One of the most valuable domestic birds is turkey. In Russia, this species of domesticated birds was introduced in the 16th century and immediately became extremely popular. There are a lot of advantages of this bird. At the same time, one of its undoubted advantages is excellent maternal qualities.
However, in spite of the fact that turkeys are good hens, many homeowners still prefer to breed the young animals of this bird artificially in an incubator. This method allows you to get healthy chicks absolutely at any time of the year, and in very large quantities. Therefore, farmers often use incubators in order to immediately bring a large number of thoroughbred chicks for sale. Of course, when breeding turkeys artificially, certain recommendations should be followed. Below in the article, the rules for performing such a procedure as incubation of turkey eggs at home will be examined in detail. A table with indicators of the required mode and humidity will also be presented.
How to increase egg production
If you want to get a large number of chicks in incubators, the maximum attention, of course, should be paid to this issue. The physiological maturity of turkeys occurs in 7-8.5 months. Egg production in this case can be 75-160 pcs. in year. This indicator depends on the breed of the bird and its age. Young turkeys carry fewer eggs. At the same time, their shell is lighter than that of an adult bird. Incubation of turkey eggs at home (a photo of this procedure can be seen on the page) will be successful when laying both from young and mature laying hens. But it’s better to take an egg from an adult bird. The fact is that it is larger, and therefore, the chicks from it are more viable.
Actually, the intensity of oviposition in turkeys directly depends on the duration of daylight hours. This bird begins to hike in the spring - in the first decade of March. That is, when the daylight reaches a duration of 10 hours. However, at this time, the bird is still reluctantly rushing. The highest egg-laying intensity in turkeys is observed at 12-14 hours of light day. Thus, the farmer has the opportunity to influence the number of young animals hatched. To cause egg laying in turkeys, you only need to increase the duration of daylight hours by artificial means (by installing the necessary number of lamps in the shed).
Content Rules
Of course, in order to increase the productivity of poultry, the conditions necessary for this should be created in the barn. Only in this case can a procedure such as incubation of turkey eggs at home be successful. The air temperature in the room where the turkeys are kept should not drop below +10 degrees. The sockets themselves should be installed in quiet, secluded places.
Which eggs are best for incubation
We will talk about what the mode of incubation of turkey eggs should be at home, a little later. To begin with, let's figure out which eggs are best suited for this purpose. Turkeys can be carried on with increasing daylight hours artificially at any time of the year. Moreover, their productivity in this regard is usually very good. But of course, only the best eggs should be selected for incubation. This will guarantee maximum quality offspring. Turkey eggs are large, regular in shape. Before laying for incubation, they must be carefully inspected. In this case, first of all, attention should be paid to the quality of the shell. It should not be:
You can not use eggs with mold spots, irregular shape, too small or large.
Ovoscopy
Before incubating , the turkey eggs should be checked for quality and using special transmission equipment. When using an ovoscope, it is worth first of all to look at the position of the yolk. It should be located strictly in the center. An indicator of quality is its slow movement when turning the egg.
Incubation preparation
In small farms, it is far from always possible to immediately gain the number of eggs required for laying. Therefore, a certain part of them must be stored before being placed in an incubator. In order for the embryo to remain viable, it is better to do this in a cool place (at a temperature of +12 degrees) for no more than 10 days.
Before laying for incubation, eggs need to be warmed up to 18-20 degrees. If they are cold, condensation forms on them when the temperature rises. And this can lead to abnormal development of the embryos.
How to lay
For incubation of turkey eggs at home with an incubator to be successful, they must first be properly positioned. There are many types of equipment intended for the artificial breeding of young farm birds in the modern market. There are models of incubators with both automatic and manual turning modes. In the first case, the eggs are placed in trays vertically. The remaining free space between them is laid with foam rubber.
In incubators with manual rotation, the eggs are placed in a horizontal position. At the same time, they are marked on them. The latter are necessary in order not to confuse the position of the eggs after the next turn. Usually the owners of household plots put marks on their eggs: “B” - evening, “D” - day, etc.
How to incubate
Actually, when performing the very procedure of removing young animals by artificial means, the temperature and humidity conditions should be punctually observed. To determine the specific values of these parameters, there is a special incubation table for turkey eggs in the incubator.
If the regime is violated, even if only for a short time, the chicks may simply not be bred. The desired temperature is maintained automatically in all models of modern incubators. It is configured by pressing a certain number of times a button on the remote control. The necessary humidity is maintained due to the evaporation of water in the trays installed on the bottom of the device. Of course, during the incubation process, it will have to be added from time to time.
The flipping of eggs can be carried out, as already mentioned, automatically or manually. In the latter case, the owner of the household needs just to pull the lever on the incubator body. As a result, the grill at the bottom of the device will begin to move, while rolling the eggs. You can monitor this process through the glass in the lid.
A detailed table of incubation of turkey eggs at home
The embryo of this poultry develops on average 28 days. The actual temperature and humidity conditions, as well as the number of necessary turns at different stages of its growth, are not the same.
Below the reader is presented a table of incubation of turkey eggs at home. From it you can find out what should be the main indicators in certain periods of embryo development.
Incubation day | Temperature (C) | Humidity (%) | The number of turns (per day) |
1-8 | 37.5-38.1 | 60-65 | 4-12 |
8-14 | 37.6-38 | 45-50 | 6 |
15-25 | 37.5 | 65 | 4 |
This is how the incubation of turkey eggs at home is carried out in this way. Temperature and humidity must be maintained at the right level. At 25-26 days, the egg rotation should be stopped. During this period, biting usually begins. To make it easier for turkeys to get out of eggs, at this stage you should slightly lower the temperature (to 37 ° C) and increase the humidity to about 70%. Also at this time, it is desirable to provide good ventilation in the incubator.
How to get the best result
The table of incubation of turkey eggs at home shows what temperature and humidity indicators should be, clearly shows. However, as with any other poultry, in turkeys some eggs may be unfertilized. Therefore, in order to guarantee a good result, on the 8th day they should again be illuminated with an ovoscope. At this time, the embryo can already be seen in the yolk.
All unfertilized eggs from the incubator must be removed. Sometimes the embryo in the eggs also dies. In this case, when visible in the yolk, a blood ring will be noticeable. Of course, such eggs also need to be removed.
Some tips
Most modern incubator models can work including from a backup power source (usually from a 12V car battery). This function is provided in case of a power outage. However, backup sources, of course, are not included with the incubators. Sometimes it happens that there is no battery in the poultry farm. In this case, when the power is turned off in the incubator, you need to open the ventilation doors. otherwise the embryos may suffocate. In the room in which the device is located, you need to raise the air temperature.
After all the chicks hatch, the shell must be removed from the incubator. Next, the device is washed, ventilated for half an hour, and then put away for storage. If desired, the shell can be boiled for twenty minutes and fed to the bird.
The table of incubation of turkey eggs at home, presented above, will certainly be useful to all owners of homestead farms that breed this species of birds for sale. However, in order to achieve good results, it is important, of course, to observe the rules for caring for chicks. Hatched turkeys should be put in a warm box, and after a while, drink and feed.