Today, turkeys are bred at home in many countries, and once only the Maya Indians in Mexico were breeding this largest poultry, in which it was the only pet until the Europeans discovered America.
Then breeding turkeys at home was widespread in Europe, Russia and other countries. Domestic turkeys are much larger than wild ones - the live weight of an adult turkey reaches thirty-five to forty kilograms. Today, domestic turkeys are found in many homestead households and are considered the largest poultry.
Breeding turkeys at home has its own specific features. In the personal farm, different birds are bred, but the most whimsical are small turkey poults.
Freshly hatched turkeys are placed in a box, the bottom of which is covered with hay or small shavings, but not with a newspaper. On paper, the paws of the chicks disperse and get injured, and since the turkey cannot drink and eat normally, it dies.
The temperature in the box should be 37 degrees, so the newly hatched turkeys are kept under the lamp, which is attached not from above, but from the side so that the chicken can choose where to place it.
For two weeks, the lighting in the box should be around the clock. The water in the drinker should change two to three times a day and be at room temperature. In order to disinfect the gastrointestinal tract, twice a week the chicks are watered with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Turkeys at home should receive a balanced diet, so it is better to buy ready-made mixed feed PK-2 and PC-5 - this is ideal. If there is no complete feed, then the best option would be to prepare a mixture of crushed wheat peas and corn, with each component taken respectively 60%, 30% and 10%. Sugar or glucose, cottage cheese and a hard-boiled egg are added to this mixture.
From the age of three days, turkeys have been prepared with mixes of fermented milk or gnea and add greens, potatoes, fish, cottage cheese and grated carrots to them. Wet mixers sour very soon, so they need to be cooked before feeding and in no case should they be prepared in reserve. It is necessary to give food in such quantities that turkey poultry ate it in about half an hour. The chicks are often fed up to seven times a day, but gradually the number of feeds is reduced and brought up to four times. If feeding the chicks with mishups is troublesome, then there is no problem with the use of compound feed.
For the growth of young animals, a large number of various additives are sold - Aminovitan, Ryabinushka, which must be added to the feed. At the age of three weeks, turkey poults begin to fly and can fly over the fence.
Turkeys at home should be kept in compliance with all sanitary standards, that is, you need to keep no more than fifty daily turkey poults per square meter and constantly clean the box or simply add hay or shavings with the next layer.
As they grow, the turkeys are seated. The first two weeks are considered the most difficult period in the life of turkey poults. It is very important during this period to properly maintain them and be sure to vaccinate them for preventive purposes. It is better to buy turkey poults at the age of 10-14 days, since by this time they will be more stable on their feet and will already be provoked.
The second difficult period begins in birds at 3-4 months. At this time, secondary sexual characteristics develop in turkeys, they are weakened and easily catch a cold. To prevent the birds from getting sick, letting them out in cool or windy weather is not worth it. It’s good to give them vitamins and finely chopped green onions, which turkeys really like.
Adult turkeys at home usually do not cause any trouble. These are important birds who consider themselves the main ones in the yard. Feeding them is also very simple - they can peck grain, bran and even kitchen waste with pleasure.
Turkeys are bred almost exclusively for a very valuable and delicious dietary meat, considered a delicacy.