by Good day, experienced and novice poultry farmers! How and what to feed heavy breed turkeys? At one time, turkeys were kept in every second or third yard. Then, for several decades, the demand for this amazing bird fell. Turkeys began to return in popularity at the beginning of this millennium.
This trend has been driven by many factors, including the public’s awareness of the following characteristics of turkey products:
- Excellent organoleptic quality criteria for meat products;
- Dietary properties of meat obtained from poultry after fattening;
- Turkey meat is harmless for people suffering from obesity and gastrointestinal diseases.
Moreover, turkey meat is included in the group of products recommended for diabetics and patients with other equally serious diagnoses.
Poultry farmers, in turn, saw their prospects and advantages of the amazing bird. Firstly, turkeys, compared to chickens, guinea fowl and quails, are less sensitive to the pathologies common in our country. Turkeys easily tolerate a change of location, quickly adapt to new environmental factors. Believe me, these are far from all the advantages of turkeys.
Let’s return to the main topic – how and what to feed heavy breed turkeys, which are most suitable for turkeys.
Popular breeds
The breeds of the breeding object under consideration are conventionally divided into heavy, medium and light. We will talk about the first variant of birds. Heavy turkeys are birds with a meat-oriented productivity.
Just imagine, males reach 30 kilograms in weight. Females are about 15 kilos lighter. By the way, such an obvious difference between relatives of different sexes is called sexual dimorphism.
Below is a list of the best meat breeds:
- Canadian Broad Breasted Broiler.
- Big 6.
- Bronze broad-breasted.
- White broad-breasted.
Here are some examples of breeds that are slightly smaller:
- North Caucasian bronze.
- Moscow bronze.
- Moscow white.
The turkeys from this list are lighter, but they pleasantly surprise their owners with their enviable vitality.
Live weight of males and females is 22 and 14 kg.
The genome of large turkeys initially contains genetic factors that “force” their carriers to grow faster. At the same time, a properly developed feeding strategy is necessary for the maximum manifestation of genetic potential. Naturally, the level of productivity is also determined by how correctly the feed for the daily diet is selected.
How and what to feed heavy breed turkeys
General questions regarding feeding of feathered giants
Those planning a poultry yard with large turkeys as their inhabitants should prepare themselves in advance for a large feed consumption. This should not be surprising. After all, we are not talking about canaries.
The main features of feeding adult giant meat turkeys:
- The experience of experienced poultry farmers, who are familiar with the bird in question firsthand, shows that a poultry yard is more profitable when feed is prepared in reserve.
- A free-range system of keeping is recommended for large birds. Without it, the birds move so little that they quickly become “swam” with fat, which negatively affects the criteria for meat quality.
- Turkeys reach slaughter weight faster when fed 3-4 times daily.
Experts say that it is better to feed the bird dry food before going to bed. They are digested slowly, so the bird will not be tormented by hunger at night.
- Prepare a wet mash so that it is enough for one feeding. The food should be eaten within 30-40 minutes. This is necessary because the mash quickly turns sour and therefore becomes a potential factor provoking poisoning.
There should always be a supply of dry feed in the poultry house. It is added to the feeders when necessary.
What do poultry farmers advise?
Experience of successful poultry farmers shows that birds are more productive when kept in a free-range system. Moreover, this approach to organizing the keeping allows saving feed (including purchased) due to foraged food, such as young grass, worms, insects, etc.
- You can put birds on meat fattening at any age! But with a focus on obtaining maximum average daily live weight gains. To obtain such a result, appropriate feeds are selected.
- The same practice of poultry breeders shows that it is necessary to start fattening the bird a month before slaughter. The main ingredient of the diet during this period is grass. Important: if the bird grazes outside the poultry yard, on natural lands, it is necessary to study the species composition of the pasture feed in advance, since there is a risk of poisoning with toxic vegetation. Additional feed is flour mash.
- In winter, the bird’s need for biologically active substances is met by grass meal from nettle and alfalfa. Dry pine needles are also useful. All this is added to the mash.
How to fatten heavy breed turkeys
Feeds used in the diets of large turkeys.
On average, one adult bird eats 0,5-0,8 kg of feed per day. Only with such a daily food consumption can we talk about intensive growth. The main thing is not to overdo it with the feed consumption rates, as this is one of the causes of obesity.
The feed base for fattening large turkeys consists of grain, roughage, greens, fish and meat scraps from the table, meal (can be replaced with oilcake), grain flour and lactic acid products.
The more feed in the diet, the better. The grain portion accounts for a maximum of 70%.
Cereals and legumes are the main source of protein. BAS, including vitamins and minerals, are supplied to the birds’ bodies by green fodder, food waste of animal origin (instead of meat and fish scraps, you can feed meat and bone meal, meat and fish meal).
For normal bowel function, fiber is necessary, which is abundant in hay and straw. Feeding the birds with lard, acorns, vegetable oil and walnuts has a positive effect on the tenderness and juiciness of meat. Remember, these are just additives and nothing more.
Daily ration for feeding turkeys
An approximate daily diet for a 6-kilogram turkey consists of:
- Grain grits – 250 g;
- wheat bran – 40 g;
- corn – 70 g;
- carrots, sugar beets, rutabaga, pumpkin and turnips – 50 g;
- boiled potatoes – 100 g;
- kitchen waste of animal and fish origin – 100 g;
- meat and bone meal – 10 g;
- salt – 2 g.
Also, fattened birds are provided with free access to shell rock and feed chalk.
In order to determine the optimal structure (percentage ratio of feed) of the diet, contact the appropriate specialist – a zootechnician. If this is not possible, industrial complete feeds together with premixes will help out, for example, growth stimulants for poultry.
Feeding turkeys with compound feed
For each age group of turkeys, a specific composition is produced:
- 5-13-week-old young animals – PK-11-2;
- 14-17 week old birds – PK-12-1;
- 18-30 week old birds – PC-13-1;
- breeding bird – PC-14.
At the final stage (from the age of 2 months) of fattening, turkeys are fed with the combined feed “Finisher”.
Important: the word “complete” does not mean that the feed satisfies the turkeys’ needs for all nutritional elements.
Usually, domestic compound feeds contain insufficient quantities of some vitamins, minerals, and other biologically active substances. Therefore, a flock of turkeys is provided with shells, salt, chalk, vegetable fats, acorns, and walnuts.
When feeding with purchased compound feed, it is quite possible to fatten the bird to slaughter condition during the summer period or, in the worst case, within five months. This vision becomes reality when natural meadows and pastures are available.
What to do if after 4 months of using the compound feed the bird still has not gained the required weight? The solution to this problem is an additional 2-3-week fattening, during which the following mixture is used:
- Wheat bran and barley flour – 25% each;
- corn flour – 20%;
- oat flour – 15%;
- yeast – 3%;
- salt – 1%.
Making your own turkey feed
Turkeys are a very voracious breeding object, so many poultry farmers find it expensive to buy compound feed. What should such turkey breeders do? If fattening turkeys is planned as a long-term business, you can get a unit for the production of combined mixtures in the form of granules. Why granulated feed.
Firstly, it is eaten by birds better than other types of combined feed. Secondly, it is easier to work with granules, for example, pour them from one container to another, pour them into feeders…
If turkeys suddenly stopped gaining weight or started losing weight? It is better to review the structure of the diet! Optimize it taking into account the feeding standards, which, in turn, depend on the weight, sex and purpose of the bird.
Insufficient growth rate of young animals is usually the result of feeding vitamin- and mineral-deficient feed. Poor feeding in terms of biologically active substances is the cause of underdevelopment of bones and joints, loss of muscle mass.
If calcium- and protein-rich feeds are important in the diet of laying hens, then flour-based food is important in the feed mixture of fattened birds.
DIY turkey feed
And now directly about the preparation of 1 kg of the combined mixture: wheat and corn (680 g) + soybean meal (130 g) + grass and fish meal (80 g) + yeast (40 g) + limestone and chalk (30 g each) + salt (10 g).
We have told you how and what to feed heavy breed turkeys at home. Instead of a conclusion, we will note that one of the simplest ways to improve the health and productive qualities of the bird is to supplement the diet with plant-based ingredients.
Such food is rich in vitamins and minerals, the lack of which affects bones and joints, which can be detrimental to heavy birds.
How and what are you going to feed heavy breed turkeys? Share your experience in the comments. Any advice is important for beginners from scratch.
