A century of Turkey talk 2000-2100.

[memphis]

Anne...that's funny!!

 

[duluthralphie]

@holm25 I think of mature being 3+ when I read specs and weights being live weight. I could be wrong since I think of wild turkeys I hunt that way. At 3+ their spurs begin to curve and not so straight as a jake or 2 y/o. Sexually mature and physically mature to me are different things. The Black mix I butchered for christmas was only 16# dressed 22# live weight at 2 y/o.

The boys that were invited to Thanksgiving were last springs hatch. I assume mid March , so 8 months old. They dressed out at 18# and 20#. I did feed them pure corn for 6-8 weeks before the date with the PVC pipe cutter........

They were loaded with fat. I am guessing 4-5 pounds was fat...Good juicy gravy and meat..

 

[FredsGobblers]

@duluthralphie I only fed mine a corn diet for 4 weeks. Was not much fat on it. Maybe a pound or 2 at most. Plan a longer feed like you do next time. The batch I have raised from day old now are progressing well. a couple toms are 15# at 4 mnths now live weight

 

[aliciaplus3]

how to take pics of a turkey

wait one has to supervise so you can take pics of the other one. When I got my phone out they both had to come around and look at the screen...... ugh

 

[FredsGobblers]

Doing a bit more reading and research, I am guessing the 2 black crosses I bought at auction were not fed a proper high protein diet as poults causing low growth rates. Which is hard to find in this area unless obtained at a mill. Here is a bit of what I found.
Sorry if to long.
Modern Turkeys
The usual lifespan for a turkey is 10 years, and pure breed turkeys take approximately 4-5 months to grow to full size. The hen turkeys take 16 weeks to mature completely, and average 3.6 kg (8 lb) to 7.2 kg (16 lbs) in weight. The tom turkey takes approximately 19 weeks to mature and weighs between 7.2 kg (16 lbs) and 10.8 kg (24 lbs). Larger tom turkeys may weigh up to 18.1 kg (40 lbs), but take a few more weeks to mature. A breeder tom turkey can generate up to 1,500 poults in a hen’s six-month laying cycle.

Turkey breeding hens produce only about 45 live poults (chicks) each year. Turkey eggs take 28 days to hatch.

While some pure breeds of turkey are maintained by poultry fanciers, the turkeys raised commercially for meat are specially bred hybrids (a cross between two or more different breeds). Commercial turkey breeding has resulted in hybrid strains that grow much faster and convert feed to bodyweight much more efficiently than pure breeds. Under ideal conditions with a well-balanced ration, a modern white hybrid turkey can reach 6 kg in weight by 10 weeks of age, with a feed conversion ratio (the ratio of the amount of feed eaten to body weight gain) of about 2:1. Diets are specially formulated and hens are fed ad libitum, but toms are usually restricted from 16–18 weeks onwards. From the first 2-3 weeks poults are fed a high protein pre-starter diet, then a starter diet with declining levels of protein but increasing levels of energy in subsequent formulations to killing weight.

 

[rjohns39]

Doing a bit more reading and research, I am guessing the 2 black crosses I bought at auction were not fed a proper high protein diet as poults causing low growth rates. Which is hard to find in this area unless obtained at a mill. Here is a bit of what I found.

I definitely understand difficulty buying good quality feed. Custom mills generally require a minimum order of a ton, so last two years I've driven back to Virginia to get my pre-starter and starter. I'm hoping the new mill I'm working with here is more accommodating. If I can get everything together to do it this year, I'll segregate my breeding Toms from the other Toms on 2/1. non-breeders will go onto a holding mix and breeders a breeding mix for 30 days. All of the hens will have their own breeding mix they'll start on 2/1. Then once the Toms and hens are brought together the Toms will get the hen's blend until they return to the bachelor pad to return to the holding mix. The hens will stay on their mix until I'm done collecting eggs for hatch and then return to holding as well. If I can pull it off it should be interesting to see what difference it makes in hatch and mortality rates.

 

[R2elk]

Doing a bit more reading and research, I am guessing the 2 black crosses I bought at auction were not fed a proper high protein diet as poults causing low growth rates. Which is hard to find in this area unless obtained at a mill. Here is a bit of what I found.
Sorry if to long.
Modern Turkeys
The usual lifespan for a turkey is 10 years, and pure breed turkeys take approximately 4-5 months to grow to full size. The hen turkeys take 16 weeks to mature completely, and average 3.6 kg (8 lb) to 7.2 kg (16 lbs) in weight. The tom turkey takes approximately 19 weeks to mature and weighs between 7.2 kg (16 lbs) and 10.8 kg (24 lbs). Larger tom turkeys may weigh up to 18.1 kg (40 lbs), but take a few more weeks to mature. A breeder tom turkey can generate up to 1,500 poults in a hen’s six-month laying cycle.

Turkey breeding hens produce only about 45 live poults (chicks) each year. Turkey eggs take 28 days to hatch.

While some pure breeds of turkey are maintained by poultry fanciers, the turkeys raised commercially for meat are specially bred hybrids (a cross between two or more different breeds). Commercial turkey breeding has resulted in hybrid strains that grow much faster and convert feed to bodyweight much more efficiently than pure breeds. Under ideal conditions with a well-balanced ration, a modern white hybrid turkey can reach 6 kg in weight by 10 weeks of age, with a feed conversion ratio (the ratio of the amount of feed eaten to body weight gain) of about 2:1. Diets are specially formulated and hens are fed ad libitum, but toms are usually restricted from 16–18 weeks onwards. From the first 2-3 weeks poults are fed a high protein pre-starter diet, then a starter diet with declining levels of protein but increasing levels of energy in subsequent formulations to killing weight.

While the broad breasted varieties were created by making hybrids, they are no longer a hybrid mix. They will breed true unlike the cornishx chickens which are truly a hybrid and will not breed true.

The last I had read was they were down to two strains of broad breasted whites and one bought out the other strain and combined the two strains together.

 

[FredsGobblers]

All I know of BB is they come in bronze or white. It is interesting to know not many strains of those any more.
The mill I am using carries 50# bags of 26%. If I do a custom mill then I would have to buy by the ton. I am feeding 26% for 8 weeks then 22% bought at feed store for 8 weeks then 19% all flock from mill continual. I plan on just supplementing hens with oyster shell during egg production. It may be overkill doing the 22%, but since I am not able to free range as much as I would like I figure it would not hurt.

 

[memphis]

Finally struggled up to 33 here. We were at 16 this morning. Highly unusual for us...those of us who don't own wool or any down. My chicken's don't care for the cold. But my turkeys are currently taking a sun bath. And me....I'm sipping tea with tons of honey watching them from the kitchen!! Debating about taking them for their walk....

 

[rjohns39]

Finally struggled up to 33 here. We were at 16 this morning. Highly unusual for us...those of us who don't own wool or any down. My chicken's don't care for the cold. But my turkeys are currently taking a sun bath. And me....I'm sipping tea with tons of honey watching them from the kitchen!! Debating about taking them for their walk....

It was 11* when I woke up this morning... We're not supposed to be this cold til February. I won't say what we're at now lest I get beat about the head and shoulders by our friends in the real cold... Let's just say I hope the wind keeps coming in from the south as that breeze from the north isn't fun at all.