Today, turkeys are bred in large quantities, not only on special farms, but also at home.
The bird that you fed with your own hands will turn out much better than the one that was bred in the factory. Meat of such turkey will be tastier and more useful than bought in a store.
But often at home, people are faced with such a problem as the lack of intensive weight gain. This is due to the fact that, under industrial conditions, various chemical compounds are added to animal feed, which artificially increase the weight of the bird.
But do not be upset that your turkey weighs less than the same, but derived from the factory. There are a number of factors that should be improved in order to get larger birds.
If you want to raise turkeys purposefully, that is, for slaughter and meat production, then you should choose birds of such breeds that are intended for this purpose.
Turkeys of the White Great-breasted breed are the most worthy representatives of this bird. They gain a large enough weight: birds of heavy crosses can weigh from 18 to 22 kg, if it is a male, and from 8 to 12 kg, if it is a female.
The Big - 6 breed also proved to be excellent. This heavy cross was bred in England. On average, the male can weigh up to 15 - 17 kg, and females - 6-7 kg. The males of the breed BJT - 9 at the time of slaughter weight reaches 20 - 21 kg.
The birds of the Moscow Bronze and Moscow White breeds also showed themselves well. The males of these turkey varieties eat at 12 and 16 kg, respectively.
The next most important factor that affects the productivity of turkeys, is the place where the birds are kept, that is, the conditions of detention.
The room in which you plan to settle the birds should be spacious with 2 heads per square meter. It is necessary that this space is sufficiently filled with light.
Next to the house you need equip place for walkingwhere birds can feel free enough, bask in the sun and breathe fresh air.
By area, this area and the house should be equal. The so-called solarium should be protected with a sufficiently high grid (1.5 - 2 meters) so that the birds could not jump over the fence.
Drinking bowls and feeders on the site of walking will need to be covered with a canopy so that the birds, if anything, can hide from the scorching sun. Place for walking will need to fall asleep coarse gravel or sawdust.
Before you buy and run the birds in the house, it needs to be processed. All surfaces need to be disinfected with caustic soda and formalin solutions.
After disinfecting the walls, the floor and ceiling need to be limelisted. After a week on the floor will need to lay the material that will serve as litter. As such raw materials, you can use straw, sawdust, peat chips, coconut fiber.
The thickness of the litter should be at least 5 - 8 cm. As necessary, you will need to fill up with fresh material, as well as loosen the old one.
At a distance of 1 m from the floor you need to fix the poles on which the turkeys will be located. You will also need to install several nests (size 60 x 70 x 60 cm), where females will lay eggs.
It is very important to maintain the temperature regime in the house, as the temperature is extremely important for these birds. The optimum level will be 13-16 ° C.
The room with birds should be well ventilated so that animals always have access to fresh air.
Lighting also play an important role. 13 - 14 hours a day, birds should spend in the light - natural or artificial.
You also need to pay special attention to feeding birds. It is necessary to evenly combine dry and wet food in turkey diets.
Dry food should be given in the evening, and wet food in the morning.
As wet feeds, swollen grains are used, which are obtained from pre-soaked wheat.
Dry feed can be purchased at any specialty store.
When fresh grass and greens appear, they should be added to the daily diet of turkeys.
In winter, chopped hay will benefit these birds.
Be sure to give the turkey carrots, because it is thanks to this product that the meat of this bird will be dietary.
Turkeys are very large in size, so they need a lot of water, and especially in summer.
Therefore, it will be necessary to put a bucket of fresh water in the side opposite to the feeder twice a day.
Following these simple tips, you can easily grow large birds, from which you can get excellent meat of high quality and good taste. Good luck.
