What Are The Precautions for Raising Turkeys?

Precautions for turkey breeding: temperature, ventilation, light, humidity, turkey chick stage, turkey beak trimming and prevention, turkey wound treatment, etc.

1. Temperature

 The temperature requirements for turkeys are relatively high, and they have different temperature requirements at different growth stages. For example, the temperature of young turkeys for seven days before hatching should be controlled at about 35 degrees, and then it needs to be lowered by about 1-2 degrees every week. Until the temperature drops to about 20 degrees if the temperature is not too high. Then the amount of water the young turkey drinks will increase, and phenomena such as loose feces and difficulty breathing will occur. If the temperature is too low, the feathers of the chicks will become tangled, causing them to squeal, causing them to catch a cold. Therefore, we must control the temperature according to weather changes, increase the temperature appropriately in winter, and do a good job of cooling in summer.

2. Ventilation

 The air quality in the chicken house also has a great impact on the growth of turkeys. If the air quality is too poor, lack of oxygen, and high ammonia content will reduce the physical fitness of the turkeys, increase the incidence of diseases, and lead to turkey poisoning. And many farmers ignore ventilation when doing insulation work. As a result, the air quality in the chicken house will decrease, and the turkeys will appear restless, decreased energy, poor appetite, and other adverse phenomena. The disease resistance will also be reduced, and various respiratory and other diseases will occur. Therefore, while we are doing a good job in thermal insulation, we must also pay attention to strengthening ventilation and improving air quality.

3. Lighting

 Light plays a very important role in promoting the growth of turkeys. Suitable light can increase the appetite of chicks and promote the metabolism of turkeys. Ensure the growth of turkeys and extend the life of turkeys. Especially three days before the turkey hatches, the vision of the chicks at this stage is very poor. Therefore, to ensure that they can eat and drink normally, the chick house must be kept illuminated both during the day and at night. We need to install light bulbs evenly according to the area of the chicken houseto provide normal light at night.

4. Humidity

Humidity is also an important factor in ensuring the normal growth of turkeys. When raising turkeys, we must control the temperature of the chicken house at about 58%-62%. Try to avoid exceeding this range. If the humidity is too low, the turkey's yolk absorption will be blocked and the amount of water it drinks will increase. Drinking too much water will cause diarrhea, rapid hair loss, dullness, and other adverse phenomena in turkeys. If the humidity is too high, the feathers of the turkey will be messy, the appetite will be reduced, and the incidence of diseases will also be greatly increased.

5. Turkey chick stage

 Turkeys are large, even in their fledgling stage, compared to chickens, they are much larger. But despite its size, its vitality may not be as strong as that of a chick, so management must be particularly careful. For example, within two hours after hatching, it must be allowed to drink enough water. When feeding young turkeys, it is also necessary to intentionally increase the protein content, because small turkeys grow very fast. If the protein supply is insufficient, the skeleton will not be able to support it, which will affect the quality of commercial turkeys. quality.

6. Turkey beak trimming to prevent fighting

 Turkeys are more aggressive. When chickens fight, chicken farmers usually use beak trimming to deal with them. Although it will slightly reduce the chicken's ability to eat, it has a very good anti-fighting effect. And even if a fight breaks out, the broken beak will not easily hurt the chicken. The same goes for turkeys, except that turkeys have larger beaks and are relatively wild, so it is relatively difficult to trim their beaks. It is recommended that farmers use a special turkey beak trimmer to operate, and pay special attention not to injure its tongue when operating.

7. Turkey wound treatment

 If turkeys have wounds due to fighting, they must be treated in time. For those turkeys injured due to fighting, if the situation is serious, they should be isolated and given medication in time to help recovery. If the situation is not serious, you need to add some multi-dimensional ingredients to its diet so that its wounds can heal faster.

8. Turkey disease prevention measures

Turkeys are large and have large activity areas, which makes disease prevention more difficult. In order to prevent turkeys from getting sick, it is necessary to prevent diseases from the source. The first is to clean up the site in a timely manner to minimize the residence time of feces in the chicken coop and the area where turkeys move. The second is to avoid too many people entering the site to prevent germs from being brought in from the outside. In addition, even management personnel should try to wear clean clothes when entering the venue, and if possible, should be disinfected in advance.

What are the key points of turkey feeding and management techniques?

Feeding of turkeys

 Most turkeys are naturally mated or artificially inseminated. Hens should mate in time before laying eggs, and mate once every 2 to 3 eggs. After the eggs are placed in the incubator, they are sterilized first and then heated. The incubation temperature was 37°C from day 1 to day 25, and the relative humidity was 56%. After reaching the temperature, all pores open. Eggs were manually transferred every 2 hours from day 1 to day 16, and every hour from day 17 to day 25. On day 25, transfer the eggs to a pre-sterilized incubator with a temperature of 36.5°C and a relative humidity of 77.6% from days 26 to 28. During incubation, spray 40-60% warm water on the egg surface every 2 hours to help break the shell and increase the hatching rate. You can also use hens to hold eggs and hatch them naturally. Chicks usually hatch in 28 to 30 days.

Turkey feeding and management

 Newborn turkeys have poor digestive function, move slowly, eat less, and start eating later than ordinary chickens. Food should be given high-protein feed, with a general daily dietary crude protein content of 24% to 26%, and supplemented with various vitamins and minerals. Green feed is mainly green vegetables, followed by garlic, onions, leeks, etc. Green fodder accounts for 20%~30% of c

The chicken coop must be cold-proof and warm in winter, and ventilated and cool in summer. Scaffolding must be erected inside the chicken coop for turkeys to roost. The feed formula for adult turkeys is: 47% corn meal, 13% wheat bran or rice flour, 9% peanut bran powder, 18% wheat bran or chaff, 1.5% bone meal, and 0.5% auxin. If you use pen feeding, you can feed it 3 to 4 times a day, and add gravel to 1% to 2% of the feeding amount to help digestion.

 Feeding and management of turkeys during laying period

 The protein content in the feed should be maintained at 18% to 20%, and concentrate and green feed should be supplied. The lighting time should be no less than 4 hours to 8 hours a day. After laying eggs, if the hen is not used to hold eggs, she should wake up immediately. Generally, the method of breaking nests and driving them away is used. If necessary, ephedrine, cough and asthma tablets, analgesics, or intramuscular injection of testosterone propionate can be given.

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