Features of breeding and keeping a white broad-breasted turkey
Breeding turkeys can be quite a lucrative business. These birds grow to significant size, especially when it comes to broiler breeds. In addition, in addition to tender meat, they provide eggs, feathers and down. One of the most popular breeds today is the broad-breasted white turkey. Consider the description of the breed, what is the reason for its popularity, and how to properly care for a turkey at home.
Features of breeding a white broad-breasted turkey
Description of the breed
White wide-breasted turkeys are the result of the work of breeders from the United States. Today there are 3 types, or as they are called, turkey cross, depending on the maximum weight: light, medium and heavy. With a light cross, the maximum weight of the male reaches 9 kilograms, the females are 2 kg lighter. With an average cross, males gain 17 kilograms of weight. The female's weight does not exceed 7 kilograms. Well, with a heavy cross, the maximum weight of the male is 26 kg, the female weighs 16 kg less. Males are kept solely for the sake of dietary meat, while females still lay eggs.
Let's start the description of the breed with the external characteristics. White broad-breasted turkeys have a lush white plumage, however, you can guess this from the name of the breed. But, a distinctive feature of these birds is the presence of a black mark on the chest. Due to its location, this mark is called a medallion.
The body of the bird is slightly elongated and has the shape of an oval. A wide sloping chest protrudes slightly forward. The massive body is supported by medium-sized legs painted in dark pink. There is a red skin growth on the beak. There are also skin folds on the neck, characteristic of all turkey breeds.
The characteristics of the breed will be incomplete, if not to say about productivity. White broad-breasted turkeys are a versatile breed. As for the meat productivity, it should be noted that the meat yield is at least 70%. Turkey poults at proper nutrition and with proper care, gain weight quickly. As for egg productivity, one broad-breasted turkey lays about 90 eggs per year. The weight of a turkey egg varies from 80 to 87 g.
Home content
White broad-breasted turkeys are not capricious birds. They need to be kept in the poultry house... With cellular content, birds develop leg diseases. There should be an open-air cage near the house. As for the existing standards, the aviary must be built at the rate of 20 m2 per individual. But not everyone can comply with this norm. When setting up the aviary, leave as much space as possible for these large birds to walk.
As for the size of the house, there should be at least 1 m2 of space for 3 individuals. AND perched 80 cm long, no more than 2 adult turkeys will fit. Also, do not forget to leave a place in the poultry house for keeping the young.Experts do not recommend keeping both adults and young animals in the same room.
The house needs an artificial light source. With a long daylight hours, a wide-breasted white turkey rushes better. Sometimes, with the correct organization of the light regime, it turns out to increase the egg productivity several times.
Prevention various infectious diseases is pest control in the poultry house. At least once every few years, the barn must be treated with antiseptic agents. In addition to germs and infections, wide-breasted white turkeys are afraid of high humidity. Therefore, the house must be systematically ventilated, even in winter. Make sure that the room is safe for birds. If the boards used for house furnishing are poorly sanded, there is a risk of injury to the legs. And injured birds do not gain weight well.
Well, the last point worth paying attention to is the sanitary conditions. The litter in the poultry house, where broad-breasted white turkeys are kept, is changed once a week. If necessary, we replace the litter more often. We monitor the cleanliness of the feeders and drinking bowls. The containers used for the damp mash are washed after each feed.
Feeding turkeys
In order for the Broad-breasted White turkey poults to gain weight well and be healthy, they need to be provided with good nutrition. The basis of the diet is compound feedthat you can buy or you can do at home. For the preparation of compound feeds, corn, wheat, sunflower meal and barley are used. These are the main components that should not be limited. So that the livestock is not susceptible to various diseases, it is necessary to add meat and bone and fish meal, crushed shell rock and chalk to the feed. When fattening broad-breasted white turkeys for meat, add peas, alfalfa flour, dry reverse and hydrolytic yeast to the feed.
Compound feed is the basis of nutrition
All components required for compound feed are available for sale. But, if you calculate the cost of homemade food, then it is not much different from the factory one. Therefore, the question of whether it is worth interfering with the compound feed independently, everyone decides for himself. As for the opinion of experts, they recommend buying starter feeds intended for young animals in stores. Adult turkeys can also be fed with homemade mixtures. When buying compound feed, pay attention to its price and read customer reviews. Cheap compound feed cannot be good, so opt for products with a medium and high price policy.
In addition to compound feeds for the white broad-breasted breed of turkeys, grain (both dry and sprouted) should be given. When preparing wet mash, we monitor their consistency. The porridge should not stick together in a lump. Such a mishmash is difficult for a turkey to digest. Very often she clogs the goiter of birds, which leads to health problems.
Winter and summer diet
In the diet of birds, green food should be present. Therefore, in early spring, it is advisable to sow an open-air cage for walking turkeys with herbs useful for birds. In winter, however, there is a problem with green fodder. We make up for their deficiency with beets and carrots. Chop or grate vegetables before feeding. Also, the winter diet includes steamed herbs, which need to be prepared during the warm season.
Diet
Feeding of birds is carried out at the same time. In winter, it is enough to give food 3 times a day. In summer, when the birds begin to move much more, we feed them 4 times a day. And during the breeding season, it is advisable to feed the livestock 5 times a day.
In the first half of the day, it is advisable to give the birds wet mash. In the afternoon, give preference to dry food. Make sure all turkeys have enough food.Also make sure there are enough feeders in the house.
In addition to food, white broad-breasted turkeys need water. Drinkers should be full throughout the day. In addition to drinking bowls and feeders, we put containers with mineral additives (chalk, shell rock, fine gravel) in the poultry house.
The daily feed rate for turkeys is 250 g. This does not include green feed, which should average 350-400 g per adult.
Breeding turkey poults
Breeding turkey poults is no more troublesome than breeding any other native bird. You can buy little chicks, or you can put a turkey on eggs. If the turkey does not want to sit on the eggs, and this happens quite often, then you will have to acquire an incubator. Pick eggs for incubation you need to be careful. We discard all specimens of irregular shape. Eggs with defects are also not suitable. Each incubator comes with an instruction manual that contains an incubation table. It describes in detail what the temperature and humidity should be on all days of incubation. It also indicates how many times per day you need to turn the hatching eggs. To make your job easier, get an automatic incubator that turns eggs on its own.
If you decide to buy turkey poults or hatching eggs, you can go to the Stavropol breeding and genetic center, which has been on the market for several years.
Caring for turkeys in the early days
Caring for turkeys in the first days after birth involves the creation of a certain temperature regime and feeding. In a room with newborn chicks, the air temperature should be 35-360C. Gradually lower the temperature in the house, lowering it every 3-4 days by 2-30C. Also, for 2-3 days, lighting should be around the clock.
During this period, chicks eat 8 times a day. We give the newborns boiled eggs mixed with dry cereals and herbs. We grind all components, of course. Poultry feed the turkey poultry on a sheet of plywood or in feeders made of silicone. In no case should the chicks be fed from a metal feeder. Their beak is still very soft, and they get injured from blows against metal.
Keep your house clean
Care during this period also presupposes compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards. House bedding should be dry and clean. We change it as needed.
If a brood hen incubated the turkey poults, then she will monitor the offspring.
An interesting fact is that a turkey is able to take care of 70-80 turkeys at the same time.
Care of matured young growth
For strengthened chicks at the age of 1 month, they begin to add wet mash to the diet. Knead them in water. Over time, you can add curdled milk. In the mash, you should put the leaves of young nettle and cabbage, chopped alfalfa. Also, we will not be superfluous to add fish oil and cottage cheese. With proper care, turkey poults will gain weight by 1.5 years. But the main increase occurs in the first 6 months. This period is the most important and responsible.
When growing turkey poults, one should not forget about disease prevention. Vitamin C is added to food already in the first days of life. At the end of the 2nd week, the livestock is vaccinated against incurable Newcastle disease. A week later, do a second vaccination. Also, at certain times, the livestock should be fed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, multivitamin complexes and broad-spectrum antibiotics should be given. The veterinarian will tell you how to properly organize preventive measures, and what drugs are best to use.
Diseases of turkey poults
The most susceptible to various diseases of turkey poults, at the age of 1 to 3 months. Therefore, it is so important to vaccinate and give a wide spectrum of antibiotics during the rearing of young animals.
The following diseases are more common among turkeys:
- pullorosis;
- typhoid and paratyphoid fever;
- sinusitis;
- Newcastle disease;
- erysipelas;
- psittacosis;
- tuberculosis;
- histomonosis;
- brucellosis.
Each disease has its own specific symptoms. But they, as a rule, do not appear in the early stages of the disease. And the treatment will be effective only if you start giving drugs at the initial stages of the development of the disease. Therefore, treatment should be started at the first symptoms of bird weakness.
And the first symptoms of any ailment are loss of appetite, lethargy and drowsiness. Sick birds, as a rule, fall to their feet. With many infectious diseases, diarrhea appears. If these symptoms are found, the turkey is immediately quarantined and a veterinarian is called. We start medication only with a specialist's prescription. During treatment, the turkey needs to be provided with enhanced nutrition and quality care.
Sometimes the fall of birds on their feet is also caused by injuries received during fights or walks. But with injuries, birds do not lose their appetite. They remain active and cheerful. Also, falling to your feet and lethargy can be caused by a lack of food. In this case, we place the turkey in a cage and organize a fortified diet.
Conclusion
Breeding Canadian turkeys, and white broad-breasted ones have Canadian roots, takes a lot of time. They need good and frequent meals. But, breeding any other breed is no less laborious. And the productivity of most other breeds is much lower. Even if we take the most popular domestic breed, which is a white Moscow one, then its meat productivity does not exceed 15 kg, which is almost 2 times lower than the productivity of a white broad-breasted turkey.