Breeding turkeys at home for beginners: where to start? Raising turkeys at home is a profitable private business.

If before the turkeys in household could only be found in Mexico among the Mayan Indians, then with the discovery of America, raising turkeys at home became available to Europeans.

Turkey Breeding for Beginners

Turkeys are the fastest growing birds that can be found on a Russian farmstead. Within six months, with sufficient food, they grow to enormous sizes - the weight of males reaches 20 kilograms or more, and females - from 6 to 8 kg. The development of new breeds that lend themselves well to breeding at home also adds to their popularity.

Turkey meat has the following positive qualities:

Excellent taste;
High protein and iron content;
A dietary product that does not cause allergies.

Products from this bird are chosen by athletes, diabetics, pregnant women and everyone who leads healthy image life.

All the fears of those new to turkey farming are related to improper care for poultry and ignorance of feeding features. The most difficult time is in the first month after hatching, when chickens are susceptible to infectious diseases. With age, turkeys become very unpretentious in caring for and feeding birds.

Advantages over other poultry in the backyard:

The gain in live weight per consumed feed unit is the highest among other poultry. This precocity allows you to get results even with errors in feeding or an unbalanced diet. The yield of meat from live weight is at least 50%, and fat - 15%.
Edible eggs, not inferior in quality to chicken eggs and significantly superior to eggs waterfowl(geese, ducks).
All turkeys are natural hens and can hatch 2-3 broods of chicks per season.
Adult birds live in the open air; only a canopy and bedding are enough. They tolerate cold well and feed on pasture.

Interesting! Turkeys gain weight well on pastures, receiving most of their feed there. For a livestock of 1000, 4 hectares of pasture with grass is enough.

Turkey breeding as a business

Turkey farming can be highly organized profitable business, which will pay for itself in 12 months or less. The risk is minimal, and competition in the market is low, unlike the production of chicken meat and eggs.

This investment is also attractive because of the low barrier to entry into this business. To raise a trial livestock, 100 thousand rubles will be enough, and the first profit will begin in 5-6 months.

Main areas of turkey business:

Raising chicks for sale brings good income in season. You can sell grown turkeys from the age of four weeks. Difficulties may arise with finding a sales market.
For sale, eggs in a flock contain one turkey for every 6-8 females. The average egg production reaches 200 eggs per year from one individual.
Breeding for meat requires much high costs and feed supplies, but the profit margin in this business is very high. It takes 20-26 weeks to grow a bird to its optimal size. By this time, males easily gain 20 kilograms, females are slightly less. Further maintenance becomes unprofitable. Raising turkeys in winter period V unheated room ineffective because most of the feed is spent on heating the bird itself.
Breeding is used as an additional source of income. The emphasis is on meat or egg production.

In many ways, it is easier to do business with turkeys than with chicken or geese. This is due to low competition in the market and the peculiarity of the bird. In any case, there is a lot of care and feeding work to be done.

The most popular breeds for breeding

Birds for both meat and egg production are popular for growing at home. Turkeys raised for eggs grow to large sizes and can be slaughtered for meat.

Turkey meat breeds:

Broad-chested white. The breed is a hybrid and is intended exclusively for producing dietary low-fat meat. The best early maturity among other breeds. Consists of three crosses - heavy (up to 25 kg), medium (up to 14 kg) and light (up to 7 kg).
BIG – 6 is another hybrid breed with very high early maturity. Birds are slaughtered on days 85-90 of life. It has a characteristic white plumage with a black spot on the chest.
BUT – 8 and BUT – 9 are medium to large sized individuals with white plumage and powerful paws. Adults easily gain 25-26 kg.

Egg-laying species:

Breed Universal. They lay well and grow up to 18 kilograms. They have a powerful wide body, strong wings and paws.
Egg BIG – 9. These heavy and medium cross turkeys are used for both meat and egg poultry farming. Females lay up to 120 eggs per season.
Chiton. A simple and unpretentious breed, the females of which gain weight of 16-18 kg and lay 100 eggs per year.
Broad-chested bronze. A bird with beautiful bronze and green plumage, medium size. During the season, the bird lays 70-80 eggs.
Black Tikhoretskaya. Another universal breed in the household. Individuals are small - up to 10 kg with bright black plumage. Popular in the Caucasus and southern regions.

For home breeding, universal breeds are best suited, from which you can get meat and eggs. The size of the birds is chosen to be medium-sized - with them less problems and easier to place in the poultry house. Turkey crosses are better adapted to home conditions than pure hybrids.

Breeding poultry for subsequent sale for meat pays off within six months when using fast-growing breeds and best hybrids. These birds will produce better weight gain on a poor diet.

Rules for caring for young animals

Small turkeys require special care and separate keeping from adult birds. Large individuals will take food from small ones, and males may peck or trample the young. Only stronger and older birds are placed in a common pen. What is important in raising chicks:

Maintain indoor humidity at 75% for up to 4 weeks, and temperature not lower than 25 degrees. Temperature fluctuations negatively affect the bird's appetite and health.
Chicks are given additional lighting, for young ones - around the clock, and from 6 weeks of age, daylight hours should not be less than 8 hours. Lighting also has an important effect on the physiology of turkey poults.
Conflicting and sick individuals are separated from the rest of the herd. Birds often exhibit temperament and may refuse to eat or drink. Try changing your diet.
The separation by hatching time should not exceed 2-3 weeks.
The best bedding for newly hatched chicks is fine river sand. Later it is replaced with sawdust and straw.
Healthy birds stand firmly on their feet, are nimble with good fluff and an overgrown umbilical cord. Starting from the age of one month, the likelihood of diseases in turkeys decreases.
For poultry of all ages, it is recommended to carry out regular preventive maintenance and disinfection of premises. Walls and feeders are treated with quicklime.

On days 4-5 from birth, chicks are given antibiotics and vitamins to boost immunity.

A sick turkey is shown to a veterinarian so that he can correctly identify the disease and prescribe treatment. Infectious birds are isolated from the rest of the flock.

What to feed turkeys

Now these large birds will surprise no one; they are often bred on private farmsteads instead of chickens and geese, because the live weight of one adult male is 30-40 kg, the eggs are tastier than chicken eggs, and everyone has heard about them.

Raising turkeys at home comes with its own challenges. For example, small individuals require a lot of attention and special care:

they need to be kept in a box where the bottom is covered with small shavings or straw (on the newspaper, the legs of turkey poults move apart and are injured);
it is necessary to provide round-the-clock lighting and a constant temperature of 37 degrees;
change the water in the drinking bowl two to three times a day, using only warm water;
twice a week, disinfect the gastrointestinal tract of the chicks with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, etc.

Feeding small turkey poults from three days of age includes various reverse mash

You must provide balanced feeding for the birds. Perfect option– ready-made complete feed. If you cannot buy it for some reason, a mixture of crushed corn (10 parts), peas (30 parts) and wheat (60 parts) with the addition of a boiled egg, cottage cheese and sugar will also work.

Video about raising turkeys

Feeding small animals from three days of age includes various mashes made from skim milk or fermented milk, with the addition of potatoes, grated carrots, fish, cottage cheese, and herbs. Since mash spoils very quickly, it is necessary to prepare it immediately before you start feeding. Calculate the amount of feed so that the turkey poults eat everything within half an hour. At first, the chicks are fed seven times a day, then gradually reduced to four times. For young animals, it is advisable to add “Rowanushka” or “Aminovitan” to their feed.

Birds especially need vitamins A and E, as well as animal proteins. Their drinking bowls should always contain pure water, and in the feeders there is compound feed. In winter, to prevent vitamin deficiency in birds, add green hay, brooms from tree branches and sauerkraut to their diet.

Turkeys especially need vitamins A and E, as well as animal proteins

It may be quite troublesome to feed turkey poults in the first month of their life, but then home breeding It will only be a pleasure for you, because adults are unpretentious in food, but at the same time highly productive.

You can read more about all the nuances of feeding adults and turkey poults in our article:

In what conditions should birds be kept?

If you have previously raised chickens, there will be no problems with the premises, since keeping turkeys at home is possible in the same barns where the chickens lived. The main thing is that the inside is dry and light, and that the area of the poultry house allows the birds to walk freely.

In the bird room, be sure to install perches (thick beams) at a height of about 80 cm, so that each bird has 40 cm free space. For every five hens you will need to provide one nest. For convenience, you can arrange them in two tiers, installing them in the darkest places of the house. Optimal size The size of the nest is 50 by 70 cm, a convenient height is 60 cm; it is additionally advisable to build a threshold at the entrance of the nest. It is advisable to place males separately from females.

Perches should be installed in the turkey room

In order for turkeys to get sick as little as possible, you need to provide them with optimal conditions contents:

in summer the temperature in the poultry house should be +20 degrees, and in winter not lower than -5 degrees;
do not allow sudden temperature fluctuations;
the room should be well ventilated (in winter on warm, windless days);
drafts, frost and dampness are destructive for turkeys;
Make sure that the straw or shavings on the floor are dry - change it twice a week.

Video about feeding and caring for turkeys

In summer, turkeys can be provided with walks in the mornings and evenings to avoid extreme heat. If possible, equip a platform for birds in front of the poultry house with 20 square meters of free space per bird. Make shady canopies, install feeders and drinkers, and sow the surface of the ground with clover, vetch, alfalfa or oats.

Seasonal content

Turkey is an unpretentious bird and tolerates any living conditions well. Depending on the place and purpose of raising poultry, the following types of placement are used:

Seasonal cultivation. At the beginning of spring, the birds are kept in the poultry house, and when the first greenery appears, they are released to graze. A simple canopy protects the turkeys from the rain, and feeders are also installed there. They are slaughtered in the fall before the onset of cold weather.
Floor maintenance in a heated poultry house. The method for year-round keeping allows the birds to move freely, which has a positive effect on the quality of the meat.
When there is a shortage of free space or when raising broiler breeds, cage placement is used. The birds are selected from light and medium crosses. 3 tiers of cages in a poultry house are considered optimal.

Raising turkeys at home can turn into an interesting hobby and even a profitable business if you are serious about raising these large, majestic birds in order to obtain tasty and healthy meat.

Material updated 02/07/2018

Turkeys eat quite a lot, but the slaughter yield of meat is high. That is why breeding, keeping and caring for turkeys at home requires significant feed costs. To get a large and productive population, you need to know all the main features of raising these birds.

The main stages and rules for keeping young and adult individuals are described in this article. You will learn how to properly equip a poultry house, what feed should be prepared and what features to take into account when breeding.

Breeding turkeys at home is best learned from video. In the video below, you will find tips from experienced poultry farmers on raising turkeys at home.

Peculiarities

Note: Young birds at 3-4 months are already fully accustomed to adult food, so it will be enough for novice poultry farmers to simply fatten such birds for meat.

If you plan to breed turkeys at home for beginners by directly raising young animals in an incubator or under a hen, you must adhere to certain rules.

Turkeys are raised from scratch like this:(picture 1):

Productive individuals are selected, 10 females and 1 male, which differ in all characteristic features selected breed;
Eggs are selected and placed under the hen or placed in an incubator. Female birds are very good brood hens, and the hatching time of the young is 27-28 days.

Figure 1. Turkey poults: breeding and keeping at home

In the future, turkeys teach their offspring everything they need, and breeding young animals does not require serious human intervention.

Rules

First, you should choose the right breed. It is best to choose broiler turkeys, whose weight can reach 30 kg. When enough high consumption products to feed them, the slaughter yield of meat is quite large.

Secondly, it is necessary to equip a poultry house with walking. Installed indoors supply and exhaust ventilation, nests, perches, feeders and drinking bowls, and the walking area is fenced

Conditions

Providing optimal living conditions for turkeys is quite simple. These are unpretentious birds that tolerate frost well. But this does not mean that their content can be taken lightly.

To help turkeys gain weight quickly, you need to do the following:(Figure 2):

Build a poultry house, the size of which must correspond to the number of individuals. A barn in which chickens were previously kept is also suitable for this purpose. The main thing is that it is roomy enough and there is enough space for all the birds.
Perches made from thick logs and placed at a height of 80 cm from the floor. The size of the roosts is also determined by the number of individuals. On average, there should be 40 cm of free space per bird.
Nests installed in the dark corners of the poultry house. In addition, it is advisable to divide the premises and keep females and males separately, letting them out together only for walking.

Figure 2. Conditions for keeping turkeys and turkeys

An equally important role is played by temperature regime. In summer, the indoors should not be too hot (no more than +20 degrees). The temperature in winter should not fall below 5 degrees below zero. It is also undesirable to allow sudden temperature fluctuations.

A layer of litter (straw or shavings) must be laid on the floor of the poultry house and changed several times a week. The material must be dry at all times so that the birds do not get sick.

Keeping turkeys at home for beginners

Beginners who are just planning to master the breeding, keeping and care of turkeys at home should familiarize themselves with certain rules. First of all, they relate to the arrangement of premises and walking areas, as well as rations and feeds that are used to fatten poultry for meat.

Content Rules

The productivity of turkeys directly depends on the temperature of the poultry house. At too low temperatures, the consumed feed is used by the bird’s body not to produce eggs or fat mass, but to create additional heat. However, too hot a room leads to a decrease in egg production, deterioration in shell quality and a decrease in live weight. The optimal temperature for adult turkeys should be within 12016 degrees, and for turkey poults higher, depending on age:

Up to 4 days - 22 degrees;
From 5 to 20 days of life - from 16 to 20 degrees;
Up to 26 days, the temperature gradually normalizes and reaches 12 degrees.

You can determine how comfortable the microclimate is for birds by the behavior of turkeys:

If the room temperature is optimal, turkeys are active, they have a good appetite, they drink enough water and are distributed evenly around the room;
If the turkeys are cold, they spread their feathers to increase their protective air layer. In addition, they crowd together, which can lead to suffocation of some individuals;
At elevated temperatures the birds begin to breathe frequently, drink a lot and open their beaks. Turkeys also spread their wings to cool down and may refuse to eat.

Heat transfer largely depends on the humidity of the room: the lower it is, the faster the moisture will evaporate and the temperature will rise. However, even at a humidity level below 50 percent, turkeys may experience irritation of the mucous membranes, increased feather fragility and impaired normal operation respiratory organs. High humidity provokes dampening of the litter and the growth of mold. To prevent this, poultry houses should be equipped with ventilation to ensure an influx of fresh air. Important role The walking equipment also plays (Figure 3).

Note: To ensure optimal temperature conditions in the poultry house, it is necessary to install electric lighting. Its intensity depends on the age of the turkeys and the direction of their productivity. Thus, the duration of daylight hours for turkey poults should be eight hours only from the age of four months, and later it is gradually lengthened so that during the egg-laying period the duration of daylight hours is 17 hours.

Figure 3. Setting up a walking area for turkeys

To breed high-quality and productive young animals, you should select healthy and strong turkeys without physical defects. Young animals can be reared either naturally (through incubation) or using household incubators.

Walk

If possible, it is advisable to regularly release turkeys to free grazing. But, if this is not possible, a paddock is set up next to the poultry house.

The aviary must be fenced with a mesh fence to protect the birds from predators. It is desirable that turkeys have free access to range directly from the poultry house and, if necessary, can independently get back into the premises in case of bad weather.

On the walk, feeders and drinking bowls are installed, in which the birds are given food and clean water. drinking water. You can also scatter green food directly on the ground.

For turkeys to live, you can equip a shed or easy construction from boards, since these birds are perfectly adapted to life at low temperatures. However, to provide protection in severe frosts, it is more advisable to build durable structures.

Reliable construction will protect not only from adverse weather conditions, but also from external enemies, in particular birds of prey and animals. There is no need to equip special perches for maintenance, but the floor should be covered with bedding. To make the birds comfortable in the room, it is necessary to calculate its area so that there is one square meter area. When breeding young animals, the same area accounts for four chicks up to four months of age. The construction diagram of the poultry house is shown in Figure 4.

IN summer time The planting density can be reduced and, in winter, increased. Too many birds indoors can slow down the development of the young.

During construction, some recommendations should be taken into account:

The place must be dry and level. Ideally, the site should have a slight slope to the south so that rainwater can flow freely from it.
If the selected area is too damp, it is necessary to make a small embankment of crushed stone (approximate height is 20 centimeters). The top of the embankment must be filled with clay with broken glass to protect birds from rodents. Next, a layer of crushed stone is laid again and filled with cement.
To ensure waterproofing of the floor, it is covered with hot liquid bitumen. This type of coating is considered the warmest, most inexpensive and hygienic.
It is more advisable to make a room for raising turkey poults with a cement floor.
To prevent penetration groundwater inside the room, around it they do drainage grooves with several layers of crushed stone of various calibers, covered with a layer of sand.
The material for construction should be selected taking into account climatic conditions. Walls made of wood or built using frame-cladding technology must be thick so that they do not become damp in the cold (it will be better if the thickness of the walls is at least 22 centimeters).
The inside of the walls should be smooth to make cleaning easier in the future. It is best to cover them with sheets of plywood or dry plaster.
Before placing turkeys in a new house, the walls and ceiling are mandatory should be covered with lime solution.
It is also necessary to insulate the floor, ceiling, door and window openings and manholes, since in winter it is from these openings that the most heat comes out.
The room should be sufficiently lit (window area should be equal to a tenth of the floor area). To prevent turkeys from damaging the glass, with inside Windows are protected with metal bars.
In front of the poultry house, you need to equip a solarium - an open fenced area for walking birds.
At the entrance it is also necessary to equip an insulated vestibule for storing feed and equipment.

Figure 4. Drawing for building a turkey house

To avoid cleaning up droppings every day, the floor should be covered with a layer of litter. In addition, biochemical processes in the litter provide heat, which allows you to maintain a stable temperature in the room.

Note: The acidic environment of the litter also allows you to destroy some pathogens. It is best to lay out the bedding a week before boarding the birds. The optimal thickness of litter for adults is 30 centimeters, and for turkey poults up to four months of age - 15 centimeters.

Sawdust, peat, leaves, dry coarse sand and straw are suitable for bedding. However, hungry birds should not be allowed onto it, as they may start pecking at sawdust or peat, thus disrupting digestion.

After getting wet, a new layer is laid on the old bedding, first sprinkling the floor with burnt lime. It is important that for breeding young animals, changing the bedding is a prerequisite, failure to comply with which can lead to disease.

In addition, before boarding the birds, it is necessary to disinfect the premises.:

All surfaces are thoroughly washed, cleaned and disinfected using a solution of creolin or soda ash;
Feeders, perches, nests and drinking bowls are washed with ash liquor (1 kg of ash is required for 5 liters of water, and the resulting mixture is subsequently diluted with water).
Small wooden implements should also be cleaned disinfectant solution, A metal objects first processed blowtorch, and then also wash.
After disinfection, the room should be closed for three hours, after which it should be ventilated and dried.
Before planting the birds, the house must be warmed up.

In summer due to high temperature feed and water can quickly deteriorate, so feeders must be cleaned of food residues before dispensing a new portion of food. The water in drinking bowls also needs to be changed regularly to prevent it from becoming contaminated.

Particular attention should be paid to the temperature regime inside the poultry house. Turkeys should not be hot, so the room is regularly ventilated by opening the vents and windows. At the same time, drafts should not be allowed, since turkeys are very sensitive to sudden temperature changes.

How to keep turkeys at home: video

You can learn more about keeping turkeys in the household from the video. It describes what conditions need to be provided for birds, and what physiological characteristics of turkeys should be taken into account when keeping them.

Turkeys: breeding and keeping at home

The formation of a healthy and productive livestock is impossible without following certain breeding rules. For example, to breed young animals, it is better to use hens, since they not only hatch the chicks, but also teach them everything they need in the future.

If there is no hen on the farm, the chicks can be hatched in an incubator. After hatching, the poults are placed in a brooder, which is constantly maintained optimal temperature(36-37 degrees on the first day) and gradually accustom the young animals to adult food.

Features of caring for and breeding turkeys at home

To breed turkeys, you need to purchase lightweight and durable equipment made from materials that can be easily cleaned and washed in the future.

It is better to use metal feeders for feeding wet mash, while wooden feeders are often used for dry foods. For dry food, containers must be provided that can hold at least a daily dose, and to save space in the poultry house, they must be placed at a height of half a meter from the floor. Options homemade feeders for turkeys are shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Main types of turkey feeders

In addition, waterers must be installed in the turkey house, since birds have a very high water requirement. For example, in young animals in the first few weeks of life, liquid intake is twice as much as the amount of dry food eaten. In winter, it is not allowed to use snow instead of water, since it not only does not quench the thirst of birds, but can lead to colds. Periodically (twice a week), the drinking bowls should be filled for 30 minutes with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, which is then poured out and replaced with clean water.

Drinkers should be placed at an elevated position (the edge should be approximately the height of the bird's back), and they should be placed around the house in such a way that the turkeys can freely approach the water at any time.

Note: The poultry house should also be equipped with a perch made of smooth wooden beams. It must be placed on a hill in the warmest part of the house and away from the windows. WITH practical point In terms of view, it is better not to make perches in the shape of a slide, since the birds sitting on top will pollute the lower ones with droppings (Figure 6).

To equip a practical and comfortable perch, you must consider the following::

It is better to make it collapsible for further cleaning and disinfection;
It is advisable to place a shield under it, from which it will be easier and easier to collect droppings in the future;
In summer poultry houses, perches can be placed around the entire perimeter of the room;
The number of perches should correspond to the number of turkeys so that all birds can be accommodated on them at the same time.

In addition, in the dark part of the poultry house it is necessary to equip a sufficient number of nests for eggs (at the rate of 4 to 7 turkeys per nest).

Figure 6. Turkey perch setup

To combat ticks and bedbugs, turkeys need to periodically make ash baths. The bathroom is wooden box, into which sand, dry clay and dry wood ash in equal quantities

Turkeys, breeding at home: video

The process of breeding turkeys at home is shown in the video. You will learn how to properly breed young animals, care for the chicks and feed them.

Which turkeys are best to raise for meat?

Regardless of the breed, turkeys weigh quite a lot (5-7 kg for females and 10-15 for males). But there are special broiler breeds that were specially bred by breeders for breeding for meat.

The most famous breed is the Big-6 hybrid. The weight of an adult can reach 30 kg, and the birds do not require special food or living conditions. They quickly gain weight on a standard diet and are also resistant to disease.

At home, they most often practice raising young animals independently under a hen or in an incubator. But for those who are just starting to raise turkeys, there will be useful recommendations according to the bird's choice.

To buy healthy and productive young animals, you need to follow some rules:

It is better to buy already grown young animals (3-4 months). Such chicks are still young, but are already accustomed to the diet of an adult bird. They will quickly gain weight and in the future they can be used not only for slaughter, but also for replenishing the livestock.
When choosing, you should pay attention to the purity of the breed. This is quite difficult to do with small chicks, so most often the purchase is based on trust. For this reason, it is better to purchase young animals from specialized farms.
Please inspect all birds carefully before purchasing. They must be healthy in appearance and have a good appetite.

All these tips are quite simple, and by following them, you will be able to replenish your farm with high-quality young stock. If you already have turkeys, new individuals should be kept in quarantine for a month, and only after that they should be taken out for a common run or moved to a poultry house.

The domestication of turkeys occurred ten centuries ago in America. This beautiful and majestic bird was very freedom-loving and not as calm and slow as its modern relatives. In the process of domestication, quite a number of new breeds arose, the main differences of which are the weight and color of the plumage. A frequent question is what is the difference between a turkey and a turkey - it is a mistake to think that these are different birds, in fact, both one and the other are females of this species of bird. The use of the word turkey is more popular in foreign countries, but the second in our country.

The weight of an adult turkey can reach 30-40 kg. In addition to the fact that the meat is tasty, it is also dietary and very healthy. Each carcass contains more than 50% meat, 15% subcutaneous fat and a little more than 10% internal fat. Turkey eggs, down and feathers are no less valuable.

Raising turkeys is quite a troublesome and expensive task, requiring certain skills. Many people are afraid of not knowing how to properly care for turkeys, as well as the opinion that turkey poults often die due to poor adaptation to new conditions. However, by providing careful care, even an inexperienced farmer can avoid such negative consequences.

Turkey chicks require the greatest attention and special care - rearing and feeding is required in the first month of life. You should not refuse to raise turkeys because of their possible diseases. Correct conditions maintenance and nutrition will help to avoid and overcome initial difficulties, and soon the babies will become adult turkeys and turkeys that grow almost every hour.

In fact, no more than two or three turkey poults die due to the disease. And following the rules will help to avoid such annoying cases and ensure the quality development of the chicks.

Methods of content

There are several ways to keep turkeys at home; it is better to choose the most suitable one before you start equipping the premises. Each of them is influenced by climate and the purpose of breeding.

There are three such ways:

Poultry house arrangement

When wondering how to raise turkeys, proper arrangement of their housing requires a lot of attention. For starters, a box, a small pen or a cage will do, which will eliminate the risk of all sorts of ailments.

The box with the bottom is covered with straw or shavings. The average daily temperature should be approximately 37 degrees, later in the process of growing up the turkeys it will change. The right thing for beginners includes mandatory ventilation of the house - chicks are especially sensitive to odors and gases.

The habitat of turkey poults must be equipped with a drinking bowl and feeder, a heater and a thermometer.

You also need 24-hour lighting and regular replacement of bedding.

Not the last requirements on which the choice of premises depends are:

Climatic conditions. At least in wildlife Turkeys can withstand temperatures down to minus 15 degrees; a temperature regime of at least 32 degrees for young birds and 17 degrees for adult birds is very important for their health.
Method of maintenance.
Number of poultry raised.

Rules for keeping turkey poults

A common question from breeders: is it possible to keep chickens and poults together in the same room? As experts and veterinarians advise, you shouldn’t do this. But if this is not possible, and the chickens, roosters and turkeys are in the same room, the best option would be to make a fence.

In addition, for beginners it provides a number of important rules:

Feeding turkeys

To ensure rapid weight gain, it is important to know how to properly feed turkeys at home; in addition, with a complete, balanced diet, you can be sure that the birds are healthy. A sufficient amount of proteins, vitamins, fats, carbohydrates and minerals - all components must be present in the diet of turkeys.

The correct percentage of food for turkeys is grains and legumes of about 70%. The best option will prepare feed even before purchasing young animals. Optimal choice There will be ready-made complete feed. Its undeniable advantage is that it does not require any additional mixtures. In addition, feeding with compound feed reduces possible losses among turkey poults, and also significantly increases their vitality.

Feeding turkeys differs from feeding other types of farm birds in the large amount of protein and vitamins.

Otherwise, with a sedentary lifestyle, the turkey will gain too much unhealthy fat.

In addition, turkey poults will enjoy a variety of mash based on skim milk or sour milk. Additives can include fish, herbs, potatoes and cottage cheese. But it is worth considering that mash is a fairly quickly perishable product, and it should be prepared immediately before feeding itself and not very quickly. large quantities. The frequency is seven times a day, and later decreases to four.

The number of feedings for adults is three. In the first half of the day it is best to give mash and greens, and in the evening grain. Compound feed can be either added or given in its pure form.

An excellent option is to graze turkeys on pasture during the warm season. Greens as food will not only be a source of minerals and vitamins, but will also allow the owner to save on the purchase of food. In addition, such an active lifestyle will prevent the bird from gaining fat.

Experienced breeders who already know everything about turkeys know how essential supplements are animal proteins, as well as vitamins E and A. In winter, to avoid vitamin deficiency, brooms from branches, green hay and even sauerkraut. Brooms made from linden, poplar and acacia, prepared in the summer, can simply be hung indoors or wiped and added to porridge.

Basic food for turkeys includes:

cereals and beans;

cake and soybean meal;

straw and greens;

fish, meat and bone meal and blood meal;

pine and fir needles;

acorns, nuts and vegetable oil make poultry meat unusually soft and tender.

It is important to know that during the breeding stage, males lose their appetite, and when a turkey cries, the whole neighborhood hears it. And to avoid weight loss, they are fed legumes and cottage cheese, carrots and nuts, as well as sprouted grains. But for females, to increase egg production and improve the quality of eggs, it is recommended to add yeast, fresh herbs and also sprouted grains to the diet. By the way, there is no need to doubt whether turkeys and turkeys are different birds, what is the difference between a male and a female - representatives of the same species of birds.

In addition to the important question of how to properly feed turkeys, the bird’s drinking water is no less important - the water should not be too warm, but cool, otherwise the chicks may refuse. It is recommended to replace it every 5 hours. A weak solution of potassium permanganate can be given a couple of times every 7 days for disinfection purposes.

Caring for drinking bowls requires rinsing and wiping with clean cloths.

The turkey is a finicky bird and its rearing is different compared to other birds. It is worth spending time studying specialized literature or expert advice.

One such recommendation is to place the drinking bowl in a shaded area. As for the feed of young animals, in addition to minerals and vitamins, it is recommended to add oatmeal, corn flour and milk powder. Gravel is poured into a separate bird feeder.

Perches that are too high for turkeys and Cohabitation with another bird or animals. Also, the poultry house must always be clean.

When choosing turkeys, you should pay attention to the most active chicks.

Thus, although young turkeys require special care and will have to be tinkered with, there are often no problems with adult turkeys - they grow quickly and gain weight. As a result, for beginners it can develop into great way receiving income.

In order to obtain tender, tasty and healthy dietary meat, as well as eggs that are not inferior to chicken in terms of nutritional value, beginning and experienced farmers prefer to breed turkeys. This profitable business, because by the age of six months the carcass contains about 80% meat products, which is considered better than rabbit or chicken meat. Today we will reveal all the secrets of how to keep turkeys at home for beginners. You will learn how to set up a poultry house, care for livestock, keep and feed pets.

Keeping turkeys begins with arranging a comfortable house for them. To build it themselves, poultry farmers use various building materials, including those available on the farm. It is important to keep the house warm, dry, have a good lighting system and avoid drafts. If turkeys are kept in comfortable home conditions in compliance with all rules, you can expect normal set live weight, be confident in the health and excellent egg production of birds, rapid growth and full development of young animals.

Care requirements

More turkeys, breeding, keeping and proper care at home, in which beginning farmers are interested, must live in certain conditions.
Most attention and time will need to be devoted to breeding birds and caring for young animals. You can purchase turkey poults that are at least 3, and preferably 4 months old. You can breed pets yourself, having 1 male and up to 10 females on the farm. Typically, a turkey sits on eggs in the spring for no more than 28 days. It is also common to use an incubator to hatch young animals. Placing hatchery chicks, from which they plan to receive meat products, into cages has proven successful.

Experts emphasize that broiler crosses, unlike Canadian and other turkey breeds, are not so demanding on the conditions created and the diet. Therefore, it will be much easier for a novice farmer to care for them. Caring for turkeys at home if there are chicks involves placing them in a warm and dry room. It will even do cardboard box. During the first days, lighting should be around the clock.

It is required to maintain the temperature at +36 degrees. It is gradually reduced to +25, and when the young animals reach the age of 2 months, the temperature should be no more than 20 degrees Celsius. It is recommended to use electric lamps with a power of about 40 watts for heating and lighting. From 20 days onwards, the normal light regime for chicks is 15 hours. Raising turkey poults in such conditions must be carried out until the end of fattening. That is, until they reach the age of 7 months.

Feeding and caring for babies involves them eating food up to 8 times a day. The diet should contain dry cereals with boiled egg. Next, fresh chopped herbs are introduced. You can give commercial food with minerals and vitamins. Chicks can be separated from their mother after 6–8 weeks.

How to keep and what to feed

The poultry must be created in such conditions that there is no dampness, it is sufficiently dry and as clean as possible. High-quality floor bedding is important to prevent turkeys’ limbs from freezing. You need to take care of a large walking yard. The normal width of perches is about 7 cm, and the height is up to 10 cm. Such a courtyard is created at the rate of up to 1 meter of area for each adult. Turkeys should be free ranged as much as possible as they tend to become obese. Feeders, drinkers and dishes must be placed in the aviary, where there will be ash for bathing the birds. If the house for turkeys should be separate, then it is permissible to walk them with other poultry.

In winter, to avoid dampness in the poultry house, it is recommended to maintain the temperature at -3–5 degrees. Such birds can withstand frost, but dampness and drafts can cause them to develop diseases.

In winter, a poultry house cannot do without high-quality bedding. In this case, there is no need to create additional lighting. Adult birds normally need about 14 hours of daylight per day. To ensure a high degree of egg production, daylight hours should be increased. This is done 1 month before the expected egg laying. When there is no frost, walking should be up to 2 hours a day. Snow removal needs to be done.

Cage living is practiced for small and light breeds of turkeys. If the farmer's goal is to obtain dietary meat. You can keep it in a cage poultry until she reaches 17 weeks of age. The advantages of this method are increased live weight growth and feed savings, as well as stimulation of good egg production. It should be borne in mind that pets staying in cages are quite shy. The frequency of placement should be up to 2 individuals. The most popular today is the two-tier cage.

Your daily diet should include dry cereal with a boiled egg. When the chicks are several days old, you can offer them greens such as lettuce and cabbage, vitamin nettles, onions, clover, and alfalfa.

Any type of feed must be pre-chopped. Babies need this food for 1 month. Today, high-quality ready-made food is available for sale. In which manufacturers include all the minerals and vitamins necessary for the growth and development of chicks. Adults are advised to give grain crops, a variety of mash and fresh herbs. Birds receive the main part of green feed during the warm period on the range.

In winter, it is necessary to additionally feed them with carrots, cabbage and beets. It is good to give sprouted grain to your pets. Wet mash should be offered for breakfast and lunch. In the evening, it is best to treat the birds with grain crops. It is customary to feed turkeys three times a day, and laying hens up to 5 times during the incubation period.

In winter, birds expend a lot of energy. You can fill it with grain, which is high in fiber and carbohydrates. Be sure to introduce succulent feed such as beets, carrots, clover and pre-steamed alfalfa. Experienced poultry farmers advise giving turkeys chopped acorns and chestnuts. On winter days, it is sometimes difficult to get fresh herbs. It is often practiced to add pre-crushed and infused pine needles to the mash.

Your pets will not refuse to eat rowan berries during the cold season. Even in the summer you can dry nettles, birch trees, and grass for them. With the arrival of winter, you can add this treat to mash or simply give it to the birds in bunches. A separate feeder must contain chalk, gravel or other similar additives, which are an excellent source of minerals.

If a poultry farmer plans to keep turkeys in cages, it is necessary to add grass meal and fresh herbs to their food. The fact that the nutritious diet was chosen correctly can be judged by the high degree of egg production of females and the production of especially tender and tasty dietary meat products.

The profitability of poultry farming as a business attracts many farmers. Chickens, ducks and geese have always been raised in our latitudes. Turkey farms are a type of farming that originated in America. Every year our entrepreneurs are becoming more and more successful in raising turkeys at home.

How much can you earn from raising turkeys?
How to start your own turkey breeding business
How much can you earn from raising turkeys?
Technology of raising turkeys
How much money do you need to start a business?
What equipment to choose for raising turkeys
What is the OKVED code for a business for raising turkeys?
What documents are needed to open
Which tax system to choose for raising turkeys
Do I need permission to open?

Breeding turkeys at home.

How much can you earn from raising turkeys?

This direction allows you to earn good money. Experts recorded business profitability at 45-50%. The technology for raising turkeys for sale allows this to be done in two cycles per year. This way you can increase profitability to 100%. In other words, the business allows you to fully recoup costs and receive a net profit in an amount equal to the investment.

How to start your own turkey breeding business

Turkeys are majestic birds, large and slow. Their maintenance requires conditions that are somewhat different from the usual poultry farms for chickens and ducks. Here are some to highlight:

For turkeys you need to allocate a large enough land plot. They love to walk, and for young individuals it will be useful to nibble on fresh grass.
Special nutrition, which is rich in special additives for growth and strengthening of bones.
Vitamins and medicines that birds need especially in the first months of life. They are most often given to prevent disease.
Prepare a place to keep the chicks. They need special care and attention.

How much can you earn from raising turkeys?

Turkeys are usually raised for business to produce and sell young chicks, eggs or meat. All this has commercial value. Turkey poults, for example, cost from 260 to 500 rubles. Moreover, the younger the chicks, the more expensive they are valued.

One turkey produces about a hundred eggs per year. They are not consumed as food, but are bought for further breeding by farmers and individuals. One egg costs about 35 rubles. The most popular product the farm produces is meat. The human body absorbs it by 95%. Meat is considered dietary and healthy for children and sick people. Birds can be slaughtered for meat as early as 6 months. At this time they usually weigh about 15 kg. Turkeys are raised for meat from March to November. There are technologies that allow you to raise two batches of poultry for meat in the same time. Turkey meat costs from 170 to 350 rubles per kilogram.

Technology of raising turkeys

A broiler turkey farm can start with one male bird and four females. All five birds will cost a maximum of 10 thousand rubles. The purchase is made at the end of winter, then the turkeys will be able to get comfortable and prepare a place for hatching the chicks. Usually meat breeds are chosen. There are also broiler turkeys, but they are handled by experienced farmers. Alternatively, you can buy a hen with chicks. Such turkey poults will be more resistant to disease. Livestock bred in an incubator require more careful care. A turkey can hatch about 40 eggs. This way the farm will quickly replenish.

Turkey meat production complex.

For turkeys, set up a poultry house with dry bedding made of straw or wood shavings. It is enough to change it once a season and when moving in new inhabitants. As it gets wet, it is renewed by sprinkling a new layer on top. Perches are made along the walls, which are raised 80 cm from the ground. Their dimensions should be such that each bird gets at least 50 cm of personal space. Boxes with an ash-sand mixture are placed on the floor, preferably in dark place. If there are four females in the room, then one nest will be enough. The box should be spacious.

Turkeys lay eggs starting at 7 months. Eggs are collected regularly and stored at a temperature of +15 degrees. You can place them for incubation closer to spring, when daylight hours reach 12 o'clock. The chicks appear after about a month.

For young turkeys they fence separate area. It should warm up well. Turkeys generally cannot tolerate drafts and sudden temperature fluctuations. In the poultry house it should almost always be constant, especially in winter. Young animals cannot tolerate dampness. In the first days, the chicks are fed from a soft surface, since their beak is very sensitive. It is important to maintain cleanliness and promptly remove leftover food and change water.

From the age of one week, turkey chicks are fed porridge, cottage cheese and greens. Be sure to include fish, bone meal and vitamins in their diet. Greens should be given to both young and adult birds. It stimulates their metabolism. If turkeys move a lot and eat it regularly, their meat will be tasty and dietary. In winter time green grass replaced with hay. In winter, you can walk birds at temperatures not lower than 10 degrees. If you scatter grain around the yard, the birds will move and not stand still.

The peculiarity of raising turkey poults at home is the excessive attention paid to them. In the first months you need to treat them very carefully. But when they grow up, they require virtually no care. Adult birds are less whimsical, and the reward for your efforts will be delicious dietary meat for the whole family and a good income from the sale of this unique product.

How much money do you need to start a business?

Even for a small farm of 50 birds, approximately 7,500 rubles will be required for the purchase of young animals (based on the cost of 150 rubles for 1 chick). It is necessary to build the main and utility rooms, but it’s better to rent ready-made ones. This will cost another 50,000 rubles on average per month of farm operation. The purchase of drinkers, feeders, veterinary medications and vitamins, as well as wages for farm workers, requires another 70,000. Total: the minimum investment amount is 130,000 rubles to create one compact home farm.

What equipment to choose for raising turkeys

The equipment depends on the format in which the poultry will be raised:

open air (canopy);
separate equipped room.

All communications must be provided, and winter months- turn on the heating. Basic equipment includes cages, drinking bowls, trays for feeding and bathing turkeys. It is necessary to provide a separate walking area.

What is the OKVED code for a business for raising turkeys?

For such an agricultural project, we select code 01.47.11 “Raising poultry for meat.”

What documents are needed to open

For this agricultural business, you will need to prepare documentation related to the activities of raising poultry and its marketing. It is necessary to register a business entity: this can be either individual entrepreneur, or collective farming. Documentation is submitted to local executive authorities.

Which tax system to choose for raising turkeys

This business belongs to the segment of agricultural products, therefore a tax payment system for agricultural producers is used, which is also called the “single agricultural tax” (USAT). The main condition when choosing this type of taxation is that the proceeds from the sale of these products are at least 2/3 of all revenues. Such an enterprise must be engaged exclusively in the production of livestock products, and not in their retail sale.

Do I need permission to open?

For the production of any livestock products, it is necessary to obtain a sanitary permit. For this purpose the following documents are provided:

extract from Unified State Register of Legal Entities or USRIP;
a copy of the state registration certificate;
previous sanitary permit;
documentation for the equipment used;
technological (production) map;
SES conclusion on compliance project documentation safety standards.