Description of Bronze 708 turkeys

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Turkey is the favorite meat among poultry. There are several breeds that are bred to humans on farms. However, keeping a clean line of poultry is not always profitable, which is why breeders buy crosses for themselves. Such birds are distinguished by an increased level of health, as well as improved characteristics. Bronze 708 turkeys are considered a striking representative among hybrids.

Description of Bronze 708 turkeys

Broilers of this breed are distinguished by fast maturity and good egg production. Large enterprises prefer to acquire such turkeys, since birds of a similar origin are slaughtered and are not suitable for long-term breeding.

Pure turkeys and crosses

Before starting turkeys, you should choose your bird breed. There are official lines of turkeys that are suitable for breeding. A purebred breed guarantees the transfer of all characteristics of parents to chicks. However, over time, inbreeding leads to the degeneration of the bird. Turkey poults are born weak, they often have genetic failures and defects. When inbreeding turkey eggs are small and watery, and the meat loses its taste. To avoid family ties, you should purchase birds of the same breed, but a different line or cross, which will dilute the blood.

However, it should be remembered that crosses are poorly suited for pure breeding due to recessive genes. Turkey poults may not correspond to the characteristics of the parents, therefore it is better to mix crosses with a pure breed.

Bronze broad-breasted turkeys were created in America by crossing wild birds and English black turkeys. This breed has the status of "premium class" in its homeland, as it is distinguished by good weight, beautiful plumage and stable egg production. British scientists, by selection, improved the existing characteristics and received a line called Orlopp Bronze. By crossing this species with the main breed, scientists in France obtained the Bronze 708 medium-heavy cross.

Due to the large size of the bronze broad-breasted turkeys, they are used as the basis for creating hybrids. In addition to cross 708, using this breed, the following lines were derived:

• Beltsville;
• North Caucasian bronze;
• Grelevitskaya;
• Moscow bronze.

However, cross 708 is considered the most profitable investmentas this breed gains weight very quickly and pays off the cost.

Appearance of cross 708 turkeys

The description of the appearance of this breed of birds meets the high standards set by poultry farmers. Broad-chested bronze turkeys are distinguished by such features as:

1. Large body sizes.
2. Plumage of a bronze olive.
3. Strong body.
4. The neck is of medium length.
5. Gray skin on the head and neck.
6. Strong legs with a wide stance.

Turkeys have coverts on their shoulders that end in a white border. On the back of females, dots of the same color.The tail of turkeys cross bronze 708 is fan-shaped, wide. Black stripes along the back are considered a sign of breeds.

Bronze 708 weight gain

Due to their hybrid origin, Cross Bronze 708 turkeys are resistant to many diseases and start gaining weight early. The meat of this breed is of high quality and dietetic. It is prescribed for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract or heart defects.

Youngsters score at the age of five to six months. By this time, the turkey can already weigh from ten to seventeen kilograms.

This breed is capable of gaining a large mass, however, it is unprofitable for a poultry farmer, since it is quite costly to feed an adult turkey. Cases were recorded when males weighed more than thirty kilograms.

Egg production of the breed

Bronze 708 turkeys are characterized by high egg production. In a year, one female is able to bring from seventy to one hundred and fifty eggs. Stably, turkeys begin to rush by the tenth month of life. With the onset of winter, birds do not lose this ability, therefore, they are well suited as a replacement for chickens.

Bronze 708 turkey eggs are distinguished by their high taste and large size. They are appreciated by many chefs for their creamy cheese flavor, which complements dishes perfectly.

The eggs of this type of turkey are very large

In turkeys of this species, the maternal instinct is developed, which is not typical for hybrids. Females often lay eggs from ducks or hens. This is beneficial for farmers as the size of the bird allows it to hatch large clutches.

Bronze 708 turkeys do not need artificial insemination. Males are ready to mate between 1 and 4 years old, and turkeys begin to hatch eggs at 2 years old.

For breeding to be successful, it is better to mix 708 crosses with representatives of the same line. You should not mix hybrids with each other - because of this, the chicks hatch weak and incapable of life.

If the mating is successful and at least one of the parents has dominant genes, then up to 80% of the eggs are fertilized, and about three quarters of the turkey poults from the entire clutch are born. Almost all chicks survive thanks to sustainable health, so the growth on the farm of these birds is fairly stable.

Disadvantages of Bronze 708 turkeys

Positive reviews of poultry farmers indicate the demand for turkeys of the bronze 708 breed, however, the 708 cross has certain disadvantages:

1. Since 708 crosses are broilers, they require a special enclosure to restrict movement. You can release wide-breasted turkeys for grazing, however, in this case, the birds gain less weight and lose egg production.
2. Due to too bright plumage, black spots often remain on the skin after plucking. This reduces the cost of the carcass when sold.
3. If, when crossed, both parents of turkey poults turned out to be hybrids, then the chicks may have curved bones or disorders of the muscular system. This is due to a genetic malfunction. Sometimes the cause of these defects can be poor nutrition or the consequence of infections. If a bird has a bent skeleton, feathers grow poorly or a beak crumbles, it should not be allowed to mate.

Cross-country keeping at home

First of all, a poultry house and an open-air cage should be organized for these large birds. Turkey poultry you need to build warm and airtight, these birds cannot stand drafts.

The floor of the house should be twenty-five centimeters above the ground. The dwelling is covered with wooden planks, and the top is covered with straw or sawdust. A thin layer of lime is additionally applied under such a bedding.

There are additional features to consider when building a house:

1. The windows of the turkey house should be large and facing south so that daylight can enter the room.
2. The temperature in the house should not drop below five degrees and exceed twenty-five degrees.
3. Turkeys are very sensitive to sunlight and additional light sources should be installed in the room during the cold season.
4. The nests should be located in the corner farthest from the door at a height of half a meter.
5. Perches are installed in a dark place.

The poultry house is built on the basis of calculations of three square meters per turkey. To avoid fights for the territory, the turkey poultry is divided by partitions, planting several females and one male separately.

Turkeys need to periodically clean their feathers from parasites. For this purpose, special containers with sand or ash are installed in the poultry house.

To reduce the risk of poultry disease, you should adhere to sanitary standards. The turkey house is cleaned every two weeks. Every season, the entire room should be treated with a baking soda solution or other disinfectant.

Bronze 708 turkeys definitely need a walking enclosure. To do this, you need to install a canopy, fence off the area with a net and sow with forage grass.

Diet for feeding cross-country

The bird is gaining weight quickly

Turkeys of this type are prone to rapid weight gain, however, for this they need to eat high-calorie foods. Usually for raising cross-country use various compound feed based on cereals. Experienced farmers make individual bird feed, but there are also ready-made mixtures.

A balanced diet should contain a complex of vitamins and minerals. Without them, the growth of the bird slows down, and the level of health drops rapidly. Vitamin supplements include:

• fish fat;
• cake;
• bone flour.

In order to properly feed the cross in winter, you should prepare some ingredients in advance. Among them are:

• mixed grass hay;
• sauerkraut;
• herbal flour;
• a mixture of nettle, alfalfa and colza.

For better assimilation of the feed, chalk, gravel and small shell rock are added to the feeder.

To improve egg production turkeys, reduce the amount of compound feed in the diet and add fresh herbs and vegetables. Also, to increase calcium in the body, carrying females need to be given dairy products. Otherwise, the egg will be fragile and watery. There is a table of the required daily intake of minerals and vitamins, which should be consulted by inexperienced breeders.

The daily ration of the average cross 708 looks like this:

1. Compound feed - 80 grams.
2. Oat bran - 50 grams.
3. Animal waste - 100 grams.
4. Pure grain - 250 grams.
5. Vegetable products - 50 grams.
6. Shell rock, salt and bone meal - 25 grams.

For fattening boilers, the daily grain rate must be increased. At 4 months, one boiler eats two kilograms of feed.

Some breeders claim that special blends can be replaced with more common counterparts. For instance, pig feed also has a high calorie content, and very often carrying turkeys, which have already lost their egg production, are transferred to this feed. This allows the bird to gain the required weight in the shortest possible time. The average weight of carrying females is from 5 to 8 kg, but with the help of proper fattening, this figure can be brought to 9, sometimes up to 15 kg of pure meat.

Breeding males and females, on the contrary, try to keep on a strict diet, since excess weight reduces the reproductive capacity of the animal body.

The feeding schedule must be strictly observed, otherwise the crosses will become nervous and lose weight due to stress. In addition, hunger has a bad effect on the character of turkeys - their level of aggression increases and birds begin to pose a danger to other individuals.

The best feeding of birds is provided by the bunker type of feeders... In this case, the minimum amount of feed goes to waste, and the turkeys themselves eat as much as they want. In addition, this feeding method requires minimal effort on the part of the farmer, and is suitable for large farms with semi-automatic maintenance.

Features of the diet of turkey poults

Nutrition for chicks is different from that of adults.Incorrectly selected food for small crosses can be fatal. On the first day, the chicks are fed a boiled egg. Sugar or glucose solution should be added to drinking water for turkey poults.

The daily diet in the first month of life of the 708 crosses looks like this:

1. Wet cereal mash.
2. Fresh vegetables.
3. Fruit.
4. Greens.
5. Sprouted oats.
6. Protein food.
7. A complex of vitamins and minerals.

If you follow the diet, then bronze 708 turkey poults will quickly grow and by the third month of life they can be transferred to regular food together with adults.