Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Nature of the Bird n Natural Habitat
1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 An American Original n European Contact n Colonial America n Breed Improvements
2 Varieties of Turkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Three Turkey Types n Wild Turkeys n Commercial Broad-Breasted Turkeys n Heritage Turkey Varieties n Securing Stock n Shipping and Receiving
3 Buildings and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Management Systems n Housing n Equipment
4 Feeds and Feeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Feed Types n Natural Balancing n Feeding n Feeding Philosophy n Feeding the Breeders
5 Incubation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Collection of Eggs n Incubator Setup n Egg Position and Turning n Candling n When to Open the Incubator n Poult Defects Caused by Improper Incubation n Identification and Tracking n Removing Poults from the Incubator
6 Brooding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Imitating Nature n Natural Brooding n Before Brooding n The Brooder and Brooder House n Primary Brooding Challenges n Receiving Shipped Poults n Maturing Poults n Observing Poult Behavior
7 Pastured Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Overview of the Three Systems n The Challenges of Overstocking n Learning from Nature n Rotational Grazing n Fencing Basics n Movable Roosts and Feeders n Permanent Fencing n Guardian Dogs n Roosts n Shade n Pasture n Manure n Putting Poults on Pasture
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8 Protection from Predators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Small Predators n Medium-sized Predators n Large Predators n Flying Predators n Prevention n Fencing n Guardian Dogs n Your Ecosystem n Turkey Nature
9 Killing and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Assessing Readiness for Processing n Care Before Killing n Processing Area and Equipment n Killing n Debraining n Scalding n Plucking n Eviscerating n Cleaning the Giblets n Trussing n Chilling and Packaging n State and Federal Grading and Inspection
10 Breeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Nature’s Way n Human Impact n A Philosophy of Good Breeding n Genes n Breeds, Varieties, and Strains of Turkeys n Breeding Methods n Breeding Tools n Culling n Care of Breeding Turkeys n Storing Eggs n Egg Production n Selection n Applying What You’ve Learned n Artificial Insemination
11 The Turkey Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Consistency n Source of Stock n System of Production n Feed n Transporting n Processing n Product Marketing n Product Storage and Shipping n Inspections and Certifications n Marketing Your Turkeys
12 Flock Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Disease Prevention Starts with Good Health n Disease Basics n Turkey Diseases n Turkey Parasites n Disease Prevention n Nutritional Deficiencies n Miscellaneous Problems n Disposal of Dead Birds n Rodent Control
Advice from Turkey Breeders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 Talking Turkey: A Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Definition of a Heritage Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
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Introduction
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the group. This instinct to stay within a group is a survival instinct deeply embedded in turkeys. It is for this reason turkeys do best in a flock and not alone — though a turkey may become attached to another animal in an attempt to fill this need for companionship. A friend had a tom that decided the chicken hens were his to protect, even from the rooster!
Response to Danger Turkeys have great eyesight and usually freeze when they see a hawk overhead. They have three levels of reaction to aerial predator threats: ■■ ■■
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First, a lazy nasal whine that brings attention to the threat. Next, an ascending purr that causes the flock to freeze or squat.
Usually they will then assemble to face the threat. Last, the turkeys will dive for cover.
Their vision excels in detecting movement. They are especially aware of colors and may even react aggressively to reds and plaids, just as chickens will, interpreting those tones as words.
Getting Around Walking and trotting are words we have long associated with turkeys — both wild and domestic. Wild turkeys cover a large area each day, walking for miles within a territory. The nonindustrial domestic turkey varieties are very ambulatory as well, often daily exploring the whole of the range allowed to them. Farmers used to drive turkeys to market, one person leading the way and another at the rear of the flock waving a stick in each hand to encourage the birds in the rear to keep up. Turkeys are very willing to walk and this is an excellent way to move them to the next field. Turkeys utilize their wedge-shaped bodies when traveling. On range, when a turkey encounters an obstacle such as dense weeds or brush, it uses its body shape to force its way through; its head leads the way, finding an opening, and then its body expands that opening as its legs drive it through. This instinctual behavior can cause problems for the turkey, such as when it encounters a fence — the head makes it through, but the rest of the bird cannot.
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Introduction
Turkeys also take advantage of their shape to ward off rain. They tilt their bodies slightly upward, raise their heads toward the sky, and drop their tails down — presenting as small a surface as they can so the rain rolls off them. This behavior has led to the myth that during a rainstorm turkeys will raise their heads skyward, open their mouths, and drown.
Hygiene Habits Turkeys are ground-dwelling birds with some healthy adaptations. When just a few days old, they begin dust bathing. This is a social practice, several birds often sharing a choice spot. Dust bathing helps prevent parasite infestations such as mites and lice, removes dry skin, and sometimes cools the bird during hot weather. Dust bathing is often the precursor to Turkey Life cycle Beards usually do not appear on the gobblers until about October or November, and hens seldom exhibit a beard. The gobbler’s beard will continue to grow until about his third year, at which point it seems to have reached full size. It is not unusual for some toms to wait to breed until their second season — hens typically breed from their first season on. Turkeys have a fibrous, fatty area on their breast, just over the crop, called the breast sponge. This acts as a reservoir of energy. When the toms pay too little attention to food and too much attention to mating, this area will become saggy. This area is also a good indicator of the general condition of turkeys. Body weight of toms and hens fluctuates throughout the year — reducing as production starts in the spring, continuing to fall through summer, and increasing as fall approaches until maximum weight is achieved about mid-November. Poults are generally fully feathered by eight weeks of age. From about the fifth week on, caruncles — bare, bright red, fleshy protuberances — begin to appear about the head and throats of the young poults. This stage is referred to as “shooting the red.” Young poults are not ready for the pasture until they pass this stage.
2 Varieties of Turkeys When we speak of turkeys , we will find some surprising diver-
sity. Turkeys come in a range of colors and patterns, and a few different shapes as well. As we try to sort through this mix, it is well to first sort things out according to body shape and purpose.
Three Turkey Types There are essentially three types of turkey: ■■
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The wild turkey, which nature has designed to be independent and self-sustaining The heritage or Standard turkey, which farmers have domesticated and bred for meat production and for beauty The commercial broad-breasted turkey, which industry has bred to have profuse amounts of flesh, at the cost of natural mating and some mobility
Each of these types has a slightly different structure — and each structure gives those turkeys some advantages.
Selecting the Right Birds As you choose the right turkeys for your farm or enterprise, you must know the end product you wish to produce, the method of husbandry you 14
Varieties of Turkeys
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expect to use, and your own expectations to match them with the correct type and variety of turkey. For example: If your market is a high-end restaurant looking to serve game, you should raise wild turkeys (but understand you may need a permit to do so). If you wish to garner higher prices per pound for heritage turkeys raised on pasture, you should choose a variety of heritage turkey. If your market wants a truly large turkey, and if you plan to use indoor production, you should consider the commercial broad-breasted variety.
Ta l k i n g T u r k e y We usually use the word variety instead of breed when we talk turkey. Breed is a term usually connected to a turkey’s shape and to management of that population. We can say that a breed is a population of domestic animals that share common characteristics and, when bred together, produce offspring with these same characteristics. A breed can reproduce itself. Wild turkeys are wild and thus are under the management of nature and not man. They are considered a species and come in several subspecies. Commercial turkeys are managed as industrial strains, requiring crossing of different strains to unite high reproduction (egg laying) with meat qualities — producing marketable offspring that quickly grow plump. Commercial turkeys are therefore the result of crossing, or are crossbred. Neither wild nor commercial turkeys are breeds. That leaves Standard/heritage turkeys, which all share one basic shape or type. The only true breed of turkey is the heritage turkey.
Variety and subspecies refer to groups with subtle differences within poultry breeds or species. Wild turkeys come in six different subspecies — with differences such as variations in color pattern, size, and length of leg. Heritage turkeys come in many different varieties — there are eight recognized by the American Poultry Association and more than a dozen others. The differences in varieties usually are connected to feather pattern and color, but may also include flavor or exceptional robustness.
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Varieties of Turkeys
Wild Turkeys Though few readers are likely to raise wild turkeys, here is a brief description of this type of turkey. Keep in mind that wild turkeys are wild. This means: ■■
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They will not be completely happy unless they have ample room to satisfy their inquisitive natures. They are easily startled — a survival trait. They can fly. They are as likely as not to decide to run away if given a chance.
Wild Turkey (Eastern) Once called the “forest turkey,” this subspecies has the largest range of all wild turkeys, from northern Florida to Maine and all across the eastern half of the United States, up into the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Males can reach 30 pounds (13.6 kg) in size and 4 feet (1.2 m) in height. They have tail coverts tipped with chestnut brown. Gould’s Wild Turkey This turkey subspecies is native to Arizona, New Mexico, and the central valleys and northern mountains of Mexico. They are the largest of all subspecies, with longer legs, larger feet, and longer tail feathers. Body feathers are copper and greenish gold in iridescence. Merriam’s Wild Turkey This subspecies ranges across the prairies of Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming, as well as through the Rocky Mountains and high-mesa country of New Mexico; there’s also a pocket in Idaho and Oregon. Merriam’s Wild Turkeys prefer mountainous areas with ponderosa pine. The tails and lower back feathers of this subspecies have white tips and purple and bronze iridescence. Osceola Wild Turkey Also known as the Florida Wild Turkey, this bird ranges across the Florida peninsula. Its body feathers are green-purple in iridescence, the wing
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feathers are dark with small amounts of white barring, and it is smaller and darker than the Wild Turkey (Eastern).
Rio Grande Wild Turkey This subspecies ranges along the Rio Grande River; it is also found in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas. It has been introduced to a few eastern states, to central and western California, and to Hawaii. These turkeys have long legs and are adapted to prairies. Their body feathers have a green coppery sheen, their lower back feathers are buff to very light tan, and the tips of their tail feathers are buff or light tan. South Mexican Wild Turkey Considered the nominate — or first-named — subspecies, South Mexican Wild Turkeys range in the southern expanses of Mexico and were the first wild turkeys encountered by Europeans. The Aztecs domesticated this subspecies, thus giving rise to domestic turkeys. The tame descendants of the South Mexican Wild Turkey traveled with Spanish explorers back to Spain, and later spread throughout Europe.
Commercial Broad-Breasted Turkeys There are a small number of different strains of commercial turkeys. Industry closely guards their genetics, so the primary strains are very difficult to obtain. Poultry hatcheries do, however, make available some of these broad-breasted genetics. You may order Broad Breasted White or Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys from hatcheries. Expect the poults to grow into very large turkeys that will be ready for processing within 16 to 20 weeks. Feed conversion will
P rim a r y C o mm e r c i a l S t r a i n s Nicholas: owned by Aviagen, available in the United States Hybrid: owned by Hybrid Turkeys of Canada, available in the United States British United Turkeys (a.k.a. BUT): owned by Aviagen, available in the United Kingdom and Europe