Feeding and caring for turkey poults at home
 Turkey poults

The presence of turkeys in the poultry yard now surprise no one. They are grown for dietary meat. Low cholesterol, a variety of vitamins and amino acids provides easy digestibility of turkey meat. An adult individual gains body weight up to 20-30 kg. However, they are still not as popular as chickens or geese. Why?

The reason lies in the fact that turkeys are more susceptible than other birdsin the need to provide them with a large territory for walking. And the turkeys themselves are big in size. Many, especially hostesses, are afraid to look after them because of the fear of being pecked by these “monsters”.

In this article we will talk about proper care, feeding, treatment of possible diseases of poults at home.

The content of turkeys in industrial production and home conditions

Taking into account the fact that turkeys are large, wide-breasted birds, their home keeping has its own specifics. In industrial production sometimes a cellular method of dilution is used. At home - almost always prefer a free-standing.

Cell method

It is used only for poultry of light breeds. This is directly related to their live weight. In one cage hold no more than two heads. Males are separated from females. Grow turkeys up to a maximum of 4 months of age. It is advisable to keep young animals in cages for sale until the age of one and a half months.

 Turkeys in cages
Turkeys in cages

Its advantages are:

  • saves space due to the possibility of content in 2 tiers. With this method, cells are placed along the aisles. The efficiency of use of the area increases by 2 times;
  • by saving space livestock in one house can be increased by 1.7-1.8 times;
  • the bird is easier to maintain, increases the productivity of staff.

The disadvantages of this content are much greater.. This is the reason that this method has not found wide distribution:

  • reduced growth rate young animals after one month of age;
  • reduced reproduction in males and females;
  • weakening of the leg muscles due to limited space. Since the bird is heavy, the muscles need periodic exercise;
  • wings break, since their scope is large, and the area of ​​content is limited;
  • Turkeys and turkeys are more stressed, and become fearful, with a sharp knock they raise general hysteria, fight in cells and often, breaking doors, fall to the floor, get injured bones;
  • Unnecessarily fat is deposited in the liver.

Walking method

With this method of breeding the bird feels better.It is not much different from the content of chickens or geese. Apply outdoor walking and captive method.

Open Range

This is the best content option. But it requires the constant presence of a person. With this method, in the daytime, a herd of turkeys is released into the street to be unsuitable for farming areas for grazing. Slow-running bird finds food for itself, which is not limited to plants only. Turkeys will peck at almost anything that comes their way: insects, including those harmful to crops, vole mice, and other small animals. When the onset of heat (if walking is carried out in the summer), the herd hides in the shade of trees or abandoned buildings. With the onset of puberty, males are separated from females. and graze separately. The main part of the diet consists of grass and grain. Releasing a bird on an open-range walk is possible when it has reached the age of one and a half months.

 Open-range turkeys
Open-range turkeys

The advantages of this method of content:

  • overall increases reproduction;
  • susceptibility decreases by enhancing immunity;
  • reduced feeding costs due to eating green mass;
  • improving bird healthbecause daily exercise and systematic stress on the muscles occur;
  • growth rate increases chickens;
  • not required no additional investment.

Disadvantages:

  • With this method of walking constantly human presence is required.
Before you release the herd for walking, the area must first be examined for the presence of abandoned wells, deep holes, toxic chemicals.

Captive way

The enclosure for turkeys is done in the same way as for keeping chickens or geese. Main difference - The size of the enclosure should be large. It is built at the rate of 10 square meters per head. I.e, to contain 20 goals, you need to protect the plot of 200 square meters.

 Turkey poults in the open-air cage
Turkey poults in the open-air cage

If possible, fence off two equal sections. They are periodically changed for grazing and walking. If there is no free space, then it is advisable to leave a walking area of ​​10 m2 per head, rather than reduce, divide into two parts for the sake of rotating the plot. In this case, the bird is fed with freshly cut grass. During daylight hours in hot weather, turkeys are either driven into the room, or they are equipped with canopies to create shade.In the same place place feeding troughs and drinking bowls.

With the walking method of keeping, it is desirable that the age difference in the herd does not exceed two weeks.

Little turkeys: how to feed and care to grow healthy offspring

Caring for turkeys is no more difficult than for other poultry. There is no need to build special rooms for their maintenance. Use poultry houses left after chickens, geese. Main condition - the room should be spacious. At a height of 70-80 cm from the floor we establish perches of thick wooden bars. At a height of 50-60 cm we make nests for turkeys in remote areas of the house. Feeders and drinkers are installed.

For offspring We first build turkey nests with hay and straw. Put small branches on the bottom to stiffen the shape of the wreath. If there are several nests, they must be separated from each other as high as possible. We do not allow turkeys to nests. If the turkeys have left the eggs for eating, make sure that they do not get cold. To do this, slightly cover with straw.

Poults hatch not in one day. Therefore, we remove newborn chicks from a nest in a separate box. If necessary, light up the lamp.We also create the necessary microclimate at the expense of the heater, since the birth of chicks occurs in spring, at least - in the autumn. After all the poults hatched, they are returned to the turkey.

We make sure that there are no drafts in the room, so that it is bright, temperature condition in summer time - not higher than + 25, in winter - not below +5 degrees. To reduce the air temperature we use airing and ventilation. To maintain warmth in winter, we make windows and doors warming. In very cold winter periods we additionally heat the room.

Feeding poults, diet tables, daily intake and correct diet

In connection with a set of large body weight (up to 20-30 kg) during his life turkeys need a lot of feed. First of all, poults that have just come into the world need a balanced diet.

In order to grow healthy offspring, you can feed plenty, and you can according to the norms, but the normalized type of fattening is more suitable for feeding ready-made balanced feed.

Standards for feeding poults:

Age, weeks Norm of feeding, gr
1 10
2 25
3 40
4 60
5 75
6 90
7 110
8 130
9 155
10 175
11 200
12 220
13 235
14 250
15 260
16 280
17 285
18 290
19 295
20 295
21 300
22 305
23 310
24 310
25 300
adult females 260
adult males 500

In the early days

In the first hours of hatched turkey poults need to drink pure water with the addition of glucose. After 8-10 hours daily chicks fed finely crumbled boiled egg. Make sure that there are no large lumps left. To reduce feed moisture, you can add corn flour or wheat bran. It is better to put food on a rag litter so that it draws out excess moisture. Up to a week old poults are also fed with grated skim cheeseWith the addition of a large amount of grass to the diet: dandelion, wood louse, euphorbia, finely chopped green onion feather. Gradually, we are switching to feeding with wheat millet, wheat derby. Make sure that the feed is not too wet. Otherwise, poults will start an upset stomach, which is dangerous at their age. We give barley and oatmeal as an independent feed. Food at such an early age for turkey poults is given at intervals of every three hours. We make a separate feeder for mixers, for dry food there should be our own. We make sure that the water is constantly fresh water.

From a week to a month

During this period turkeys grow intensively and gain weight.. They are active, run, eagerly eat everything they are given.Gradually increase the share of green mass in the overall composition, bringing it up to 30% of the total feed. Greens can be finely chopped by mixing with dry food. They also give pure greens. It is better to feed a balanced feed in this period. At the age of two weeks chalk and bone meal are added to the feed. Add potassium permanganate to the water so that the solution is not pink. During this period, turkeys are fed every 4 hours. With good feeding to the age of one month, the youngsters gain in weight up to two kilograms.

New feed introduced into the diet gradually. Their fraction should not immediately exceed 15% of the total mass.

From a month to two

During this period, the young are fed only three times a day. This results from the fact that their activity falls. In order not to accumulate fat, stop adding feed to the diet.. The main focus is on grain and grain waste, green mass, bran, crushed maize, dry residues of animal origin. Give wet mash, increasing the amount of protein feed: this is minced meat from waste meat or inexpensive fish, etc. By the onset of hot weather turkeys reach two months of age and gain a decent mass.

After two months before slaughter

The diet in this period of life is no different from the previous one. Increasing the share of grain and grain waste in the total mass. We transfer the bird to the free-form way of keeping. About him described above. Adult turkeys for reproduction hold up to two and a half years, turkeys for breeding chicks - up to three years of age. If the purpose of cultivation - the implementation of meat, it is advisable to fatten livestock to five months of age. With the onset of autumn decreases the natural growth of herbs. To replenish it is necessary to increase the proportion of grain. The economic effect of growing is reduced.

Feeding rations

Approximate rations for turkey poults shown in Table. 1-3.

Table 1. Approximate diet of turkey poults, g per head per day (1st option)

Stern Age days
1-5 6-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-55 56-70
cottage cheese 3 10 10 10
sour milk 20 20
corn grits 40 38 20 20 10
wheat 15 20 30 30 30 35 25
barley 12 14 21 21 27 30 35
millet 10
bran bran 20 20 15 15 15
fish flour 12 15 10 10 13 14 20
meat and bone meal 5 5 2 5 5
oats 10 30 30
wheat 10 10 20 15 20
crushed corn 10 10
barley 20 15 40
greenery 5 30 60 50 70 100 100
shell, chalk 2,5 2,5 2,5 3 3 4 4,5
fish fat 2 2 2
salt 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,5 0,7 0,8 1

 

Table 2. Approximate diet of turkey poults, g per head per day (2nd version)

Feed Age days
1-5 6-10 11-20 21-30 31-40
boiled egg 2 1
skim milk 5 10 10 15 10
low fat cottage cheese 2 5 10 5
whole grains / grains (corn) 5 7 15\2 20\8 30\15
wheat bran 4 5 8 12 15
cake 5
greenery 3 10 15 20 30
shell, chalk 0,5 1 1,5 3
total 21 38 61 81 108

 

Table 3. Approximate diet of turkey poults, g per head per day (3rd option)

Stern Age days
1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-30 31-35 36-40 41-50 51-60 61-70
two types of grain 5 8 20 30 50 60 80 15 145 175
wheat bran 4 5 5 10 10 10 15 15 25 25
fresh greens 3 10 15 20 30 40 40 40 100 100
reverse 5 10 10 15 10
cottage cheese 2 10 10
boiled egg 3

 

Turkey diseases: symptoms, treatment and prevention of diseases

In the process of life, turkeys need not only indoors, food, but also protection against diseases.

The main ones are:

  • Smallpox: an infectious disease, manifested in the refusal of the bird to eat and drink, turkeys become sedentary, feathers ruffle, wings hang down. Infected by another sick bird, flies, mosquitoes. Infected individuals should be destroyed and burned, while healthy individuals should be vaccinated with vaccine embryos. As a preventive measure, turkeys in the sixth week of life are vaccinated with this drug.
 Smallpox in turkeys
Smallpox in turkeys
  • Worms: pests that settle inside the individual, affecting the digestive organs and respiratory tract. The bird starts to lose weight. Sources of infection: soil, other infected poultry, feed. Ways of struggle: the use of piperazine sulfate, phenothiazine. Preventive measures: sanitary treatment of the room.
  • Respiratory mycoplasmosis: bacteriological disease covers the respiratory tract, the mucous membrane of the eye becomes inflamed. Turkeys lose orientation, walking, staggering. Without treatment, individuals may die. The disease infects a healthy bird through contact with the sick. The reduction of immunity due to unbalanced feeding and improper maintenance contributes to the emergence (overcooling of individuals, high humidity and dirt in the room). Ways of struggle: Chlortetracycline or oxytetracycline is added to the diet during the week at the rate of 4 grams per 10 kg of feed. Erythromycin, chloramphenicol and streptomycin are also saved by antibiotics. Prevention: balanced food, the room is kept clean, its constant airing.
  • Tuberculosis: the most dangerous disease due to the scale of the destruction of livestock. All respiratory organs are affected. The bird practically does not eat, sits in one place, blasphemes. The source of contamination is dirty water.infected with tubercle bacillus inventory and litter. An infected bird is recommended to be urgently destroyed. The best way to fight - availability of direct solar exposure to the room and fresh air. Avian leave is not populated and open. Livestock transferred to another place.
 Vet examines turkey
Vet examines turkey
  • Gastomonosis: affects the cecum in poultry, other digestive organs. Symptoms: turkeys begin to vilify, rapidly lose their weight. An urgent need to separate the infected bird from the healthy. The room is cleaned and disinfected. Forazolidone, osarsol or phenothiazine is added to the feed. The cause of the disease - in a dirty room and the lack of disinfection after the former inhabitants.
  • Hard goiter: The reason lies in the unbalanced diet, which is limited to solid feed. It is necessary to add chalk, pebbles of gravel and shells to the ration so that the grain in the craw can be processed better. The bird is slaughtered for meat. It is not contagious.
  • Hypovitaminosis: in infected birds, eyes become inflamed, and rickets develop. The body does not have enough vitamins. With the appearance of the disease make injections from a complex of vitamins.
  • Diarrhea: the cause is viral diseases, direct contact with parasites, as well as the consumption of low-quality food.If the diarrhea is brown in color, it means that some foodstuff is not suitable for young turkey poults. If the color of excrement is white - These are signs of infectious disease pullorosis. Ways of struggle: watering a decoction of chamomile or a solution of potassium permanganate, if that does not help, is treated with antibiotics.
  • Leg disease: arise because of keeping the bird in a limited space (in cages, small poultry houses). Manifested in the fact that sick turkeys fall to their feet. Another cause of the disease is a deficiency in the diet of calcium-containing foods. Prevention: eggshells, chalk, shells, less soybean, fats, and a limited amount of corn are added to the feed. Arthritis in turkeys occurs as a result of an excess of protein in the diet.
 Turkey leg diseases
Turkey leg diseases
  • Newcastle disease: infection. As a result, paralysis of the lower extremities occurs. Vaccination is carried out against this disease. But not always and it helps. Prevention: adding to the diet of mineral and vitamin supplements, fresh herbs, cottage cheese (for turkey poults).
  • Runny nose (rhinitis): its main causes are hypothermia, lack of vitamins. The exceptions are vitamins A and D.Also, the cause of rhinitis in turkeys can be a poorly ventilated room in which they are kept. Treatment and Prevention: there are cases when a runny nose in turkeys quickly passes, if they are placed in a warm dry room and continue treatment of turkeys with infusion or decoctions of dill (seed). You can also give them an infusion made from violets, or from leaves and strawberries. But the beak and nostrils are recommended to wipe with a pen dipped in salt water. For this solution, you must take a glass of water and one teaspoon of salt. After this procedure, you should spread the beak with boron fat.

Breeding turkeys as a business is still underdeveloped. But after all together with dietary meat we get egg, fluff, feather. With a competent approach to the business, a dozen heads of such a bird will be enough to provide the family with meat and its implementation in order to compensate for material costs. The increase in livestock entails a good net profit.