How to build a turkey house (poultry house for turkeys) with your own hands

Keeping turkeys in cages: pros and cons

Some breeders criticize cage-based poultry farming because they are raised in an unnatural environment and do not have enough time to graze. In addition, the poultry farmer is responsible for providing the turkeys with all the necessary food.

However, with cellular content there are a number of advantages that cannot be ignored, and these include the following aspects:

significant feed savings;
no need for different bedding;
poultry meat productivity is higher;
farm areas are used more efficiently;
You can keep more birds.

However, there are some drawbacks to cage-based poultry breeding. One of them is when turkeys fall on their feet and the bird loses the ability to use its wings. Due to the cramped space, turkeys simply lose the ability to fly and move, and frequent fractures of the leg and wing bones are observed. However, successful attempts are being made to eliminate these shortcomings.

When keeping and breeding turkeys in cages, growth slows down after reaching 2 months of age. This is also due to lack of space. Sometimes turkeys become very frightened when there is extraneous noise near the poultry house. The resulting excitement sometimes ends with turkeys being injured and even killed as the cage block overturns due to panic among the flock.

Direct production

It is not advisable to build cages for a certain age of birds. Turkeys love large spaces, so the larger the product, the better.

Let's consider a standard cage option. Its dimensions are taken to be one and a half to zero seven meters and the height should be at least zero seven meters. The bird house is made of wooden blocks, with plywood walls and a ceiling screwed to them. The door is attached to the front side.

When making it, it is necessary to provide viewing windows for light to enter and control birds

Attention should be paid to the floor covering. In our case, it will be a metal mesh; under it you need to place a raised floor in the form of a plastic pallet

First of all, we make plywood walls. To do this, two plywood sheets measuring one and a half by one and a half meters are cut into two identical parts. We should get four pieces of plywood measuring one and a half by zero seventy-five meters. Two pieces are the finished ceiling and the far wall. The remaining two pieces still need to be sawed in half. The resulting squares are the sidewalls.
Next, you should build a wooden frame to fit the manufactured wall dimensions. Then we screw the prepared plywood pieces to the frame with screws.
The cage is almost ready, all that remains is to make the floor and the door. To make the floor, you need to build a frame from the bars equal to the perimeter of the bottom of the cage. Next, the mesh is stretched over the frame.
The pallet is made in a similar way, only sheet plastic is attached to the place of the mesh. It can be replaced with moisture-resistant plywood.
The door is made in the same way. Handles are screwed to it, and it is attached to the cage using loops.

About

Turkey poultry project: drawing up a drawing

When the location for the future poultry house has been determined, its drawing needs to be developed in detail. If you make the right calculations right away, you can get a correct idea of exactly how much building materials will be needed. Therefore, drawing up the right project is the key to correctly calculating the budget.

It is also important to decide who exactly needs to be kept - how many adult birds there will be and how many turkey poults. Each building can be made according to different projects, or they can be built within one complex with the possibility of completely separating turkeys from chicks

The size of the turkey poultry depends on the number of birds

Poultry house for turkey poults: drawing

Below are drawings, which were compiled on the basis that 30 turkey poults will live in the turkey house. Parameters for other quantities can be easily recalculated.

Turkey poultry with an aviary: side view

Note! You should not make the room too high, because in this case it will be more difficult to heat it - all the heat will go up

It is also important to take into account that the roof is sloping for precipitation

Turkey poultry: view from the entrance

Turkey poultry: top view and interior design

Poultry house for adult turkeys: drawing

Here is a drawing for keeping the same number of adult birds (30 heads).

Turkey poultry for 30 heads

The presence of a vestibule in a turkey house for any purpose is a prerequisite so that cold air in winter does not directly reach the birds. You can keep household items there so that space doesn’t go to waste, but you shouldn’t skimp on its size.

The inlet hole is selected with standard parameters. And the window opening can be made no more than 50*50 cm. For 30 heads, two such windows are suitable, and they must certainly be located on the same side from the south, southeast or southwest. As for manholes for turkeys, it is better to install them directly under the windows - the birds will instinctively move towards the sunlight and end up in the enclosure.

How to properly keep turkeys

Turkey poults, when raised at home, require special care in compliance with feeding technology. The storage area must have a bedding made of straw or sawdust. Newspapers are not suitable for this purpose because they are very traumatic for chicks. The temperature is maintained at an average of about 37 C, and lighting must be provided around the clock.

If you are starting to raise turkeys, remember that the water should be warm and changed three times a day. Every 4 days, you must add several crystals of potassium permanganate to warm water. 4 days after the turkeys hatch, the feed should be mixed, balanced and combined.

To do this, novice farmers can purchase ready-made feed, and experienced farmers can prepare it at home. If there is no access to feed or the farm has its own ingredients, the feed can be easily prepared with your own hands: take 60 percent crushed wheat, 30% crushed peas, 10% crushed corn. Boiled hard-boiled eggs, sugar or cottage cheese are added to this mixture before feeding the turkey poults.

When raising turkeys at home, mash with yogurt, potatoes, herbs, fish, cottage cheese and carrots is best. All components must be crushed and have a uniform consistency. They are prepared before feeding so that the mixture does not spoil

All this is important to know for both beginners and professional farmers.

Organization of walks

A house for turkey poults should be built in such a way that the turkeys feel comfortable there. The bird also needs proper organization of walking, which is a prerequisite for the life of the bird. The best option for a turkey is when it has 20 square meters of free air space, but if you look at this size through the eyes of a farmer raising turkeys in normal home conditions, these sizes are very large. In order for the turkeys to be happy and benefit exclusively from being outdoors, the soil must be prepared in advance before the birds move into the barn.

The soil must be sown with seeds of useful and perennial grasses; the most suitable ones are considered to be alfalfa or clover. You can also sow any type of annual grass on the ground, as it is no less useful, including oats and peas. If the area near the barn is sown with such herbs, then this is a real godsend for turkeys, especially for characteristic individuals. The turkey differs from similar individuals in that it is more active and mobile, and therefore requires space. For example, a turkey can calmly walk several kilometers and go back to the poultry house, but a turkey that has its own young returns to such walks only after the young have lived for 2-3 weeks.

How and what to feed turkey poults

When rearing turkeys at home, you need to feed them seven times a day and feed each person so that there is enough of it or there is no leftover. When the turkey poults grow up, feeding should be reduced to four times, and special vitamin supplements can be introduced. Animal proteins and vitamins A and E must be added to food and drink all year round. The water is changed regularly. In winter, when turkeys are raised at home, greens, sauerkraut, fresh cabbage and tree branches are added to their diet.

After a month, turkey poults become more resilient and easier for beginners to care for. Adult turkeys are generally unpretentious to food, so soon the weight of an adult will reach 40 kg. To raise turkeys at home, you will have to build a separate barn or use a ready-made one in which birds have already been bred. The room for keeping turkey poults should be well ventilated, light, dry and of suitable size. Dampness, frost and drafts will have to be excluded.

Choosing a place to raise turkeys on a farm

To raise turkeys, you will have to install perches at a height of about 80 cm. For each bird, half a meter of the total area of the room should be calculated. One nest is made for five laying hens. The nests are made two-tiered in a darkened area of the barn. The size of the nest should be 70*80 cm. The entrance to the nest should have a threshold for easy entry. Height - 60 centimeters. Turkeys and turkey hens should be kept separate so that they do not interfere with nesting.

The temperature in summer should be maintained at 20 - 22 degrees, and in winter - no lower than - 4. -5 degrees. Sudden changes should be excluded. Make sure that the litter is clean, dry and changed at least a couple of times every 7 days.

During warm periods, turkeys can be released for free range in the morning and evening. To do this, a pen is made in front of the barn with a calculation of 20 meters per turkey. The pen must have a partial canopy. Feeders and drinkers should always be full and clean. The soil in the pen can be sown with herbs, which will be an additional source of vitamins for the birds.

Breeding turkeys at home for beginners can become a real hobby and even generate income from the sale of meat or eggs. Keeping turkey poults on a farm is not difficult, the main thing is to think about their habitat, observe temperature conditions and feeding times.

Breeding

In November, young animals are selected for turkey breeding in a ratio of 5–7 females per 1 male. Males are replaced every 5 years. The rut begins at the end of February and beginning of March. Before the start of the mating season, males have their claws trimmed. With an extended laying period from March to September, the peak egg production of turkeys occurs from May to July.

Improving egg quality

The viability of the embryo can be increased by irradiating the eggs under a mercury-quartz lamp, which is placed at a height of 40 cm. The procedure lasts 2–30 minutes.

Sorting and storage

The eggs are taken from the hen while they are still warm and stored in a cool, dry room.

Rules for collecting and sorting eggs:

Eggs laid before 8 a.m. are taken for incubation;
regular oval shape, weighing 80–90 g;
with a uniformly translucent shell, with a dark yolk located in the center;
with white without spots.

Eggs are stored at 12° C, relative air humidity 60–70% in a horizontal position. Turn over periodically.

Incubation

In a separate room, nests for incubation measuring 80x80x50 cm are installed. 14–15 eggs are placed under the hen. The temperature in the room during incubation is from 15 to 20º C. The turkey is fed ad libitum. The hen may not leave the nest for days - in this case she is force-fed. The feathers on the turkey's belly are plucked and the nest is covered with them.

The hatching of turkey poults occurs on days 27–28. Sometimes turkey chicks are hatched by a brood hen of the meat and egg breed, under which 9–11 eggs are placed in warm weather and 7–9 in cold weather.

Use of incubators

Incubation begins in early April. Warm eggs are placed horizontally in trays.

Incubation mode:

from days 1 to 5, the temperature is maintained at 37.8–38° C;
6–12 days – 37.6–37.8° C;
13–25 days – 37.5–37.6º C;
on the 26th day – 37.2º C;
on the 27th – 37.2–37º C;
on the 28th – 37º C.

The incubator must be equipped with good ventilation. From days 1 to 15, ventilation is weak, temperature and humidity are high. In homemade incubators, eggs are turned by hand twice a day.

Perches for turkeys: DIY building tips

Some poultry farmers do not understand the need to create such places for turkeys, considering them a waste of money. What is the use of perches?

Any bird, like a person, needs a personal place of residence, the role of which is played by the hen. What should it be like? Recommendations for creating it yourself are as follows:

It is located in the warmest part of the turkey house - in the back.
The design of this part resembles a regular slide with many rows of different levels. Steps are necessary for conveniently lifting the bird to the height of its place.
Each cell must have dimensions of 70 by 70 mm and with a line pitch of at least one and a half meters.
The recommended distance between places is 60 cm. Remember, every centimeter is important here.
For comfortable removal of straw from the perch, you can make a structure with wheels. How it should look in reality can be seen in a video from experienced farmers.

The placement of hens should be in different rows. If this condition is not met, then there is a possibility that all the birds will choose one place for their purposes.

By looking at the photos of the finished hens, you can make sure that each turkey should have its own nest, the arrangement of which should be taken seriously. It should be located 30 cm above the floor level, with a total height of 50-60 cm. To keep the eggs safe and sound, make a 20-centimeter threshold and cover the bottom with a thick layer of hay.

You can attract the bird's attention by placing one egg or its dummy in the house, because if it is hollow, then the turkey may walk away

Necessary materials

Initially, work begins with transferring drawings to paper and preparing the necessary tools and materials. To work you will need:

wooden blocks;
durable mesh (usually metal is used);
pliers;
hammer;
hand saw (better if you have a jigsaw);
fasteners (corners, screws, nails and others);
pencil and ruler;
light bulb, switch and cable;
plywood is moisture resistant.

Some farmers use old wooden boxes to build brooders. This is also appropriate, but you should not use very old copies. Boards can also develop pathogenic bacteria over time.

You can give preference to other materials that are at hand. For example, thick cardboard, fiberboard, chipboard and other materials remaining after repair are widely used.

How to build a turkey barn

It is a little more difficult to build a poultry barn with your own hands for those who decide to raise turkeys, but there are no impossible tasks here either.

Basic requirements of turkeys

The main difference between a chicken coop and a turkey coop is that the turkey is a more capricious bird. They need more space, more light and warmth. If the temperature in the poultry house drops below +5°C, the turkeys stop laying eggs and begin to get sick. Consider additional lighting and heating for the turkey poultry.

Although stove heating is cheaper, you will have to constantly monitor the stove, add fuel and set up a fence so that the bird does not get burned. Nowadays, infrared heaters are used to heat the poultry house, which have high efficiency and are not dangerous for the birds.

Most often, a turkey shed is built from aerated concrete or foam blocks. It is more expensive than timber and plywood, but more durable and warmer. It is possible to make a common poultry house for all types of birds by simply dividing the building with light partitions, leaving a common yard for walking.

Pouring the foundation and laying the walls

When building a poultry shed from foam blocks, a strip foundation is used.

Clear the area of debris, remove the top layer of soil, and dig a 20x20 trench for the foundation.
Mix crushed stone with sand and pour it into an even layer at the bottom of the trench, at least 10 cm high.
Compact and spill with water.
After this, you can begin installing formwork and laying reinforcement. For this type of foundation, 6 mm reinforcement is suitable, which is tied with wire and filled with concrete mixture.
In sunny and warm weather, three days will be enough for the concrete to completely set. Remove the formwork and coat the entire foundation with melted bitumen.

After another day you can start working on the walls.

Reinforcement should be provided on the first row of masonry, on the last and approximately in the middle. To groove the blocks, use a grinder or a special tool. Foam concrete is quite soft and easy to groove.

It would seem that there is no need for an armored belt, since this is just a poultry house, but this is not so. The armored belt protects the walls from cracking and destruction if the soil subsides a little. And it will definitely sag under the weight of the structure. You can save on windows if you immediately insert glass into the opening and reinforce it with polyurethane foam. But in this case, the windows have a purely decorative function, and you will not be able to ventilate the room.

How to make a floor and roof in a poultry house

Depending on your finances, the flooring of your bird barn can be made from a variety of materials. The cheapest and most popular is adobe. Dry clay is mixed with chopped straw, scattered in an even layer and compacted well with a tamper. The layer of clay with straw should be at least 10 cm. On top, dry sand, sawdust, or straw is used as bedding.

A more expensive floor is made of boards and timber laid on a concrete screed. Later it is covered with boards or OSB boards. This floor is beautiful, but it still requires constant care and cleaning. Dampness and traces of bird activity will very quickly render the wooden floor covering unusable.

If you have previously built gazebos or added verandas, then there will be no difficulties here either. The technology for attaching a wooden roof to masonry is exactly the same. Transverse beams are laid between the blocks at a distance of no more than 0.5 m from each other and fastened with cement mortar. After the solution has completely hardened, logs, sheathing, insulation, and the roofing itself are installed.

Heat loss through the roof is the greatest, so do not skimp on insulation and do not leave gaps.

Insulation of buildings and important details

The gas blocks themselves are quite warm, so in warm regions you can do without insulation with mineral wool or polystyrene foam. For ease of installation of internal shelves and for the sake of aesthetics, the inside walls should be lined with OSB boards. Do not throw away the scraps of slabs; they will be useful when arranging shelves for nests in the poultry house and various partitions.

When building a barn for chickens and turkeys, many people forget about creating an exit for the birds, and then they have to spend a long time fiddling around with a grinder, cutting out an opening of the required size

It is also important to plan a walk so that you can safely enter the house to collect eggs without disturbing the walking bird. Feeders and perches can be rearranged, but the location of windows and doors is difficult to change

By spending a little time and money once, you will get a reliable and strong poultry shed for many years, in which your feathered pets will feel and feel great.

Room ventilation

In order for a turkey poultry built with your own hands to fully meet all the requirements, it is necessary to begin equipping the ventilation system at the stage of finished construction.

There are several common methods; which one to choose is entirely your decision.

If you can provide high-quality ventilation in the utility room, poultry will develop to the fullest.

Floor arrangement

A competent design of a turkey house must necessarily include the equipment of a durable and reliable floor, because it performs not only a thermal insulation function, but also a protective one (the absence of cracks eliminates the possibility of rodents and other pests entering the barn)

Floors must be smooth - this is the first important rule. Another nuance: as a rule, they are located approximately 20–35 cm from ground level

Take this stage seriously - and you will get a good result.

How to make perches

How to build a turkey poultry house correctly? It's not just the ventilation system and smooth floors that you need to worry about. The process of equipping perches also requires special attention. First of all, it is desirable that the perch intended for turkeys be smooth and removable.

If possible, place such equipment in the back of the coop, that is, in the warmest place. Some farmers also prefer to attach retractable shields under the perches.

Their presence will greatly facilitate your cleaning of the poultry house, and this will not only save effort, but also time.

Feeders and drinkers

In modern farming, two types of feeders are used:

gutters;
small troughs.

As a rule, feeders are installed at the level of the bird's back. You should not fill them to the top with grain: this is a waste of feed. It will be enough to pour the mixture onto a third of the feeder.

Much of the process of selecting and installing troughs or troughs depends on the feed mixtures you feed your turkeys.

For example, if you feed birds several types of food at once, install small partitions in food containers: this way, the grains will not mix.

As for the types of drinkers, there may be several of them, but all farmers should adhere to one rule: it is recommended to place water containers at the level of the turkeys’ necks. Place drinkers and feeders wisely - and you will not only create comfortable conditions for the development of poultry, but you will also be able to keep the barn clean without any extra effort.

Organizing a walking area

Building a high-quality turkey poultry barn is not at all difficult. But one room will not be enough for you. It is also necessary to provide a small area for turkey walking. You should fence the pen with a metal mesh 2 m high.

This way you will protect your poultry from various predators and your furry pets who may look into the barn. If desired, the backyard adjacent to the building can be divided into two compartments. From time to time, the birds can be moved from one part of the yard to another, and you will not have any obstacles to cleaning the area.

In winter, be sure to cover the walking area with straw so that the birds feel comfortable while walking.

Even a novice farmer can make a house for turkeys with his own hands. In order to create the conditions necessary for the development of turkey poults, it is not necessary to invite construction crews.

Study a little theoretical aspects and go ahead. In addition, by drawing up an accurate action plan, you will soon be able to evaluate the fruits of your work.

Let your turkey barn be your pride as a farmer.

Requirements for placing turkey poultry

Before building a chicken coop or any other poultry house, you need to choose a place suitable for the construction of the structure.

Requirements for placing a turkey poultry house:

the site for construction is chosen to be dry, located on a hill, or with no groundwater;
open areas allow free passage of sunlight;
The area should correspond to the size of the turkey house itself, as well as the walking pen.

It is better to build a poultry house for turkeys, as well as the perch itself, taking into account the fact that in the future their population may grow or the breed will be replaced by a larger one, so a reserve area may come in handy.

Choosing a place to build

When building a turkey house, you should keep in mind that the number of turkeys will increase, so the room must be built with a reserve. Basic location requirements may look like this:

lack of groundwater;
presence of solar lighting;
distance from residential buildings.

The best place for a turkey poultry would be a small hill, in a part of the site that is well lit by the sun. It is not recommended to choose a low-lying location, since the presence of groundwater will affect the humidity level. Shaded areas should be avoided as ultraviolet radiation from the sun improves immunity and promotes good growth of birds.

Turkeys, especially at a young age, are quite shy and do not like noise, so the poultry house should be located away from residential buildings, highways and agricultural machinery.

How to make a turkey barn

For turkeys to live comfortably, it is necessary to build for them not just a place to sleep, but a real full-fledged house. And for this you will need a number of materials and tools.

Necessary materials

The construction of a poultry shed begins with the preparation of all necessary materials. From the point of view of environmental friendliness, safety and economy, the most suitable building material for the structure is wood.

When building a poultry house, consider keeping birds of different species and breeds separately.

In addition to this, you also need to stock up on:

concrete;
cement.

Find out if you can trim turkeys' wings and how to stop turkeys from fighting.

Tools for work

During construction work, the following tools will be required:

measuring instruments: construction level, tape measure;
Bulgarian;
fastening elements: self-tapping screws, nails, screws, metal corners;
saw and hammer;
drill and screwdriver.

Example of a poultry house with sections for chickens and turkeys

Step-by-step instruction

In order for the future building to serve for a long time and perform all the functions assigned to it, all the subtleties of technology should be taken into account when carrying out work.

Find out how to keep chickens and turkeys together.. The construction of a turkey house is carried out according to the following algorithm:

Pouring the foundation. The foundation is the basis of the poultry house, so it must be as strong and reliable as possible. Filling is carried out using classic tape technology: a trench is dug at least 0.5 m wide and filled with prepared concrete mortar. The concrete is carefully leveled and left to harden for several days.
Walling. The optimal method for constructing walls is considered to be a frame structure, for the formation of which load-bearing beams are placed on the foundation, an upper joist is installed and vertical beams are mounted at appropriate intervals. All parts are fastened together with metal corners and screws.
Formation of openings. The next step is to form all the necessary openings: windows, doors, ventilation holes, holes for turkeys, etc. It is recommended to additionally insulate all the holes made using polyurethane foam.
Roof installation. Next, they begin to install the roof: they form a transverse and counter-lattice, which are insulated with special materials (mineral wool, insulation). It is recommended to lay a vapor barrier film under the insulation layer, since a large amount of moisture will come out of the poultry house.
Insulation of walls. In order to always have a comfortable temperature inside the room, you need to insulate the walls with materials that allow air to pass through well, which can be mineral wool or ecowool.

Do-it-yourself turkey poultry: video

How to make a house for turkeys with your own hands?

To keep turkeys during the cold season, you will need to build a poultry house for them. It is located in a courtyard far from a source of drinking water, on an area that is not blown by winds and is not flooded with melt water. Often the turkey poultry is an extension to the house. This allows you to save building materials, the room will be warmer, but you will need to install additional moisture insulation on the walls of the house.

It is necessary to attach a special paddock (aviary) to the turkey poultry for walking. Turkeys are quite active and the area of the pen depends on the number of livestock - the larger it is, the larger the area required. Building an enclosure is not difficult - it is assembled from several pillars and veins. Then the entire structure is covered with a mesh with cells through which the bird cannot crawl.

An enclosure for walking turkeys

The height of the enclosure should be about 2 meters, since adult turkeys are quite good “flyers”, and even from above, danger in the form of birds of prey can overtake you completely unexpectedly.

Diet of young animals

The daily amount of food for feeding young animals depends on the age group of turkey poults.

Required ingredients for nutrition are:

A boiled chicken egg, which is mixed with the main food.
Bran.
Finely crushed grain, millet, wheat.
As the birds grow older, ground meat and bone meal and fish meal are added to the dry feed.
Starting from 15 days of age, feed mixed with fermented milk products begins to be introduced.
Salt and herbs are irreplaceable sources of vitamins, micro- and macroelements for poultry.

The diet should also contain crushed shell rock and chalk (to replenish the body’s daily need for calcium).

Brooder Tools and Materials

The stages of work are standard and correspond to the construction of a regular utility room. The differences are associated with additional insulation measures, as well as the internal arrangement of the poultry house - ventilation, heating, perches and much more:

Laying the foundation.
Construction of walls and roofs.
Roof laying.
Installation of openings for windows and doors.
Flooring.
Internal and external wall finishing (insulation, vapor barrier).
Internal work on organizing space in a turkey poultry house.
Installation of an aviary for walking birds.

Wood is the best option for building a turkey poultry house

As for materials, as already mentioned, wood is the best choice in terms of environmental friendliness, durability and affordability. Often such structures are also built from cinder blocks. The pace of construction in this case is faster. It is worth considering that cinder blocks, however, will quickly become damp. In addition, they release more heat than wooden walls. A typical concrete solution is used for the foundation.

We invite you to read: Who should not eat tomatoes: 8 prohibitions from doctors, - harm to tomatoes, who should not eat tomatoes, benefits and harm of tomatoes - latest health news

You will also need ordinary construction tools and measuring instruments:

building level and tape measure;
drill, saw, screwdriver;
nails, screws, metal corners;
Bulgarian;
hammer and others.

The set of tools is standard and can be found in any household

Jigsaw

If you decide to make a brooder on your own, you will need:

regular saw or electric jigsaw;
hammer;
screwdriver;
roulette;
pliers;
screws.

Brooder layout and dimensions

You can assemble a brooder with your own hands from any available materials. There are brooders that are made of cardboard or plastic. In fact, it is much more practical to use more durable materials. For the frame, wooden beams or multi-layer cardboard are most often used. Some people use seedling boxes for this purpose.

Brooders with plastic mesh

How to make a floor in a poultry house?

The floor deserves no less attention. Its arrangement must be carefully considered

The floor in the turkey house should be level, warm and smooth. If you make the floor with a mesh, then the paws of the young animals may fall through the mesh. When building a floor in a barn, it is recommended to retreat about 20-25 cm from the ground. A poultry house for turkeys should be equipped, in addition to the floor, with windows, through which sunlight will flow, which has a good effect on the birds and their development. Windows should be located so that during the daytime the floor over its entire area is illuminated by daylight.

If you comply with such needs of turkeys, they will thank you by being less sick and growing actively, in addition, turkeys will lead a healthy lifestyle. In addition to properly positioned flooring and windows, you also need to think about special loopholes. Exits must measure 50 by 50 centimeters. Thanks to such exits, birds can easily move not only within their place of residence, but also outside it. To maintain normal heat inside the turkey poultry, the openings are equipped with double dampers.

Creating an enclosure for walking

The walking enclosure should be safe and spacious. Turkeys are quite winter-hardy birds, so they can walk in the enclosure even in winter.

Having decided on the size of the required pen, dig in timber at the corners of the perimeter. Using fasteners, install horizontal logs on them in three levels: above the ground, in the middle and along the top level. Cover the resulting frame with galvanized chain-link mesh.

The aviary should be high enough, at least 2 m, because turkeys fly well. It is recommended to also make the ceiling from mesh. This will protect against other birds and predators.

The floor in the enclosure is cleared of vegetation and covered with sand and sawdust. When installing, make doors to enter the enclosure for cleaning and other household chores.

We build with our own hands

Construction work for the construction of a turkey poultry barn is standard and corresponds to the construction of any premises for utility purposes. Before starting work, you need to prepare a design project indicating all dimensions. Then the building material is selected and an estimate is drawn up. Next, everything necessary for construction is purchased and tools are prepared.

Materials

The choice of material depends on the service life of the structure and the financial capabilities of the poultry farmer. The following materials can be used to build a turkey poultry house:

tree;
brick;
aerated concrete blocks.

Wood is considered the most inexpensive and environmentally friendly material. In addition, the construction of a wooden structure does not require professional mason skills and it can be made independently. A structure made of brick or aerated concrete blocks is more durable, but is built slowly and requires experience.

A brick shed will be a source of dampness, so you need to take care of ventilation and insulation of the walls.

Tools

When building a turkey poultry house, you will need the usual set of construction tools:

tape measure and level;
shovel;
Master OK;
hammer;
drill;
screwdrivers.

For interior work, you may need a wood hacksaw, plane, chisel, pliers and wire cutters. To connect wooden structures, nails, screws, self-tapping screws and a metal corner are used.

Work plan

All work on the construction of a poultry house for turkeys is divided into several successive stages:

laying the foundation;
walling;
roof installation;
installation of doors and windows;
floor production;
external and internal finishing;
equipment installation;
construction of an enclosure for walking.

Step-by-step construction

The basis of any capital structure is the foundation. A ribbon design is suitable for turkey poultry. First, according to the size of the structure, a trench with a width of 50 cm is dug and a cushion of sand and gravel is laid. Then the formwork is installed, which should be 15-20 cm above the ground level. If the structure is small, then a columnar foundation can be made. After the solution has completely hardened, you can begin building the walls. For self-construction, a wooden frame structure is best suited.

Design design with dimensions.

Load-bearing beams made of profiled timber are laid on the foundation, on top of roofing felt. Next, the frame of the structure is assembled using metal fasteners. The walls along the frame are covered with clapboard, taking into account door and window openings. The space between the inner and outer walls is filled with insulation. Mineral wool is usually used for this purpose. The brick building is erected in one row, also taking into account the openings. The walls should be insulated with sheets of polystyrene foam or extruded polystyrene. When installing the roof, a vapor barrier is placed under the insulation. The floor can be laid with boards or a cement screed.

Lighting Features

This parameter plays an important role in the life of birds. For turkeys, lighting time (duration of daylight) should be at least 13 hours. In the summer months, there is no need for additional devices that provide light, but with the onset of autumn and winter, the need for lamps already appears. To do this, you will have to equip the house with electrical wiring and lamps.

Lighting in the poultry house

To illuminate the room, you will need simple incandescent lamps with a power of 60 W (they can be replaced with LEDs that have similar indicators). The minimum illumination is 6 W per square meter. When autumn comes, the lights are turned on at the same hours:

from 6 a.m. until full dawn;
with the onset of dusk until 20 o'clock.

During the daytime, the lights are turned on if it is very cloudy outside; the rest of the time natural light is used.

Interior work

The construction of the poultry house frame is not the end of the construction work, because then it is necessary to carry out a number of measures for the interior decoration of the premises, the organization of lighting, heating and ventilation.

Lighting

Turkeys should have about 13 hours of daylight, so it is very important to provide adequate lighting in the house. To do this, electrical wiring with lamps is installed. In summer, additional lighting is not required, and in winter and autumn, ordinary 60 W fluorescent lamps or LED lamps are used.

In summer, additional lighting is not required, and in winter and autumn, ordinary 60 W fluorescent lamps or LED lamps are used.

Find out how long turkeys grow before they are slaughtered.

in the morning: from 6:00 to dawn;
in the evening: from first twilight until 19:00.

Ventilation

Simply installing several windows in a poultry house will not be enough for a comfortable stay for turkeys, so you cannot do without installing a supply and exhaust system - an installation that ventilates air due to its forced removal.

Important! The arrangement of supply and exhaust ventilation is a mandatory measure if the premises will be inhabited by birds of foreign breeds. Such birds are very sensitive to high humidity, dampness, and air pollution, as a result of which they often get sick and reduce their productivity.

To do this, even during the construction of the barn, a special box measuring 25x25 cm is installed, which is equipped with three exits: to the floor of the turkey house, under the ceiling and in the middle

In this case, the shaft pipe for ventilation is led out into the street.

When installing pipes, cracks in the wall should be filled with foam.

Temperature

One of the most important conditions for keeping turkeys is maintaining a comfortable temperature. To do this, you should create an internal heating system, as well as high-quality insulation of walls and floors.

The floor should rise above the ground by at least 20 cm, and if the birds are kept in harsh climatic conditions, then at least 40 cm. In this case, it is recommended to use hay, sawdust, and straw as bedding material, which are covered with a layer of 10–15 cm.

Find out what the temperature should be for turkey poults.

To form the flooring, experts advise using wooden blocks that fit tightly together. It is not advisable to use concrete for flooring, since although it is durable, it becomes very hot in the cold, thereby quickly cooling the air inside.

Of course, during the cold season it is necessary to install additional heating devices in the poultry house. To do this, you can use infrared lamps, which are low cost and can quickly heat the air.

Did you know? The characteristic “whooping” is characteristic exclusively of male turkeys. They make such interesting sounds for several reasons: firstly, they thus attract a turkey, and secondly, they warn other males that the territory is occupied.

As an alternative equipment, you can use traditional air heaters or modern film heaters. When keeping young animals in winter, heating lamps are installed directly above the box, where they are located in the first weeks after incubation.

A modern heating option is infrared lamps

Ventilation

How to build a turkey poultry house yourself without such an important detail as ventilation.
Turkey feces have a very high ammonia content and its accumulation in the room will not turn out to be anything good. To do this, a ventilation duct is made under the ceiling with a pipe leading out. The door needs to be made so that it can be opened in normal weather and closed in severe frosts. All parts of the box are placed along the ceiling so that the turkeys do not reach it and overwhelm it.

The lack of clean air and oxygen entails inhibition in the development of young animals and a decrease in egg production of females. In addition, if you go into a turkey house or chicken coop, you can smell ammonia.

In the summer there is no point in using ventilation at all. For ventilation, just open the windows and doors.

Where to build on the site

It is important not only what the poultry house will be like, but also where it will be located.

If it is possible to choose a place for construction, then preference should be given to a site that:

located in a sufficiently lit place, since it is unacceptable to build a barn in places of constant darkness;
is located on a hill or on a piece of land where groundwater runs quite deep;
has a large area, which is enough to build the poultry house itself and a special walking area for birds;
located far from various outbuildings: garages, bathhouses, summer kitchen.

Check out the guidelines for keeping turkeys in winter.

Feeding the young

At an early stage of life, the bird must be fed properly, paying attention not only to the quality composition, but also to the rules of food intake:

The food is poured into a tray with small side walls.
It is necessary to interest the chicks by attracting attention by tapping your finger on the bottom of the tray.
After 5 days of life, you can add some chopped greens to the feed mixture to attract the turkey’s attention with bright colors.
Be sure to install automatic drinkers, which are placed above the floor on a wooden stand or other type of elevation.

After the 5th day of life, the tray is removed and the usual long troughs are used instead. All feeders should be equipped with horizontal bridges that prevent contamination of the feed with foreign impurities.

conclusions

The construction and installation of a wooden turkey coop (a chicken coop for keeping the heads of turkey poults or a hen) according to the drawing can be done even by an inexperienced poultry farmer. When constructing a capital structure (for example, in a mine) on a farm, you should provide for the growth of the livestock, and decide whether turkeys are bred for yourself or for sale, make a summer pen if necessary, it doesn’t matter if you are breeding in Siberia or Lomov. Particular attention should be paid to how to properly maintain: lighting, heating and ventilation; After purchasing new individuals, they should be kept in quarantine.

You can read about turkey breeding for business here.