The main advantages of turkeys are rapid weight gain, omnivorous and, of course, tasty meat. It is these qualities that encourage owners of their own sites to think about breeding these birds. In order for the bird to grow without problems, remaining healthy, and subsequently able to give the same healthy offspring, painstaking care will be required, including the construction (equipment) of the room, maintaining the temperature and its regulation, proper nutrition.
Feeding
turkeys at home includes:
- cereal legumes and cereal feeds (emphasis on buckwheat and oats);
- meal and meal (contain the necessary amino acids);
- fish, meat, meat and bone meal , blood meal (source of calcium, amino acids, phosphorus and protein);
- green feed (contain carbohydrates);
- needles (in winter - an additional source of such an important vitamin C);
- hay and straw (contain fiber, which helps the bird digest food);
- acorns, nuts (compensate for the need for fat and make meat juicier and more tender).
Feeding is possible after drying of hatched chicks. Please note - in the first hours the feed will not be completely eaten. This is due to the inability to swallow food in the first hours after birth. The chicks will only learn to peck for now, but after seven to eight hours they can already swallow the food they fill.
It is better to start feeding turkeys with steeply cooked and finely detailed eggs mixed with semolina (instead of semolina, small oat or wheat groats are suitable ), with the addition of grated carrots and greens (also very finely chopped).
In order not to be fragile beaks yet not injured, food is laid out in the first days on plywood or cardboard.
The first three days, feeding turkeys is carried out according to an eight-time schedule (after three hours, including at night). By two months (gradually removing feeding, that is, increasing the time interval), the number of feedings is reduced to four (the dosage is increased).
Below is a diagram by which you can feed turkeys for up to a month (the diet is designed for the head).
Until the sixth day:
- 5 g of cereals (millet, wheat groats, barley turf);
- 2 g of wheat bran;
- 2 eggs;
- 2 g of cottage cheese;
- 3 g back;
- 3 g of greens;
- 2 g of carrots.
From the sixth day to the tenth:
- 8 g of cereals (millet, wheat groats, barley turf);
- 4 g of wheat bran;
- one egg;
- 5 g of cottage cheese;
- 10 g back;
- 1 g meat and bone meal ;
- 0.2 g of yeast;
- 0.05 g of fish oil;
- 8 g of greens;
- 5 g of carrots;
- 0.5 g of shell, chalk;
- 0.1 g of fine gravel.
From the eleventh day to the twentieth:
- 12 g of grain (barley, millet, wheat grits);
- 4 g of corn grits;
- 5 g of wheat bran;
- 10 g of cottage cheese;
- 12 g back;
- 5 g meat and bone meal;
- 0.3 g of yeast;
- 0.2 g of fish oil;
- 10 g of carrots;
- 5 g of boiled potatoes;
- 0.8 g of chalk and shell;
- 0.1 g of ordinary table salt;
- 0.3 g of gravel.
Next to the month:
- 20 g of cereals;
- 8 g of corn grits;
- 8 g of wheat bran;
- 10 g of cottage cheese;
- 15 g back;
- 8 g of meat and bone meal;
- 0.5 g of yeast;
- 0.5 g of fish oil;
- 20 g of greens;
- 12 g of carrots;
- 10 g of boiled potatoes;
- 1.5 g of chalk with a shell;
- 0.2 g of salt;
- 1 g of gravel.
The term "greens" refers to a mixture of alfalfa, sainfoin, nettle, peas, quinoa, colza, sunflower, cabbage, rutabaga, carrots, sweet clover, dandelion, green onions. Moreover, the latter is also the prevention of intestinal diseases. Growing turkeys can leave chalk, shell and gravel in a separate trough.
Mandatory is the constant availability of clean water (not melt, not rain, not from water bodies). Once a week, to prevent perosis (a dangerous disease), ordinary water is replaced with a solution of manganese (weak, pale pink).
Keep drinkers with feeders clean (periodically it is advisable to scald them with boiling water).
As you can see, feeding and caring for turkey poults are not particularly difficult. The main thing is to follow the regime, monitor the quality of feed and cleanliness.