Turkey - is the largest agricultural bird;Characterized by rapid growth, high nutritional and taste properties of the meat.Three types of turkeys are selected according to the requirements: light, medium and heavy varieties.The difference between them is in live weight.The structure of the body is expressed by its anatomical-physiological features.
Sexual dimorphism in live mass is pronounced in turkey. Males are twice as heavy as females.Characterized by low egg production and reproduction at each egg laying cycle; The head is long and large, the head and upper part of the neck are wrinkled and fleshy, which is dark red when at rest and blue when irritated; Beak is long and hard, has a snout at the top of the beak; The neck is long and bent back; The breasts are broad and rounded. The chest has black, coarse feathers, the wings are long and strong, the back is wide and long. The color of the feathers is different.
Turkey according to the zoological classification belongs to the series of chickens, the family of turkeys and the species of turkey.
There are two species of turkey: Yucatan (Agriochirisoccelata) and North American (Melleagris gallopavo).
The Yucatan turkey is found in Mexico. It is distinguished by the fact that this species is characterized by a brush with light-colored bristles, bristles at the ends, and bronze glitter. This species is not domesticated.
Domestic turkey breeds belong to the North American turkey species. It originated from two different subspecies - the South American and the North American turkey. Even before the discovery of America, the locals domesticated it. The southern subspecies is small, while the North American is bronze in color and large. What's your water need? You'll need enough to make 4-5 glasses of broth. The liquid should cover the meat completely.
The bronze turkey is close to the wild North American turkey. It is therefore believed that all American breeds of turkeys are descended from the North American subspecies. Marsden and Martin (1962) believe that turkey was first imported to Spain from the United States in 1498-1519.
Turkey from Spain spread rapidly throughout Europe; In 1524, several forms of turkey were introduced to England: black Nordfolio, bronze Cambridge, white Australian, straw, blue, small Belgian motley turkeys.
According to Marsden and Martin, the first turkeys bred from the United States were not descended from local wild turkeys. It originated from European black and bronze turkeys.
High-yield turkey crosses are currently bred, which are widely used in industrial production. Specialized mating lines have been developed for the production of highly productive hybrids, which has facilitated the development of mining as a highly profitable specialized field. Among the turkey breeds, white-breasted turkeys have become widespread for getting poult broilers.
The white-breasted turkey is bred by crossing white Dutch and English turkeys. Characterized by the best quality of meat. The average live weight of females of this breed is 7.5-8.0 kg, of males - 13.0-14.0 kg. Egg laying - 80-90 pieces. Fertilization - 85-90%. Adult hatching from hatched eggs is 60-75%, slaughter yield - 84%.
The local turkey common in Georgia has been studied and described by N. By Antadze. According to the author, according to the color, there are 7 varieties of local turkeys in Georgia, which are characterized by small productivity. Live weight of females - 3.5 kg, males - 6 - 7 kg. Laying 30-40 eggs. They are characterized by good tolerance, good use of pastures, good quality of meat, etc.
Local turkeys common in Georgia are of different colors. Black, gray, variegated, straw, gray, brown, bronze turkeys are widespread in Eastern Georgia. Colorful (black and white) turkey is mainly spread in western Georgia.
The local turkey is relatively low-yielding, which is due to the fact that no one has done the targeted breeding work on it.
Subsequently, selection of local turkey turkey was conducted by Assoc. Prof. N. Antadze On the basis of the experimental farm training of the Georgian Zootechnical-Veterinary Research Institute, an improved local Georgian straw turkey was received.
Georgian straw turkey is formed by native cultivation in local conditions. It is a tolerant variety, easily accustomed to new environments.
Females weigh 5-6 kg on average, males - 9-12 kg. They have very tasty, tender and juicy meat. They gain weight easily. The average number of eggs is 60-100. Egg mass is 75-80 g. They have a crushing instinct. Shrinkage is manifested by almost 90-100%.
This bird is of special importance for the Georgian population, because the traditional national dish - Satsivi is best made from it. A farmer who is interested in turkey farming should first consider the market demand. In the summer months, turkey meat is hard to sell, and for the New Year, on the contrary, there is a great demand for it, so the stock must be caught in advance. Initially she has to staff the mother team in early fall with a young hatched in the spring to have hatching eggs in early spring. In the spring, turkey Paults grow easily, because at this time the most favorable natural conditions for their growth and development. Green grass is coming, lots of insects are waking up, the soil is full of worms, shells, snails, and the turkey successfully uses potato pests (Colorado potato beetle).In this way, the adolescent naturally receives animal proteins, which are so necessary for the growth and development of the organism. The mother team is recruited for the second time in the spring - with a teenager hatched in the fall. It is also easier to raise paults in the fall if we use the sowing after harvest. On the ground, the turkey digs up the grains stuck in the soil, which gives us great food savings. From the age of 45-60 days, when grazing, the adult is given food only once a day - at night. Turkey starts laying eggs at the age of 6 months. If we hatch the paults in March, the adult will start laying eggs in September, which will last for 3-4 months; In winter the eggs stop and continue again in spring - from February to early June, i.e. 5 months. Then the egg laying decreases and keeping the bird unprofitable.
Storing adult turkeys is profitable in wooden sheds made of cheap materials, which are built in warmer climates. Such storage is successfully used in warmer US states. The turkeys are in the yard all day, where food, water is arranged, at night they are put in sheds, which are surrounded by a wire fence. From the age of four months it is necessary to keep females and males separately. When stored in a deep blanket, the males are placed in a section - one bird per 1 m2.They have 15-20 males per section. 8-10 females are released per buck when manning the mother team. Excessive males are used as meat.
Raising newly hatched pault is especially responsible because, unlike chickens, they require more heat. This is due to the fact that their body is larger, they have no established thermoregulatory mechanism, the feather cover is underdeveloped, and the yolk is unabsorbed. Therefore, adolescent mortality is also common in the first days after hatching. The temperature in the building should be 30-32 ° C during this period. Since white-feathered turkeys absorb less heat rays, the temperature for them should be 1-2 ° higher. From the 7th to the 10th day, when the yolk absorption ends, the body temperature rises from 39 to 41.6 0C. By day 12, they already have the ability to maintain their body temperature independently of the environment. The paults are especially sensitive to moisture. Low humidity causes heat to be released due to the evaporation of water from the body, so running the chicks from two weeks of age in the summer months gives good results. It is advisable to have trees on the gathering place, especially mulberry trees, as turkey uses mulberry for food, which is the best source of plant protein. If trees are not planted on the gathering place, then it is necessary to arrange artificial shade. The Paults should be raised in a deep blanket for 2 weeks before being taken out to the gathering place. When using sawdust as a diaper, the paults start to saw the sawdust, which supplies food to the sawdust, so in the first days the sawdust should be covered with thick paper.
During camp storage, the juvenile can be transferred to summer sheds from the age of 20 days.In the first days, turkeys are placed in wooden boxes at night, because the chicks are very sensitive to the cold, which is why they adjoin each other at night and often get suffocated.
Turkey feed is different from chicken because turkey paults require more protein feed. For the first two days they are given finely chopped grains mixed with hard-boiled scrambled eggs. The grain size should be 1/4 of the egg mass. In the first days, food is eaten 8-9 times a day, for a month - 6 times, for 2 months - 4 times a day. Food should be provided at equal intervals. Turkey absorbs green mass well. At 1 month of age they eat 50 g, while at 6 months they eat 150 g of green mass per day. Instead of vitamins, turkeys are given nettle, cabbage, carrots, beets in natural conditions, especially onions, which are the best prophylactic against gastrointestinal diseases. In the first days of life, especially in the evenings, giving onions is not recommended because at night it quenches thirst. The quality of turkey meat is greatly influenced by the food: yellow corn, clover flour, soybeans, which give it a yellowish color, a soft and fluffy consistency. A good slaughter is obtained if we give turkey a mixture of barley, oats, wheat, and corn two weeks before slaughter. If we thicken this mixture, it will soften the next day and the birds will feed more. From the age of 6 weeks, turkey can be given grains without crumbs. Turkey can digest wet food better than dry food, but in this case it is necessary to digest food immediately before eating, because wet food soon decomposes and becomes unfit for human consumption. Turkey takes 250-270 g of food per day. It is necessary to give the turkey sand, the particle size of which will be 0.8 cm. In the first week 400-500 g of sand is given for every 100 chicks, for 2-8 weeks - 900 g, from 8-13 weeks - 1.5 kg. During storage, the bird will find silt, sand and more scattered in the yard.
One of the biological features of turkey is frequent broodiness. In the spring, when it starts laying eggs, it hatches as soon as it lays a few eggs. The best time for broodiness is March, April and May. It is naturally possible for one turkey to hatch 20 winged chicks. The incubation period is 27-28 days.
Turkey is breed only for meat production. Modern crosses reach a high live mass. Males weigh 30 kg (individuals 40 kg), while females weigh 11.5 kg, meat-raised males weigh 20 kg at 16-17 weeks, while females weigh 10 kg. Edible parts in turkey meat are 70% and more, while muscle tissue is more than 60%. Turkey meat is distinguished by high taste, dietary, culinary and nutritional value. They contain up to 28% protein, moderate amounts - 2-5% fat, meat is rich in B vitamins. Their meat is characterized by the lowest cholesterol content compared to other birds. With multiple staffing of the parent team, one average mother will receive 200 eggs and more than 1,500 kg of meat per year.
It is known that the most important protein in human is nutrition, the deficit of which is 50% in the world. Scientific calculations show that turkey meat provides the most protein per hectare, followed by milk production (144 kg), followed by eggs and broilers with 138 and 137 kg of protein, bacon provides only 80 kg, beef and mutton, respectively, 35 And 32 kg. Meat productivity of turkey is characterized by rapid development of muscle tissue at an early age, especially with high nutritional properties of breast and meat. Turkey has the highest protein content in muscle tissue among other species of birds: protein in the chest muscles is 25%, leg _ 20% and more.
The average duration of turkey-broiler rearing is 12-17 weeks. Modern crossbreeds reach 3-5 kg live weight at 12 weeks of age with optimal storage conditions and complete nutrition. The cost of feed per 1kg of live weight does not exceed 3 kg. The slaughter mass of turkey is 89%, the mass of half-slaughtered slaughter is 80-84%.Turkey deficiency consists of: muscle tissue - 50%, skin with subcutaneous fat 10-15%, internal fat - 5-15%; Bone - 20%.The excretory deficiency of some modern tackles muscle tissue output is 65%. It should be noted that the formation of meat traits occurs for the female turkey at an earlier age than for the male turkey. So for example, by the age of 12-13 weeks they have already developed meaty traits. At the same age, females show the best quality, tenderness and taste of meat, while male turkeys reach good fattening, high quality meat a little later - at 17 weeks of age. As turkey ages and fattening increases, its meat fat content increases (up to 30%), while protein decreases to 18%. Turkey fat is characterized by good quality indicators: melting point 31-320C, iodine number - 65-80.
Thus, the turkey is one of the most distinctive agricultural fries with high quality meat and eggs and the best taste. Turkey muscle tissue, like chicken, is characterized by coloration, chemical composition and organoleptic properties. White turkey meat is high in protein, essential amino acids and low in fat.