Raising turkeys for meat pdf

Raising turkeys on the homestead is an easy way to provide meat for your family. Thinking of raising up a turkey for thanksgiving or any other holiday or for any day really. While often the meat of choice on thanksgiving and christmas, turkey is a versatile meat that can be eaten any time of the year. Whatever your reason, youre considering raising turkeys, and wondering if theyre a good fit for your small farm or homestead.

Even the large breeding companies are into providing producers with a variety of. Keeping turkeys is fun, and after teotwawk you will be able to gift your family with the comfort and remembrance of thanksgiving, thus heightening morale and making the adjusting process easier. Brooding baby turkey chicks at home june 7, 2017 admin 0. The ultimate guide to raising turkeys survival sullivan. And, with the ease of popularity of bird, the grower had begun raising or. Don schrider brings his handson experience to this onestop reference for humanely raising healthy turkeys. Raising backyard turkeys for meat backyard poultry. Many people want to raise turkeys to have fresh, home raised meat in time for the holidays.

Brooding poults is the most sensitive and critical part of raising turkeys. United states department of agriculture food safety and. While raising turkeys does not require a lot of time each day, turkeys do require daily care. Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, aviagen turkeys accepts no liability for the consequences of using this turkey management. Or maybe youre a small farmer with a business plan that involves raising, butchering and selling animals for meat.

Grow your own thanksgiving turkey 4 simple phases youtube. I was blown away by the rich stock they produced and the hearty gravy. According to this census, there were 16,794,485 turkeys raised in the united states, most of them as a side line to other farm enterprises. While its true that scientific turkey raising requires certain precautions not always necessary in chicken raising, if a few general principles are followed with care.

Persons who cannot put forth the effort required should probably not begin the process. Theres not much difference between raising chickens and turkeys and any other poultry, really. If you want to raise turkeys that will be ready to harvest before thanksgiving, then youll want to start them in june. These projects also support many of the contest offered in the poultry project area. Roosts should be built in the sheltered end of the cage, using 2by4s.

It pulls together the best of the historic production information appropriate for heritage turkeys and the best of modern health management. The notes from this video, so you can easily apply the concepts yourself. Animal welfare aviagen turkeys is committed to the proper care of our animals. It addresses production from poult to processing, and marketing from packaging to distribution. Turkeys are gentle and incredibly loyal, which can make processing them an emotional task. Temperature and brooder setup for raising poults is similar to baby chicks. Department of agriculture responsible for ensuring that the nations commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholefood safety. Hi, i have a high school daughter that has raised turkeys for three years for her school show. For further information on raising nicholas turkeys, contact your local technical service representative or an aviagen turkeys sales office. Poultry meat represents about 33% of global meat production. Basics for raising junior market turkeys for junior turkey.

Raising turkeys as a 4h or ffa project can be a very educational experience and can grow into a wide variety of career opportunities. Raising birds requires an extra commitment of time, patience, dedication and concern for the animals involved. Before you decide to add turkeys to your farm, here are the basics on raising them the right way. You have experienced success, overcome challenges and now are looking for a new project. Keep feed clean and free from shavings, debris and manure. For further information on raising turkeys, contact your local customer support manager or aviagen turkeys directly. Domesticated birds are also noisier than wild turkeys and generally considered less intelligent than heritage breeds. If you raise them to eat, youll have a much more wholesome and. They are extremely interactive as poults turkey name for babies, they will think of you as their mother and want to be with you all of the time. Raising turkeys for beginners homegrown self reliance.

For the beginner, whatever pasture is available may be perfectly sufficient for the birds. Raising broilers and turkeys for competition fsa8004. In this particular setting, im going to refer to it as a poult. Raising meattype chickens from the hatchery to the freezer da.

Chickens and turkeys are the most common sources of poultry meat 87% and 6. If youve already started growing your own food, youve likely already started raising chickens. Management guidelines for growing commercial turkeys. Raising turkeys with chickens has been discouraged for years, but despite that, many homesteaders are going back to a mixed flock approach. Just for your own knowledge, a baby turkey is called a poult or a chick. The best and most affordable manner in which the goal can be achieved is by making use of the day old turkeys. If you wish to raise turkeys for meat, it will take 6 months to grow them to a. Farhan sheikh march, 20 backyard poultry, brooding and rearing guide, poultry farming, turkeys 0 most of the private and home based farmers widely consider raising turkeys for meat. Sadly, the first thing many people hear about raising turkeys is just how stupid they are. Basics for raising junior market turkeys for junior turkey show allan sulser, county extension faculty,wasatch county jim jensen, 4h faculty, utah county this fact sheet is constructed to be used by 4h and ffa youth for training or as a tool to aid in the growing of market turkeys for the utah junior turkey show or for local turkey shows. There are a few things to take into consideration before you order baby turkeys, or poults. Raising meat turkeys in small or backyard flocks ohio 4h youth. But after raising our own, i realized that turkey can be delicious. Ive had very good results raising my own turkeys for meat and so can you.

Smart homesteaders raise a variety of poultry and animals on their farms. Raising turkeys housing if you choose to raise turkeys indoors on floors that are cleanable, it will be easier to control predators and parasites. But before your consignment of turkeys arrives, you should prefer to set up an area for the brooding process. Youll need to have about six square feet of indoor space per bird. Although raising turkeys for market is the largest phase of the industry, the breeding of turkeys, the production of hatching eggs, and the operation of hatcheries and processing plants are large, essential phases. A separate building or a spare room in a barn or garage will work equally as well see housing and space guidelines. Practical knowledge of raising turkeys is obviously important to the turkey grower, and to help supply that knowledge is the purpose of. Raising and marketing pastured turkeys nebraska sustainable ag society html sale of locally home or farm raised poultry minnesota dept of ag and university of minnesota extension pdf html sale of shell eggs to grocery stores and restaurants in minnesota minnesota department of ag html. Thanksgiving and christmas, turkey is a versatile meat that can be eaten any time of the year. When abraham lincoln was president, his pet turkey was a familiar sight on the lawns of the white house. Raising winning broilers and turkeys involves four general steps.

Most of the private and home based farmers widely consider raising turkeys for meat. Turkey meleagris galloparo is a bird which is most popular on the american continent and the europe continent. This short guide will give you the basics for getting started, raising and processing your own turkeys. When you place turkeys in a brooder, you must make sure the brooder is large enough to accommodate their size and needs. The 1930 census was the first to record the number of turkeys raised rather than the number on farms on january 1. Raising turkeys for homestead beginners top 5 questions. Raising turkeys download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Beginners guide to raising turkey from poults in your. Tips on raising turkey poults turkeys are lots of fun to keep. Raising turkeys in an area that leads to overcrowding will bring disease, sick turkeys and ultimately death to your flock. Broadbreasted turkeys will reach harvest size in about 1622 weeks. The livestock conservancy has developed a modern manual for heritage turkeys.

Your easy guide to raising turkeys in your backyard. For those turkeys that are going to lay eggs, allow large nests at least 2024 inch square so that they dont damage their tails. The simple, four phase outline that makes turkeys doable. Twelve or turkeys should have a cage at least 10 feet by 12 feet with 12 feet of feed hoppers running along the outside. Best turkey to raise for meat backyard chickens learn. Weve put together the top 5 questions we see about raising turkeys and answer them with our knowledge of raising turkeys over the last 8 years. The protein, fat, and energy contents of turkey meat are 24%, 6. Compared to other meats, turkey is relatively lean and nutritious. However, white turkey is the most favored globally. Maybe youve raised chickens already and are now thinking about plump, juicy turkeys for thanksgiving and christmas. Steve of sands poultry is the pro on heritage turks. One of our neighbors customarily raises 6 to 12 turkeys a year right next to the hen house, in a pen about 5 feet wide, 12 feet long and about 2 feet high. Raising turkeys unh extension university of new hampshire. However, turkey meat is often highly soughtafter in local food.

Domesticated turkeys, bred to be eaten, are about twice as heavy as wild turkeys and, because they are built to offer significantly more breast meat, cannot fly, and are poor runners. Turkey farming how to raise turkey birds for meat introduction. Remember, north america is home base for the wild turkey, which is the notsodistant ancestor of the barnyard turkey. Raising a few friendly, handsome turkeys for your familys use is both fun and worthwhile. Just a few short years ago the choices for the average person to have a fresh turkey were as follows.

Keeping the housing dry and clean will minimize this risk. Review the raising turkeys project and record book. Rearing of turkeys at your backyard the poultry guide. They are usually raised for meat, although some people like to keep a tom a mature male turkey around as a pet. Ive always thought turkey was a rather bland meat, especially the white meat. Turkeys are an excellent source of succulent meat, rich eggs, and nutrientdense manure, and raising them is a rewarding and profitable activity for many farmers. Now you know all you need to start raising your own turkeys and ensure your access to meat in the future. Raising meat turkeys in small or backyard flocks small. Quick facts about raising turkeys the road to a mature tom male turkey or hen female turkey begins with a baby turkey, or turkey poult. When raising backyard turkeys, the secret is to keep the turkeys in cages raised off the ground, on sunporches. Do you want to raise your own holiday turkeys or sell them for profits. How to breed turkeys and hatch turkey eggs at home june 7, 2017 admin 0. Raising turkeys msu college of agriculture and natural resources.

Are you ready to begin your raising turkeys project. There are some excellent benefits to keeping a mixed flock, but there are some serious bird health hazards associated with it as well. Originally published in backyard poultry june july 20 and regularly vetted for accuracy. When raising chickens, you usually place them in a brooder under a heat lamp and let them do their thing until their adult feathers come in turkeys are different. Raising turkeys everything you need to know to get started. If you choose to raise turkeys indoors on floors that are cleanable, it will be easier to control predators and parasites. Many people are starting to raise their own turkeys. Turkeys are not as difficult to raise as many people think. Here are a few bits of advice and knowledge ive picked up in my experiences with turkeys. Turkeys can be a fun, profitable addition to a small farm or homestead. You have seen the majestic tom turkeys display themselves. Poultry raising projects members may take a poultry project to raise poultry for meat or egg production, fancy or exhibition, or just as pets.

Raising turkeys as a 4h or ffa project extension dodge county. While turkeys are best known for the role they play as the main course in thanksgiving dinners, they have been involved in human life in another way for centuries as affectionate domestic pets. Turkeys accepts no liability for the consequences of using this turkey management information. Dont let them out in the rain, theyll stare up into it and drown our experience with turkeys has been completely the opposite.

Beginners guide to raising turkeys in your backyard for meat and profit. Raising turkeys as a 4h or ffa project perhaps you have raised broilers, roasters or even fancy chickens as your 4h or ffa project for several years. Turkeys can use many types of ranges and pastures to flourish. Broad breasted bronze turkeys are commonly raised in small flocks and for niche markets. Whether you are raising turkeys for meat or for pets, there are many wonderful turkey breeds.