tailieunhanh - Raising Turkeys - Part 4

Occasionally, small-flock owners want to keep some of their turkeys as breeders and to produce hatching eggs. The turkeybreeding flock requires time and good management. Not only that, but it is an expensive project as well. The cost of growing breeders to maturity is high (see page 4 | The Breeding Flock Occasionally small-flock owners want to keep some of their turkeys as breeders and to produce hatching eggs. The turkeybreeding flock requires time and good management. Not only that but it is an expensive project as well. The cost of growing breeders to maturity is high see page 4 and a considerable amount of feed is required to maintain the flock during the holder and breeder periods see page 66 . Selecting the Breeders Select breeders from your flock at 16 to 18 weeks of age. Keep the best birds those that are healthy and vigorous for breeders. Other important characteristics are good full breasts those with nonprotruding keel bones straight legs backs and keel bones good growth rate and sound legs and good walking ability. Breeders are a long-term investment. Therefore choose individual birds with deliberate care always keeping the ideal bird and your breeding goals in mind. Feed Consumption of Turkey Breeders Pounds per Bird per Day TYPE OF TURKEY HENS TOMS Large Medium Small 1 lb kg. Source Turkey Production Agriculture Handbook No. 393 United States Agriculture. Mating You should have about one torn for every ten to fifteen hens. Keep a few spare toms to replace those that die or are poor mating birds. Producers who are serious about hatching-egg production should use artificial insemination. If you have a hobby flock and if the toms are not too heavy you can use natural mating. However egg fertility may suffer somewhat. Lighting Turkey hens must be sensitized to light for a period when day length is relatively short such as during the winter. Breeder hen poults are best reared so that the birds are 16 weeks of age or younger during the fall of the year. This provides the birds with decreasing day length or short days as the birds enter adolescence. The optimum age for photostimulation is approximately 30 weeks for birds of heavy strains during their first year. If females reach this age .