Keeping turkeys from scratch to slaughter: the best methods and secrets of organizing a turkey poultry farm on a private farm for beginners

Good afternoon, experienced and novice poultry farmers. Today we will talk in detail about raising turkeys at home. Recently, raising birds of various breeds at home has become increasingly popular. This fact is justified, since farming brings quite a good profit.

However, not all birds can bring the expected benefits after sale. Therefore, it is recommended for beginners to start their business with those breeds that will allow them to provide not only for their family, but also for the desired level of income.

Raising turkeys at home

One of the most profitable birds that can be bred at home is the turkey. The weight of one adult individual reaches 30 kg. The meat of these birds is highly valued and widely distributed among lovers of dietary products.

In addition to meat, birds produce a large number of eggs, which are also easily sold on the market. Therefore, a farm with turkey poults is considered one of the most profitable for breeders.

In order for turkey poults to grow healthy, produce strong offspring and have high egg production, all growing conditions must be observed. Particular attention is paid to diet.

The food should be balanced, enriched with vitamin complexes. After studying all the nuances of breeding turkey poults, you can begin arranging a home for the birds and purchasing chicks.

What feed is used when feeding turkey poults.

When feeding turkey poults in the first days of life, owners of private household plots and peasant farms usually use the following food products:

• Corn and wheat flour;
• Wheat bran;
• Boiled eggs mixed with low-fat cottage cheese;
• Crushed shells and chalk as a mineral supplement.

Pure drinking water at room temperature is poured into separate containers. To normalize digestion, you can use yogurt well. Owners should introduce all new components of the diet gradually so that the birds get used to the new food and there are no digestive disorders.

The profitability of raising turkeys on your own plot

Breeding turkey poults at home is a very profitable business. But it should be remembered that despite the profitability, it is a little more difficult to obtain good meat products compared to raising broilers.

The whole difficulty lies in the higher requirements of turkeys for living conditions. These birds find it more difficult to adapt to a new place, new food products, and drinking water.

Experienced poultry farmers highlight several positive aspects of turkey breeding:

1. Low cholesterol percentage. This is a fairly significant fact due to which meat is considered dietary. Other birds have a higher percentage of cholesterol;
2. Turkey meat contains a large amount of amino acids and vitamins that are necessary for normal human life;
3. The products (meat and eggs) are very easily absorbed by the human body. Therefore, many nutritionists and doctors recommend consuming turkey meat in the diet during treatment of the digestive system;
4. Does not cause an allergic reaction, therefore it is recommended for introduction into the diet of children;
5. The liver of turkey poults contains a large amount of folic acid, as well as very rare vitamin K. Due to this fact, the product is recommended for pregnant women and small children.

Turkey has a lot of beneficial properties that have a positive effect on the human body. The product is widely in demand among athletes, since the dietary dish not only provides an opportunity to obtain protein for muscle growth, but also relieves fatigue after grueling workouts, has a positive effect on the nervous system, calming it, and promotes good sleep and sound sleep.

It is important to note that the eggs of this breed of birds are significantly larger in size compared to chicken eggs, and in terms of dietary characteristics they occupy a higher position after quail eggs.

But you won’t be able to make a big profit from turkey eggs alone, since they don’t lay eggs as often as chickens. Experienced farmers do not set themselves a target for income from selling eggs; as a rule, they serve as an additional bonus.

Note! The speed of their growth and the quality of meat depend on proper care of turkey poults.

Therefore, from the first days you should follow all the rules of maintenance, feeding and preventive measures.

Income

With proper care and 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%.

Rules for keeping and raising turkeys at home

This is not to say that raising turkeys is very easy, but this family of birds requires some attention. Adults do not need constant supervision or special care, but young animals, in turn, are quite susceptible to any changes in housing and feeding conditions.

After transporting the chicks and moving them to a new home, you should carefully consider such aspects as:

• Firstly, the indoor temperature;
• secondly, regular ventilation of the room;
• thirdly, daily feeding with fresh food and drinking water;
• regular cleaning of the poultry house.

Before bringing the chicks to a new house, the necessary conditions for them should be provided. Particular attention is paid to the air temperature inside the room. After the young hatch, they require a fairly high ambient temperature, more than +33 degrees Celsius.

It is very important to sort individuals of different colors. Thus, chicks with light plumage require higher thermometer levels, while those with dark plumage tolerate temperatures at or even below normal.

Tips for every day

It should be remembered that turkeys are not waterfowl, so contact with water and moisture must be excluded until at least 5 weeks of age.

During the growth of young chicks, it is recommended to take preventive measures to prevent injury to the beaks. The fact is that when the chicks peck at the grain, they actively hit the still weak bone tissues of the beak and mandible against the stone.

To exclude an undesirable phenomenon, you should put bedding in the dish with the feed. Cardboard is great for this. A couple of layers will be enough to prevent turkey poults from reaching the hard surface of metal or concrete with their beaks.

• Advice! Turkey poults of different breeds can enter into conflict situations and cause injuries to each other. Therefore, to avoid fights, it is necessary to make your own walking areas on the site for each species of bird, preventing the mixing of individuals.

It is important to pay attention to diseases. It should be remembered that turkeys can quickly become infected from other birds living in the yard. Diseases appear especially often when kept together in the same area with chickens. The latter often cause the death of young animals from various diseases.

Another problem with raising turkeys is their tendency to gain fat. A negative phenomenon is observed when the volume of feed is not observed. A novice breeder needs to monitor the amount of feed offered.

Otherwise, the birds will very quickly become overgrown with fat, which cannot be sold on the market due to their uselessness. To eliminate this problem, grain and other fertilizers should be dosed. But also allow the birds to roam freely around the yard or in the pen for exercise.

Business plan for creating a turkey farm

When starting a turkey farm, a business plan is the most important part of the business. All income and expenses are included here in order to determine profitability.

When breeding turkeys, planning includes taking into account the following factors:

1. Acquisition of a plot of land (if it does not exist).
2. Purchasing individuals or eggs.
3. Feed costs.
4. Inventory, arrangement of the interior space of the room.
5. Construction of enclosures (if there are none).

The payback is calculated and assumptions are made about the sales market. In total, expenses should optimally not exceed income.

Room requirements for bird growth

From the first days of life, turkey poults must comply with the conditions of detention. The poultry house must meet all of the following aspects:

1. Temperature not lower than +10 degrees Celsius . This is one of the most important rules of content. During the cold season, the thermometer inside the poultry house should not fall below +10 degrees. Turkeys cannot tolerate cold, they can get sick and die. In this case, all cultivation costs will be in vain.

To prevent freezing of the room, work should be done in advance to insulate the walls, ceiling, floor, as well as window and door openings. It is very important to exclude drafts, but at the same time leave a window for ventilation, fresh air access and removal of ammonia vapors from the room.

2. Ventilation. The poultry house must be equipped with ventilation holes or even a hood. In summer, on hot days, the room should not be overheated; it should be a little cooler than outside. Therefore, it is very important to create a ventilation and airing system when equipping a room. It is allowed to install an electric hood, which will force air out of the room.

3. Air humidity should be within 65-70%. Such indicators must be observed, since very dry air, as well as too humid air, leads to the development of various diseases in birds.

4. Lighting. Turkey poults can be raised all year round, but it is very important to observe the daylight hours. This family of birds requires a 14-hour day. Therefore, it is necessary to install additional daylight lamps inside the poultry house to provide additional illumination after dark. For the correct life cycle, the lights must be turned on at 6 am.

In order to comply with all maintenance conditions, it is necessary to install a thermometer and moisture meter inside the poultry house. Thanks to these devices, the owner will be able to control and adjust the air temperature and humidity in the room.

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.

Place for females

Along with the generally accepted conditions for keeping turkeys, it is necessary to determine the location of the females in the poultry house. In a selected corner, nests are placed in which individuals will begin to hatch eggs. It is very important to install the nesting box in such a way that relatives cannot reach the clutch. Otherwise, the birds will begin to break the shell with their beak and eat it along with the contents.

For more comfortable incubation and laying, it is recommended to select an appropriate nest site. It is recommended to arrange a place for females in more secluded and protected corners of the room. The lighting there should be dim so that individuals feel safe and quiet. The twilight also prevents other birds from congregating near the female territory.

It is important to pay attention to the installation of nests. Experienced poultry farmers recommend building a small bench at a height of 30 cm from the floor. Females will easily jump onto a shelf with clutches and incubate eggs in conditions that are more comfortable for them. This height does not allow the nest to freeze, and will also protect the masonry from other birds.

If there are a large number of individuals, it is allowed to create entire steps to a height of no more than one meter from the ground. Several tiers for turkeys allow you to choose a convenient place for yourself.

Note! Female turkeys are loyal to the clutches of other turkeys, so it is possible to install one nest for several individuals at once. They will take turns incubating the eggs.

The location of the tiers for perching should be away from the entrance to eliminate possible drafts when the breeder enters. The rest of the birds are recommended to make ash baths, where the birds will clean their plumage, preventing the appearance of parasites on the body.

Coloring and genotype of turkeys

Turkeys are relatively large, fast-growing birds. On the front of their head, directly above the nasal openings, there is a skin growth. The head and neck are densely covered with fleshy warts and have no feathers. Males have a wart and spurs, which are sometimes only marked in females. Turkeys have white skin, but the color of the beak, legs and fingers depends on the presence and manifestation of the plumage color gene. So, in white turkeys they are white, in black ones they are black, and with a different color they have an intermediate color.

The color of turkeys depends on the presence and combination of 12 mutant genes, of which the oldest are black (B), white (C) and slate (D). The wild color type (bronze) is indicated by the symbol “+”.

Table “Color of turkeys and their genotype”:

Walking pens

To prevent obesity, the bird needs space for physical activity. Walking pens are usually created for the summer. When fresh grass begins to grow, the sun comes out. Of course, birds can also receive fresh vitamins.

Inexperienced breeders should know that turkeys can fly. Of course, for short distances, but this is enough to fly over the fence and leave the yard. There are two ways to prevent escapes from your wards.

1. Create a pen with a mesh roof. As a rule, a garden net is used, which is mounted on top of the fence in the form of a roof. A fairly common method that ensures that all birds are in their place;

2. Wing clipping. This is a radical measure that should only be carried out by experienced farmers in exceptional cases. For example, with a small number of individuals and many years of experience in keeping birds. Of course, in large productions no one will trim wings.

When arranging a paddock or enclosure, it is very important to take into account some aspects and requirements for a place for walking. First of all, it is necessary to provide a shading angle where, in hot weather, birds can hide from the sweltering rays of the sun. Slate or other covering material is perfect for this, which is simply placed on the mesh roof, creating a shadow.

Walking turkeys

Individuals that are 1 to 2 weeks old can be released for walks. The young animals can walk for no more than 20 minutes, then they should be driven back into the house. As you get older, your walks become longer. And full-fledged walking is allowed only after the birds are covered with real and thick plumage, eliminating sunburn.

Important! Walking turkey poults is allowed only in good, calm and dry weather. In other cases, it is better to abstain in order to prevent the risk of bird disease.

When the birds are accustomed to the street and spend more time outside the house, then a feeder and drinking containers should be placed outside. Walks for adults should be carried out not only in summer, but also in winter.

An important condition for walking is the thermometer readings; they should not be lower than 20 degrees Celsius. In this case, it is recommended to lay a thick layer of hay or mown grass on the bottom of the enclosure. Such events will not allow the birds’ paws to freeze and get sick, and during the walk the birds will actively eat dry grass.

Preparation

Before landing, the birds remove the old bedding, wash the feeders and drinkers in an alkaline solution, sweep away the cobwebs, and whitewash the walls with slaked lime.

Premises requirements

The window area should be 1/10 of the floor area. In summer, the room is ventilated through the windows. In winter, it is ventilated through exhaust openings located in the walls and equipped with covers.

Roost and nests

Young animals are accustomed to perches located 10 cm above the floor on the 20th day. A turkey chick initially requires 8 cm of perch length, for an adult turkey – 35–40. For production, smoothly planed beams with a cross-section of 5x7 cm are taken. The height from the floor is 60–80 cm, the distance between the beams is 60 cm. A month before the start of egg-laying, nests are installed - wooden boxes lined with wood shavings. The dimensions of the nests intended for 4–5 laying hens are 40x50x60 cm.

Walk

A solarium with a concrete or earthen floor is installed next to the poultry house. To prevent birds from flying out, a net with 8x8 cm cells is stretched over the top of the walking area. In warm weather, turkey chicks are allowed to go for walks from the 10th day of life. The duration of exercise is increased daily by 10–15 minutes. Young animals go out to pasture at the age of 2 months.

Raising turkeys at home for meat

Raising turkeys at home and fattening them for meat. Like any family of birds, turkeys require the correct selection of food in accordance with their developmental periods. At the initial stage, starter feeds are used, then there are formulations for growth, and lastly for gaining muscle mass. Birds are transferred to meat fattening from the age of four months.

Over the next month, the turkeys are on constant walks, receive food three times a day, and also receive vitamin supplements. After one month, when the birds are 5 months old, their walking is significantly limited, and food is served 4 times a day. With this regime, it is very important to pay attention to the composition of the food offered to the birds.

What to feed turkeys at home.

The food must include the following products:

• Flour mixture;
• boiled potatoes;
• finely broken egg shells;
• greens and sprouted grains;
• beet;
• legumes;
• meat waste.

In this case, of the above products, flour mixture should be in larger quantities. To do this, prepare a wet mash. Take 100 g of flour and add 80 ml of milk. Everything is mixed and offered to the birds.

In order for birds to eat well and have an appetite, it is recommended to introduce steamed grain and yeast products into the diet. This feeding promotes rapid meat gain.

If, with such a diet, the breeder does not notice changes in body weight gain, then it is necessary to completely exclude the individuals from walking. Lack of physical activity will not allow you to waste energy, but will promote the growth of muscle fibers. Along with the lack of walking, protein mixtures and mixed feed are introduced into the diet, and the supply of mash is increased to twice a day.

For one individual, 800 g of the combined mixture per day and 200 g of the flour mixture are calculated. Thus, an adult should receive one kilogram of food per day.

Caring for young animals

The main thing that newborn turkey poults need is warmth. If this condition is not met when caring for small turkeys, the bird begins to suffer from various diseases, and as a result may die. Even if such a disaster does not happen, the weight of the bird will be less than expected. In this case, even good feeding will not affect rapid weight gain. Turkey poults are kept in a box or wooden box.

It is worth noting that if the cardboard gets wet, then foolish chicks may begin to peck at it, and this is not good for their still fragile stomachs. It’s better to put a cloth and sawdust on the bottom. The size of the box must be at least one square meter. The walls must be at least 40 centimeters, or the overly curious chicks will be able to escape. An electric lamp should be mounted above the box with the fry. For this purpose, you can upgrade the desktop one. It will give the kids light and warmth. The power of the lighting device must be at least 40 W.

If the room is too cool, you can mount the lamps in a box. Just make sure that it is securely insulated, otherwise the turkey poults may get burned. It is not advisable to turn off the bird’s lights for the first two days. Later, the light mode should be reduced. This is done gradually. The time is reduced by 35-30 minutes per day. When turkey poults turn 20 days old, the lights can be turned on for 15 hours every day. The temperature should also be gradually made cooler. For newborns, the temperature in their home should be 38 degrees, and at one month it should already be 25 degrees. At 2 months, the juveniles feel comfortable at 20 degrees Celsius. This level of lighting and heat is maintained for up to 7 months, that is, when the turkey poults have already grown up.

Force-feeding of turkeys

Raising turkeys at home and fattening them for meat. There are situations when a farmer needs to receive marketable products in a shorter time. For this, there is a certain secret of forced feeding for accelerated weight gain.

The secret lies in the feeding system. Forced feeding involves preparing special pellets, which contain oats, bran, corn, flour, and a little yeast. All these products are ground and then thoroughly mixed. A small sausage is rolled from the finished mixture - a pellet, reaching a diameter of no more than 2 cm and a length of up to 6 cm.

Next, the process of force-feeding involves catching the turkey poult, opening the beak with your hands and placing the pellet into the esophagus. Before placing the sausage in the beak, it must be soaked in salt water. After laying, gently push the lump with your finger so that it gets further into the esophagus. After this, lightly presses on the neck, trying to push the pellets into the goiter. It is important to make sure that the food gets into the crop and fills it completely.

This feeding regimen allows you to reduce the time needed to gain muscle mass by at least two weeks. In some cases, this can save farmers and allow them to make a profit a little earlier than planned.

Major diseases

Improper diet and living conditions lead to diseases

Turkey poults often get sick:

• Coccidosis is caused by protozoan microorganisms and can cause death of the carrier.
• Trichomoniasis - infection occurs through contact or consumption of contaminated water.
• Tuberculosis - develops with improper maintenance.
• Pasteurellosis - pathology occurs in fattened turkey poults 1-2 months of age. The reason is pecking of manure.
• Parasitic viruses of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Aspergillosis is a fungal infection of the organs of the pulmonary system. Most often the problem is stale litter.

Prevention of diseases should be carried out in the first days of life of chicks.

Prevention

For gastrointestinal disorders, furazolidone is prescribed

On the first day, a solution of ascorbic acid and glucose is soldered, from the second to the fifth irex-vital or amino-vital (we already wrote about them in the section on soldering). Try to give the chicks food as early as possible - the sooner they consume it, the more viable they will be. It is recommended to give crushed boiled eggs as the first food. Other preventive measures and means:

1. Furozolidone in small quantities in 6-10 days of life prevents the development of gastrointestinal pathologies.
2. Amprolium destroys coccidia in 15-20 days.
3. ASD-2 is a drug for fungal and aspergillosis, given before walking.
4. Metronidazole - starting from the 40th day of life for 4 days at the rate of 4 tablets per liter of water. Provides protection against protozoa.

For the first week and a half, turkey poults are fed only boiled water.

Reproduction methods

Raising turkeys at home and breeding. Among poultry farmers, there are two methods for producing young animals in a turkey herd. The first method involves incubatory hatching using special devices in which eggs with embryos are laid. The second method involves natural roosting of female hens. Both methods have their pros and cons, but each brings good results.

1. Incubator and cultivation . This method, if all the rules are followed, allows you to get a 100% result, in which each egg will produce a small chick. But the downside is that all the care of rearing rests with the breeder, because there is no hen. Lack of experience can be disappointing in this technique, since the farm owner will have to try hard to get the desired result;

2. Natural incubation . Turkeys are famous as excellent hens; a female can hatch up to 16 eggs at a time. But this technique cannot guarantee that each egg will hatch into a chick. The advantage is that the poultry farmer will not have to sweat and constantly look after the young animals, but the disadvantage is that he will not be able to dramatically increase the number of individuals in the flock.

Each of the above options in any case helps the breeder make a profit. Which method to use is up to the farmer himself to decide, relying on experience, knowledge, availability of the necessary equipment and time.

It is important to pay attention to the number of hens in the herd. If there are no plans for further breeding and sale of products on the market, then three or four hens are enough for self-sufficiency in meat and eggs.

Beautiful mothers

Turkeys are very responsible and caring mothers. Poultry keepers can freely use them to hatch young animals without using incubators. With their help, owners save not only money, but also their energy.

The female sometimes even forgets to eat, so she gets involved in incubating the eggs. The poultry house’s task is to monitor this process; nutrition should be regular.

Periodically remove the hen from the nest so that she can eat and drink water.

Often, other people's eggs are placed under turkeys: chicken, duck, etc. All will be wrapped in care and patiently hatched. One individual raises several dozen turkey poults; turkeys can also take care of the offspring.

Useful tips about raising turkeys at home

To achieve the desired goal, obtaining a strong generation of young animals, excellent meat, and high-quality masonry, it is recommended to use some advice from professional breeders:

1. Firstly. Birds must be kept clean, so the premises should be cleaned daily. If mortality is detected, immediately remove them from the site and carry out preventive measures to maintain health.
2. Secondly. Walking plays an important role in the development of birds; for this purpose, aviaries for walking are necessarily built.
3. Third. Inside the poultry house there must be the required microclimate, temperature, humidity and dryness are maintained.
4. But sick individuals should immediately isolate themselves from their relatives.
5. Feeding times should always be the same. Standardized breaks between meals allow you to properly develop and gain muscle mass.

These are important rules about raising turkeys at home.

Purchase of livestock

The breeder can buy adult layers, young hens or eggs for incubation. It is best to start with one-month-old chicks - these turkey poults are as strong and hardy as possible, eat regular food, and are capable of adapting to a new place.

In the case of eggs, an incubator is required, a certain time for hatching, and special feeding for the chicks. In addition, not all eggs can produce high-quality and healthy offspring. The condition of the young chicks is immediately visible, and this method will save money and time.

The best time to purchase chicks is with the arrival of February. It is necessary to pay attention to appearance, vaccinations, and the health of the parents. It is advisable to select young animals of different litters in order to better ensure survival.

Raising turkeys at home for beginners

Compliance with all the rules for maintaining a herd of turkeys will allow you to form your own business and provide your family with healthy meat. Responsibility is the key to a positive result.

Good luck!

Subscribe to site updates and our “Chicken” channel in Yandex Zen.

See you! And we are already preparing new and interesting articles about poultry farming for you.

Did you like our tips? Share with friends on social media. networks!