adaptation;
Bronze broad-chested. The male weighs approximately 15 kg. The weight of the female is 9 kg. They lay 120 eggs per year, of which about 80% are fertilized. Turkeys of this breed can be slaughtered for meat after 20 weeks;
Cross BIG-6. This breed can be used to raise turkeys for meat at home. The weight of the male reaches 25 kg, and the female of this breed weighs 11 kg. When raising such birds, artificial insemination should be used, since males that are too large can seriously injure females during mating.

Premises and equipment

In order for raising turkeys to bring a stable income, you need to create good living conditions for the birds.

The choice of premises depends on three important factors:

Climatic conditions in the region;
Method of keeping turkeys;
Number of heads in the herd.

IN wildlife Turkeys can withstand temperatures down to -15 degrees. This is a non-critical limit, but despite this, in order for the bird to be healthy, it is necessary to constantly maintain a favorable temperature in the room. When keeping young animals in cages, the temperature in the poultry house should not be lower than +32–35 degrees. An adult bird feels comfortable at +17 degrees.

If you plan to raise turkeys in cages, you should remember that per 1 sq. meter can accommodate no more than 15 heads of day-old chicks. In the second month of life, their number should be reduced to 8 pieces. Further? per 1 sq. per meter you can keep no more than 4 heads.

It is most profitable to raise turkeys in regions with a hot climate. In this case, they can be grown in open areas, which allows significant savings on the construction of a poultry house and heating.

Turkeys can be kept on the floor or in cages. Cage housing requires the construction of a capital farm for raising turkeys. It is necessary to create a special microclimate in the poultry house. Thanks to this, you can significantly increase production volumes.

The cage growing method is used for breeding medium and light breed turkeys. For heavy breeds, floor housing should be used, since making cages for males weighing 25 kg is quite problematic. The cage system can be used for fattening females or for keeping young animals for breeding. Laying hens are also often kept in cages and artificial insemination is carried out.

If you are planning to build your own turkey farm, you should remember that birds cannot be kept in cages for their entire lives. Therefore, you need to make sure that in addition to the cages, the premises provide pens for floor keeping. Usually young animals are kept in cages, after which they are transferred to grazing or to a pen.

IN Lately good profit brings . If you build a hangar for storing vegetables next to your farm, you can earn decent additional income.

Feeding

You can organize raising turkeys at home as a business only if you are able to create the necessary conditions for them. the main problem every farmer – quality feed. If you produce them yourself, the profitability of raising turkeys will increase significantly. Having your own feed base is an excellent help for running such a business.

So, what to feed turkeys? Particular attention should be paid to various grain crops. It is most profitable to sow oats. The seeds of this crop are cheap, besides, it improves the soil and is a good green manure. To diversify your diet, you can also grow wheat and legumes, for example, soy. Birds readily eat both grains and greens. Spilled grains have a positive effect on the immune system.

It is also necessary to introduce chalk and various vitamins into the bird’s diet so that turkeys lay high-quality eggs. Particular attention should be paid to vitamin E, which is given to chickens from the first days of life, in order to reduce the mortality of young animals. In addition, vitamin E should also be fed 2 weeks before slaughter of adult birds. This significantly increases the shelf life of meat.

Breeding Features

If you carefully study all the features of raising turkeys at home and follow simple rules, the business will bring good profits. To eliminate the risk of disease, the following conditions must be created for the bird:

No dampness or drafts;
Dry and clean litter;
High-quality food;
Young animals must be kept separate from the adult herd;
The bird should not be stressed.

Cereals or legumes are sown on the poultry run. These areas must be rotated annually. One part of the territory is allocated for walking, while the other is fallow at this time, that is, resting. Thanks to this, the yield of forage crops significantly increases.

If you decide to organize raising turkeys at home as a business, you need to take care of professional veterinary care. All birds must be vaccinated to prevent the spread of disease in the flock. Vaccination of one individual costs approximately 50 rubles.

Breeding broiler turkeys

Large, heavy breeds of turkeys quickly increase their live weight. Thanks to this, in just two months you can get delicious, nutritious meat.

Let's take a closer look at the step-by-step cultivation of broiler turkeys:

In order for turkey poults to grow quickly, from the first day of life, it is necessary to give them special nutritious feed containing grains, milk powder, cottage cheese and meat bone meal. In chicks, the esophagus is much longer than in an adult bird, so food stays in it longer and the turkey feels full. But if you use low-quality feed, the food will be retained and thereby cause poisoning;
Most main enemy young animals are exposed to drafts and high humidity. Therefore, you should constantly maintain a certain temperature in the room, approximately +30 degrees. If you are raising white turkeys, the temperature needs to be raised another 2 degrees because light colors absorb heat less well;
For broilers, bedding made from sawdust or shavings should not be used;
Turkey chicks need to be fed 20 hours after they are born, otherwise they will start pecking at everything. This is due to the fact that day-old young animals do not have developed vision and sense of smell;
Turkey poults respond to brightly colored food and light tapping.

Business plan

In order for your enterprise to be profitable and bring good profits, you need to draw up detailed business plan for raising turkeys, that is, calculate all expenses and future profits.

Expenses

One square meter an insulated poultry house will cost about $40. To maintain a herd of 500 individuals, you need to spend 10 thousand dollars on construction. The room must be equipped with heating and ventilation systems. This will require another 80–100 thousand rubles.

In addition, money is needed to set up a turkey poultry house and a yard for walking. On Construction Materials, drinking bowls and feeders will cost another 25–30 thousand rubles. If you plan to keep birds in cages, one cage battery for 70 birds will cost 30 thousand rubles. When drawing up a business plan, do not forget to take into account the costs of purchasing an incubator and equipment for a slaughterhouse - 30-40 thousand rubles.

One hatching egg costs 60–100 rubles. Young animals can be bought for 100–150 rubles per individual. An adult breeding bird costs 1.5–2 thousand rubles. Feed for the entire period of raising turkeys for 500 heads will cost you approximately 150–250 thousand rubles. If you prepare feed yourself, this expense item will be significantly reduced.

Profit

The main income from raising broiler turkeys at home is meat. Other breeds are bred to produce eggs for incubation and poults. Hatching eggs sell for 100 rubles per piece. Day-old chicks can be sold for 150 rubles. for one individual.

Typically, turkey meat is sold whole carcasses or divided into separate parts. One kilogram of turkey meat costs 200–300 rubles. Such products are sold to resellers or meat shops. In addition, cafes, restaurants and supermarkets buy turkey meat. Turkey eggs are also in great demand. Young animals are usually sold on the market to private individuals or farms. If you want to organize in a rural area home business raising turkeys is the best option that allows you to earn good money without a large initial investment.

In different regions, such a business may show different profitability. In the first year it is 60–80%. This indicator largely depends on the initial costs and the number of heads in the herd.

To increase the profitability of the farm, you can organize in parallel with raising turkeys. According to experienced farmers, this is one of the most profitable and promising directions entrepreneurial activity V agriculture. Demand for pork is consistently high. Moreover, it does not fall even during the financial crisis.

At first it can be adjusted. Such a business will not require large financial investments and has a quick payback. Profit can be made both from the sale of meat and from the sale of young piglets. Vietnamese pigs primarily eat grass. Thanks to this, the costs of dry food are significantly reduced, especially in the summer. You can get your first income from breeding Vietnamese pigs in just six months.

Dietary turkey meat is useful for children and adults, and especially for people prone to allergies. Poultry meat has a lot of taste benefits, and everything that is grown at home will be an environmentally friendly product and can be used as food without thinking about the harm to health.

From the fourth day of life, chicks can be given a mash based on milk, yogurt or skim milk, adding a little cottage cheese. It is advisable to prepare it immediately before feeding, so that the food does not have time to sour and disappear.

From the age of one week, babies can add more varied greens to their food. Fresh plants will serve as a vitamin complex in the diet of turkey poults, therefore, between feedings without porridge, you can give finely chopped dandelion or twisted through a meat grinder, cabbage leaves and clover, plantain or nettle, previously scalded with boiling water. Sometimes you need to add fish oil to porridge, which contains a lot of vitamins for the growth and development of birds.

At one and a half months, turkey poults can include whole or sprouted grains in their diet. Boiled food waste or chopped apples and pears are added to the mash.

Attention! When feeding potatoes, be sure to remove the sprouts from them, and drain the water after boiling the vegetables, thereby eliminating poisoning and death.

The diet of grown birds from two months should include microelements and vitamins necessary for growth; four meals a day are recommended. Together with the feed, alternating, you need to add corn and millet grains, yeast and bone meal, shells and chalk, and add table salt in very small quantities. The feed must be strictly bird feed; you cannot feed food intended for large animals, which contains a lot of salt and few nutrients. Great content salt will soon kill the bird.

If bird feed is difficult to obtain, then you need to prepare it yourself. You will need 60% grains crushed into fine grains, 25% legumes, 25% sunflower meal and 4% chalk; this entire mixture will be considered feed.

Advice! In the summer, prepare brooms from a set of acacia, birch, poplar and linden. You need to hang them indoors so that the birds can reach them. Dry broom leaves are also ground and added to the mash.

From autumn to spring, crushed pine needles and silage, rose hips and rowan berries are added to the mash in the amount of 3 g per person per day to provide the feed with valuable natural vitamins. Food for chicks should be scattered on a flat, level surface, for example, thick paper or waste material. Each time they feed, you need to pour fresh, clean, warm water; frequent changes of water contain fewer microbes and this measure will become one of the methods of disease prevention.

Important! Cleanliness of feeders and drinkers will protect birds from diseases.

For children, water should be poured into a container so that they cannot climb into it. After finishing drinking, it is advisable to remove the container so that the chicks do not accidentally get wet.

The drinking bowl for adult turkeys should be heavy and up to neck level, and the feeder, like for chickens, should be in the form of troughs or gutters. In winter, be sure to heat the water and pour it into the drinking bowl slightly warm.

Small and delicate chicks are very sensitive to the environment, unlike adults, so it is worth considering several important rules:

the temperature of the content is 33 degrees Celsius from the first to the fifth day of life, 27 degrees until the tenth day and then gradually decreasing to 23 degrees;
Chicks react poorly to sudden temperature changes and strong drafts;
There is no need to let the chicks out for a walk in rain or dew until they are five weeks old. At this age, skin growths form on the necks of the chicks. Make sure that they never get wet outside;
Avoid damaging the beaks of the chicks. To do this, a cardboard bedding is laid under their food, and a hard base will lead to damage to the beak and guaranteed death;
protect the chicks from adults on a flat surface without holes, so that the babies are less injured;
To avoid various diseases and injuries, you should not place them together with other types of chicks. The development and adaptation of turkey poults is slower than, for example, that of chickens.

Basic requirements for the premises

It is worth taking care in advance about suitable housing conditions, especially in the cold season, otherwise all the work on raising turkey poults will be in vain.

In winter, you need to insulate the room as much as possible. Cover the floor with dry straw and trample it down, and when the temperature drops to -10, provide the house with an additional heater.
In the summer, ensure the room is ventilated (without drafts) from dampness and excess air humidity.
Lighting in winter lasts about 14 hours a day, and additional lighting will increase the egg production of adults.

Birds love long walks; besides, they run quickly, and in case of danger they can fly. Considering their behavior, they need a large space in the form of a mesh enclosure or a quiet and calm surrounding; if this is not available, it is worth carefully trimming the wings of adult individuals.

Attention! Confinement in a small space leads to obesity and disease in the bird.

Fattening young animals for meat

From four months of age, turkeys begin to be fattened to increase their weight. The month of enhanced nutrition from August to September should be spent on free grazing and three meals a day, including bag and grain crops in the diet.

For limited grazing, feeding consists of four times per day. Food should consist of more flour mixture, cottage cheese, egg waste and greens, boiled potatoes and fodder beets, legumes, sprouted grains and meat waste inclusive.

The wet mash should be prepared at the rate of: 80 g. milk and 100 gr. flour, mixing everything. Yeast and salted foods, soaked or steamed grains will help increase your appetite during weight gain.

Diet for fattening turkey poults
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Salted food is prepared as follows: pour one kilogram of flour mixture with two liters of boiling water and mix everything, and after two hours add the remaining ingredients and knead until the food is loose.
To prepare yeast food: take 50 g of fresh or 25 g of dry yeast for baking, dissolve it in lukewarm water, and then add a little 10 kg of dry flour mixture, then keep it warm for six hours. Feeding lasts 45 minutes, after which the remains are removed and then root vegetables or healthy greens are given. Pour a lot of water. A separate feeder for individuals should be filled with chalk and shells.
The most common grains to be sprouted are wheat, oats or barley. The grain is pre-soaked and then poured onto the racks in a layer 10 cm thick. At positive temperatures above 22 degrees, the grain will germinate within three days.

For the next month, they do not walk the birds, but keep them indoors and dim the lighting. They give feed and protein mixtures, and mash at least twice a day. For a positive result in weight gain, one bird must eat about 800 grams of feed per day, and together with the mash, almost a kilogram per unit. During these months, many different grain foods should be provided with oats and buckwheat, which will provide sufficient protein and fat. The cake of various plants included in the diet will additionally affect the rapid weight gain of the bird and provide amino acids.

Forced fattening

The pellets are prepared from a special batch: corn and barley flour 20% each, wheat flour and bran 15% each, oat flour 25% and regular salt 1%. Add 5% yeast to the mixture and pour 150 g of liquid of your choice into 100 g of the resulting mixture and knead into a stiff dough. First, rolls of dough are made about 2 cm thick and 6 cm long. The finished pellet is moistened with water and placed in the bird’s esophagus. With one hand you need to open the beak of the individual, and with the other, place the pellet, slowly, gently press on the part of the neck from below and push it into the crop. With this fattening, it is worth making sure that the turkey’s crop is filled with food. Having increased food consumption, they slowly begin fattening from twice a day to 30% of food per day. If an individual is forced to gain weight, the feeding period is reduced to two weeks.

Self-pecking fattening

The birds are released to graze in fields with harvested melons, grains or sunflowers. The birds are fed two or three times directly at the pasture with unlimited containers of water, preferably cool. Warm water, of course, will be worse to drink, so it is worth replacing it several times a day with fresh and cooler water. It is best to equip artificial shade at the walking site, using the structure of a hut and canopy. This method requires large areas, but the advantage is that the consumption of grain crops is insignificant, and weight gain occurs faster and better.

Reference! How older age poultry, the tougher the meat and, accordingly, the worse the taste.

Fattening adult birds

First, it is worth inspecting the birds; you may not have to feed them all intensively. For those who need fattening, when palpated, the skin forms a fold; it is very thin without fat, and the bones are sharper and protrude strongly. This also includes the average weight of birds. But a well-fed individual with a rounded body shape and palpable subcutaneous fat in the lower abdomen is already ready for slaughter. After inspection, the entire selected individual is sent to additional set missing kilograms. While the young animals are gaining weight, it is imperative that they maintain a good appetite, peace and quiet, and given that the bird’s vision and sense of touch are excellent, they will pay attention to the shape and even the color of lighter colored food.

The fattening period lasts about a month and will best time at the end of autumn. Fattening consists of four meals a day without walking. The feed composition and variety is the same as for young animals, predominantly a flour mixture. Adults of ordinary turkeys reach up to 12 kg, and turkeys up to 16 kg when breeding purebred birds there will be different weight data.

Advice! During hot weather summer days food intake is correspondingly reduced and leads to kilogram loss. These days you need to feed more vegetables and grated carrots, which will increase appetite and prevent weight loss.

The Secret to Feeding Turkey for Tasty Meat

In conclusion, it is worth noting that in order to raise a turkey for meat, you need to monitor its diet. A variety of food will have a positive effect on the bird’s strong immunity and health. In summer and winter, turkeys must have both wet and dry food. Those birds that eat what they find themselves, without human intervention, of course, heavy weight not achieved.

The domestication of turkeys occurred ten centuries ago in America. This beautiful and majestic bird was very freedom-loving and not as calm and slow as its modern relatives. In the process of domestication, quite a number of new breeds arose, the main differences of which are the weight and color of the plumage. A frequent question is what is the difference between a turkey and a turkey - it is a mistake to think that these are different birds, in fact, both one and the other are females of this species of bird. The use of the word turkey is more popular in foreign countries, but the second in our country.

The weight of an adult turkey can reach 30-40 kg. In addition to the fact that the meat is tasty, it is also dietary and very healthy. Each carcass contains more than 50% meat, 15% subcutaneous fat and a little more than 10% internal fat. Turkey eggs, down and feathers are no less valuable.

Raising turkeys is quite a troublesome and expensive task, requiring certain skills. Many people are afraid of not knowing how to properly care for turkeys, as well as the opinion that turkey poults often die due to poor adaptation to new conditions. However, by providing careful care, even an inexperienced farmer can avoid such negative consequences.

Turkey chicks require the greatest attention and special care - rearing and feeding in the first month of life. You should not refuse to raise turkeys because of their possible diseases. Proper living conditions and nutrition will help to avoid and overcome initial difficulties, and soon the babies will become adult turkeys and turkeys that grow almost every hour.

In fact, no more than two or three turkey poults die due to the disease. And following the rules will help to avoid such annoying cases and ensure the quality development of the chicks.

Methods of content

There are several ways to keep turkeys at home; it is better to choose the most suitable one before you start equipping the premises. Each of them is influenced by climate and the purpose of breeding.

There are three such ways:

Poultry house arrangement

When wondering how to raise turkeys, proper arrangement of their housing requires a lot of attention. For starters, a box, a small pen or a cage will do, which will eliminate the risk of all sorts of ailments.

The box with the bottom is covered with straw or shavings. The average daily temperature should be approximately 37 degrees, later in the process of growing up the turkeys it will change. The right thing for beginners includes mandatory ventilation of the house - chicks are especially sensitive to odors and gases.

The habitat of turkey poults must be equipped with a drinking bowl and feeder, a heater and a thermometer.

You also need 24-hour lighting and regular replacement of bedding.

Not the last requirements on which the choice of premises depends are:

Climatic conditions. Although in the wild turkeys can withstand temperatures down to minus 15°C, a temperature regime of at least 32°C for young birds and 17°C for adult birds is very important for their health.
Method of maintenance.
Number of poultry raised.

Rules for keeping turkey poults

A common question from breeders: is it possible to keep chickens and poults together in the same room? As experts and veterinarians advise, you shouldn’t do this. But if this is not possible, and the chickens, roosters and turkeys are in the same room, the best option would be to make a fence.

In addition, for beginners it provides a number of important rules:

Feeding turkeys

To ensure rapid weight gain, it is important to know how to properly feed turkeys at home; in addition, with a complete, balanced diet, you can be sure that the birds are healthy. A sufficient amount of proteins, vitamins, fats, carbohydrates and minerals - all components must be present in the diet of turkeys.

The correct percentage of food for turkeys is grains and legumes of about 70%. The best option would be to prepare the feed before purchasing the young animals. Optimal choice There will be ready-made complete feed. Its undeniable advantage is that it does not require any additional mixtures. In addition, feeding with compound feed reduces possible losses among turkey poults, and also significantly increases their vitality.

Feeding turkeys differs from feeding other types of farm birds in the large amount of protein and vitamins.

Otherwise, with a sedentary lifestyle, the turkey will gain too much unhealthy fat.

In addition, turkey poults will enjoy a variety of mash based on skim milk or sour milk. Additives can include fish, herbs, potatoes and cottage cheese. But it is worth considering that mash is a fairly quickly perishable product, and they should be prepared immediately before feeding and in not very large quantities. The frequency is seven times a day, and later decreases to four.

The number of feedings for adults is three. In the first half of the day it is best to give mash and greens, and in the evening grain. Compound feed can be either added or given in its pure form.

An excellent option is to graze turkeys on pasture during the warm season. Greens as food will not only be a source of minerals and vitamins, but will also allow the owner to save on the purchase of food. In addition, such an active lifestyle will prevent the bird from gaining fat.

Experienced breeders who already know everything about turkeys know how essential supplements are animal proteins, as well as vitamins E and A. In winter, to avoid vitamin deficiency, brooms from branches, green hay and even sauerkraut. Brooms made from linden, poplar and acacia, prepared in the summer, can simply be hung indoors or wiped and added to porridge.

Basic food for turkeys includes:

cereals and beans;

cake and soybean meal;

straw and greens;

fish, meat and bone meal and blood meal;

pine and fir needles;

acorns, nuts and vegetable oil make poultry meat unusually soft and tender.

It is important to know that during the breeding stage, males lose their appetite, and when a turkey cries, the whole neighborhood hears it. And to avoid weight loss, they are fed legumes and cottage cheese, carrots and nuts, as well as sprouted grains. But for females, to increase egg production and improve the quality of eggs, it is recommended to add yeast, fresh herbs and also sprouted grains to the diet. By the way, there is no need to doubt whether turkeys and turkeys are different birds, what is the difference between a male and a female - representatives of the same species of birds.

Except important issue How to properly feed turkeys, no less important is the bird's drinking - the water should not be too warm, but cool, otherwise the chicks may refuse. It is recommended to replace it every 5 hours. A weak solution of potassium permanganate can be given a couple of times every 7 days for disinfection purposes.

Caring for drinking bowls requires rinsing and wiping with clean cloths.

The turkey is a finicky bird and its rearing is different compared to other birds. It is worth spending time studying specialized literature or expert advice.

One such recommendation is to place the drinking bowl in a shaded area. As for the feed of young animals, in addition to minerals and vitamins, it is recommended to add oatmeal, corn flour and milk powder. Gravel is poured into a separate bird feeder.

Taboos include too high perches for turkeys and living together with other birds or animals. Also, the poultry house should always be clean.

When choosing turkeys, you should pay attention to the most active chicks.

Thus, although young turkeys require special care and will have to be tinkered with, there are often no problems with adult turkeys - they grow quickly and gain weight. This can eventually grow into a great way to generate income for beginners.