Anyone raising turkeys?

[Meca]

IF this is the wrong section please delete.


I would like to raise some turkey's for meat. From what I understand I would want broad breasted white turkeys.. Is this correct? And is there anything different I need to know? I've raised egg laying chickens and cornish cross chickens.

 

[LilyD]

IF this is the wrong section please delete.


I would like to raise some turkey's for meat. From what I understand I would want broad breasted white turkeys.. Is this correct? And is there anything different I need to know? I've raised egg laying chickens and cornish cross chickens.

I have broad breasted turkeys and they are equivalent to the cornish cross for chickens. They don't have the same problems with eating and having heart and leg problems that the CRX do though. The only real difference that I can tell you about is when you get them as poults I would start them on paper towels and not shavings. They are not good at figuring out what to eat and not to eat and will sit and eat the shavings until they are impacted. Paper towels gives them a chance to get used to eating food not other things. I have mine on a dirt floor brooder and they will be going in to a moveable tractor at 4 to 6 weeks depending on the weather here. Another thing is to make sure when you get them that they are all able to find the water. I find that I have to dip their beaks 3 or 4 times throughout the day before they are getting up and going to the water themselves. I have heard that some people will put a day old chick in with them to help them learn but I have always just planned to have the day they come be my day off and I make sure that they have learned what they need before I leave them alone.

They can fly even when they get big. Mine will go over a 4 foot fence easily, and sometimes I find them sitting on the top board of my fencing. This is why I decided that this year they will go into an enclosed tractor so that I can keep them safe and away from the road.

I process mine at about 18 weeks. The hatcheries will say 24 weeks growing time but I did that one year and the birds were about 50 lbs dressed out. They wouldn't fit in my plucker or in my scalder which made processing really hard. Last year I only grew them out to 14 weeks and they were right around 15 to 20 lbs depending on the bird. The average I think was around 17 lbs. This year we are going just to 18, maybe 20 weeks at most and then we are processing them. I will be weighing them and doing the calculations as they grow. They lose about 60% of their weight during processing so you need to decide what size you want and let them grow until they seem right for you.

 

[Meca]

They loose 60% of their weight during processing is good to know. This way it makes guessing a little easier!

I've heard that they are a little harder with the drinking and eating. I didn't realize they would eat the shavings. I think I will get some peat moss for their bedding then.

Thank you for the information.

 

[LilyD]

They loose 60% of their weight during processing is good to know. This way it makes guessing a little easier!

I've heard that they are a little harder with the drinking and eating. I didn't realize they would eat the shavings. I think I will get some peat moss for their bedding then.

Thank you for the information.

Sorry I mistyped that one it's not 60% it's 15 to 20% Here is a page that shows the conversion chart in weeks of age versus live weight and you just have to use it and the % of loss for processing to figure out weight after processing.


Quoted from Meyer hatchery website:

"Use the chart below to estimate when to purchase your turkeys based on the weight you would like them to reach. Keep in mind, you will lose 15-20% of the live weight at the time of processing. Due to conditions beyond our control, we can not guarantee these exact results. It is merely meant to be a guide for your reference.

Live​

Weight

Cumulative​

Feed

in​

pounds

in​

pounds
Age in Weeks Toms Hens Toms Hens
2 0.88 0.79 1.18 1.06
4 2.81 2.37 4.38 3.59
6 6.15 5.04 10.30 8.14
8 10.57 8.37 19.10 14.62
10 15.68 12.07 30.51 22.88
12 21.18 15.85 44.29 32.62
14 26.84 19.55 60.17 43.67
16 32.46 23.00 77.85 55.77
18 37.96 26.12 97.39 68.79
20 43.27 28.90 118.79 82.73
22 48.39 X 142.22 X
24 53.38 X 167.83 X

 

[Meca]

That makes a big difference. Thank you for the clarification.