Turkey farming business commercially is one, among the well-known and fastest-growing profitable businesses within the world. Turkey chicks grow faster like broiler chickens and become suitable for butchery purposes within a really short time.
Turkey farming is the process of raising turkeys for the aim of manufacturing meat or eggs for food or money. Mainly turkeys are farmed or reared for meat purposes. Their meat is recognized because the leanest of all poultry species. Additionally, they’re consumed by almost every country across the world. Turkey farming for meat production is extremely popular than egg production from turkey.
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History Of Turkey
Turkeys are classed within the family of Phasianidae within the taxonomic order of Galliformes. The Meleagris is that the only extant genus within the subfamily Meleagridinae. The species turkey is employed by humans for his or her meat, as we know from Prof. T.M. Crowe and others. On the other hand, Prof. R.M. Hulet defines that turkeys were first domesticated by the indigenous people of Mexico from a minimum of 800 BC onwards.
The birds were first taken to Spain about 1519AD, and reaching England about 1541AD. English colonists then introduced European-bred strains of the turkey to eastern North America within the 17th century. Until about 1935, turkeys were bred mainly for his or her beautiful feathers not for meat, after which the breeding emphasis changed to their meat qualities.
Turkey Varieties
The most commonly raised commercial varieties also referred to as breed, and are the American Black and White Holland in Asia. These two breeds occupy the main share (67.98%) of rearing turkey by the farmers. American Black alongside White Holland was dominant due to higher production rate (i.e. higher egg laid and faster weight than other varieties) in Asian countries. About 55% of farmers like American Black as the best turkey variety in Sudan.
Another breed like Broad-Breasted Bronze, similar in size and conformation, is a smaller amount popular due to a preference for black and white feathering. However, a good sort of hobby breeds e.g. Red Bourbon, Roystonea regia, and Beltsville Pieris rapae, Silver, Mixed, and Quilted colored were also found in different parts of the study areas for private recreation. While nice to seem at most of those hobby strains don’t grow as fast and as efficiently because of the commercial turkey strains.
Advantages of Turkey Farming
The turkey generally starts to lay from the 30th week aged and its production period is 24 weeks from the purpose of lay. Under proper feeding and artificial lightening management, turkey hens lay the maximum amount as 60-100 eggs annually. Nearly 70 percent of the eggs are going to be laid within the afternoon.
The turkey eggs are tincted and on average weighs about 85 gms. Generally, a turkey’s egg is perceptibly pointed at one end with a strong shell. Turkey egg contains 13.1% protein, lipid 11.8%, carbohydrate 1.7%, and mineral 0.8%. The cholesterol is almost 15.67-23.97 mg/gm of yolk.
People prefer turkey meat due to its leanest nature. Mineral like potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium, zinc, and sodium are present. It’s also rich in essential amino acids and vitamins like niacin, vitamin B6, and B12. It’s rich in unsaturated fatty acids and essential fatty acids and low in cholesterol.
The average study shows that a male and female turkey sold at 24 weeks aged weighing 10 to twenty kg. Besides, the turkey is often reared in scavenging and semi-scavenging conditions also.
How to Start Turkey Farming
Turkey farming is analogous to other poultry bird farming like chickens, ducks, quails, etc. Turkeys also are very social with humans and raising turkeys is basically very fun and enjoyable. Here we are describing some basics steps for starting a commercial turkey farming business.
1. Make a Business Plan
The turkey farming business is very easy and profitable at home, but not so much easy as you think to start a business commercially. You have to make a perfectly defined business plan if want to start a business commercially. Generally, a business plan is formed with three important parts which are the business model, operation model, and financial projections.
First, if you or your company is looking for financial help from banks or investors. In this sector, you have to describe everything in detail. Never think, no need for investment or money from the bank as you have enough for turkey farming business, like a fool. You must think that you are beginning a business farm commercially.
You have to clear yourself about investment, management team, and procured land for the farm. On the other hand, you need to think about modern equipment, feed suppliers, technology, target market, and marketing policy.
2. Site Selection
Site selection is one of the most vital decisions for the turkey farming business as beginners. Your site must be far from a residential area or forest area to ensure proper protection from all kinds of predators, extreme noise, and harmful animals. Open space is necessary to ensure the availability of sufficient space inside the house. During this regard, you’ve to build a permanent house like a chicken house and ensure the availability of all necessary facilities.
3. Housing And Fencing
Good housing with all kinds of essential facilities available is extremely necessary for the commercial turkey farming business. As we see turkeys are large in size and become very strong as well. So, the fencing must need to strong enough to guard the birds. You’ll use electric poultry netting, woven wire fencing, metal T-posts, or wooden posts. However, while making housing and fencing for turkeys confine mind the followings.
Generally, 12 turkey birds need more than 5000 square feet of space is suitable for accommodating. Never let the turkeys graze within the pasture until they reach grazing age. Using wooden litter is extremely effective for turkey farming.
Confirm sufficient flow of fresh air and lightweight inside the house. Make proper ventilation. You need to make the house worthy enough for cleaning on a regular basis. Just in case of fencing, make it as high as possible. The fencing must need to be a minimum of four feet above the bottom. Again we say that the turkeys are very strong and larger than other birds. So, make the fencing the shed with strong materials or iron net and as high as possible.
4. Collection Turkey Breeds
Turkey eggs hatch within 28 days. Scientifically a farmed turkey’s lifetime depends on the turkey’s breeds. In the case of commercial farming females and males are considered ready for slaughter at 14 to 16 weeks at around 19 weeks old respectively. But some intensively farmed turkeys are slaughtered only 12 weeks old.
There are several turkey breeds available round the globe. But all those breeds aren’t suitable enough for commercial meat production.
You’ll raise only a couple of these breeds on your farm for profitable meat production. For a commercial turkey farming business or profitable meat production, you must use some modern turkey breeds that are raised for commercial production. This sort of turkey breeds features a maximum feed to meat conversion rate. They consume less feed and convert this feed to meat within a really short time.
Broad-breasted White is such a contemporary turkey breed for commercial production. The meat produced by raising this breed on pasture on a little farm, it’ll be more tasty and flavorful than the meat produced from a commercial farm.
White Holland and Standard Bronze is the other two popular meat-producing turkey breed. These two breeds aren’t actual breeds. Broad-Breasted Bronze and Whites are just non-standardized commercial strain used for meat production (they aren’t actual breed). Alongside this, there are other breeds available.
Bourbon Reds, Narragansetts, Roystonea regia, etc. are such turkey breeds. For commercial meat production, you ought to accompany Broad-Breasted Whites, Standard Bronze and White, White Hollands, etc.
5. Feeding
Healthy and nutritious feed keep the bird healthy and more productive for all time. For commercial turkey farming business feed supply and distribution must be regular and systematic. So, it might be better to find out the way to feed the turkey birds and this may assist you to stop problems in turkey farming and reducing feeding costs. Turkey needs more protein in their food for the first few weeks than other domestic birds like poultry. The protein in poultry feed should be a minimum of 28 percent. You’ll accompany chick starters which contain about 28 percent protein.
Like broiler chicken, adult turkey needs high protein and other nutrients in their diets. Thus, feed cost represents halve to two-thirds of the entire costs during a poultry production system, therefore it’s necessary to spot the animals that eat less but perform at an equivalent level as their contemporaries.
6. Watering
The quantity of protein in turkey feed is above chickens or other poultry birds feed. Alongside providing nutritious food, always serve them a sufficient amount of fresh and clean water as we provide for pigs farming. Generally, 2 gallons of water is important for one dozen turkeys.
7. Farm Management
Proper farm management is so much important for the commercial turkey farming business. you have to be always aware of health, food, weight gaining, and proper monitoring on your farm.
Always attempt to keep your birds in a healthy environment and learn more about turkey farming and the way to stop health problems. Never feed your birds contaminated, outdated, or unhealthy food at all. Always provide them clean and water. Keep sufficient space inside the house. And lastly, take excellent care of your birds for a successful turkey farming business.
8. Vaccine and Medicine
Health management may be key to maintaining the health of the turkey farming business. Good sanitation, clean stock, clean premises, and elimination of other birds and animals that will carry disease organisms are important for maintaining a healthy flock.
Genetically, turkey is more immune to diseases (such as Marek’s and infectious bronchitis) than other poultries. Farmers mostly do vaccination just for new castle disease, fowl pox, and animal disease. Prof. Jahan showed that 36.96% of farmers had encountered diseases like New Castle, animal disease, Fowl pox, Mycoplasmosisetc. Statistics show that farmers encountered some deaths (28%) of turkey due to Cold, Pox, Ranikhet, Bird flu, and unknown diseases in some cases.
9. Marketing
In case of a commercial turkey farming business, the birds become adult or appropriate enough for marketing within 12 to 20 weeks. Sell all the birds once they reach the slaughtering age. Turkey farming business is basically very lucrative and enjoyable. If you’re brooding about fixing the commercial turkey farming business, then attempt to learn more about them and visit many turkey farms.
Farmed turkeys also suffer during catching and transport. Workers generally catch turkeys by one or both legs and sometimes at a speed of up to 1,500 birds an hour and push them into crates later loaded into trucks. Rough handling during the catching process can cause severe and even fatal injuries in turkeys like dislocated hips, broken wings, leg fractures, head injuries, amputated toes, and internal hemorrhaging.
During transport, turkeys can barely move within the crates and are often exposed to low or high temperatures and powerful winds. Generally farmed animals, including turkeys, may legally travel for 28 hours without food, rest, and water. Turkeys often die on their thanks to the slaughterhouse thanks to hypothermia, heatstroke, or coronary failure related to extreme stress.
Thing is that you need not to be hurry like carp fish ( rui, catla, or other aquaculture farming) marketing.
10. Keep Notes
Finally, you require to calculate and find out your profit or loss. If you fall in loss then notes or records will help you to find out the pitfalls of your farm management. Check your total cost (fixed cost + variable cost) and total revenue. As a beginner, there may many problems you have faced for the first time. So try to minimize cost and maximize profit by our own tricks or business policy. Good luck..
