Turkey

Production

Dr. Ma. Asuncion G. Beltran

CVM, TAU Camiling, Tarlac
Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Genus: Meleagris

Species: M. gallopavo
Introduction:

Domestic turkey is a popular form of poultry, and it is raised

throughout temperature parts of the world, partially because
industrialized farming has made it produces.
Female domestic turkeys are referred to as hens, and the
chicks may be called poults or turkeylings, in the United States, the
male referred to as forms, while in the United Kingdom and Ireland,
males are stags.
The great majority of domesticated turkeys are bred to have
white feathers because their pin feathers are less visible when the
carcass is dressed, although brown or bronze-feathered varieties are
History of Turkey Production

– The United States is the world’s largest turkey producer and

largest exporter of turkey products. As of 2016 the United States
was second in turkey consumption, behind only Israel. (ERS).

– According to the USDA, turkey production in 2016 was just under

7.5 billion pounds, up nearly 5 million pounds since 2015. The
total value of the turkeys produced during 2016 was more than $6
billion, up nearly $5 million since 2015 (NASS 2017).
Background

Raising turkeys in the early twentieth century was

largely a seasonal endeavor. In the mid-1920s, development of
poultry feeds allowed for large-scale, year-round production in
protective environments.
The 1950s and 1960s saw vertical integration
commonplace in the poultry industry. The 1980s and 1990s
saw improved production practices involving nutrition, disease
eradication, genetics and meat processing.
Turkey Production

The production of turkey is widely common practice in the

world. The production of poultry is not only industrial and but also a
free range and backyard suitable to the common man as well as
industrial production. Turkey production is scattered around the
United States. The top five turkey-producing states in 2015 were (by
number raised): Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Indian and
Missouri.
Minnesota produced more than 41 million turkeys, and North
Carolina produced more than 31 million turkeys (National Turkey
Federation, 2017).
Importance of Turkey Production

The modern turkey industry aims at high production and

better quality at a low cost.
This, in addition to an increase in the demand for
poultry meat, necessitates constant, efficient and goal-oriented
health care to prevent the development of diseases.
Different
Breeds of
Turkey
 Beltsville Small White
– Developed in the 1930s.
– similar in size as the Midget Whites
– They are prolific layers and mature hens are good
sitters and can hatch eggs well.
– They are not very social compared to other heritage
turkey breeds.
 Black Turkey
– is a domestic turkey breed
– was domesticated from Mexican wild turkeys
brought back to Europe by the first Spanish
explorers who visited the USA
– have been around since the 1500s and their plumage
is black
– This breed is available in many European nations.
 Blue Slate
– a domestic turkey breed.
– They have slate gray color plumage
– are lighter birds and are also sometimes called Lavender
turkeys
– Actually slate turkey breed may be any number of shades
between white and pure black
– They are among the beautiful heritage turkey breeds
– Adult Blue Slate hen can weight about 14 pounds and an
adult tom can weight about 23 pounds.
 Bourbon Reds
– are very attractive birds for their beautiful red
plumage
– are also known and popular for a full flavor, delicious
meat and are considered as one of the best tasting
heritage turkey breeds
– came from their origin in Bourbon county, Kentucky
– were first bred there during the 1800s
– A mature Bourbon hen weights about 12 pounds and a
mature tom can reach about 23 pounds.
 Broad Breasted Whites
– are modern turkey breed which are raised commercially in farms
– are available in almost every country around the globe
– have maximum conversion ratio of feed to meat in shortest
possible time (like broiler chicken breeds) and very suitable for
commercial turkey farming business
– Some problems with Broad-Breasted white turkeys.
➢ They can’t fly or walk.
➢ They are prone to diseases like other factory farm raised poultry birds
and they can’t reproduce without artificial insemination.
➢ They also don’t taste too good like other turkey breeds.
– They are only suitable for factory farm production purpose.
 Midget White
– are relatively a new heritage breed
– developed this turkey breed in the 1960s
– a cross of Broad-Breasted whites and Royal Palm
– are smaller in size and are known for their deep, delicious
flavor.
– are calm in nature and do well raising poults (because the
Midget White hens are small and they can become good fence-
jumpers).
– A mature Midget White hen weights about 8 to 12 pounds
and a mature tom weights about 16 to 20 pounds.
 Narragansett
– the staple of the New England turkey scene
before factory farmed turkeys became the norm
(they are originally from Rhode Island).
– On an average, mature Narragansett hens
weight about 18 pounds and toms weight
about 30 pounds.
 Standard Bronze
– one of the largest heritage turkey breeds
– They have also been the most popular turkey breeds in
American history.
– Bronzes were originally a cross between the native wild
turkeys (discovered by Europeans) in America and the
turkeys brought to the colonies by Europeans.
– On an average, an adult hen weights about 16 pounds
and a tom can reach about 25 pounds.
– Although birds which are available nowadays may be
smaller than this.
 Royal Palm
– a very beautiful, striking turkey breed
– they were bred for their good looks
– have white and black plumage
– They were breed not for commercial purpose
– Because they are smaller in size than most other heritage varieties.
They are mostly raised for exhibition or enhancing beauty of home or
farm.
– Although, they are suitable for meat production for family consumption
purpose.
– Royal Palm are active turkey breed that forage extensively, they can
control insects well and are also good flyers.
– Royal Palm hens weight about 10 pounds and toms weight about
16 pounds.
 White Holland
– were bred in Holland
– This turkey breed migrated to the USA with early settlers to the
country.
– they were popular as meat bird in the 1800s
– White Holland turkeys are calm in nature and good setters
and mothers.
– . But they sometimes break their eggs because the hens are so
heavy.
– A mature White Holland hen can weight up to 20 pounds
and a mature tom can weight up to 30 pounds.
 Heritage Turkey Breeds
Heritage breed is a livestock term, applied to animals that have been bred
over time to be best adapted to local conditions.
These heritage breeds can resist disease and are able to survive very
well in harsher environmental conditions.
There are few heritage turkey breeds available to choose from.
These breeds are the most popular and common for commercial turkey
farming purpose.
There are thirteen recognized heritage turkey breeds available.
Additional Information
What is the best tasting breed of
turkey?
Ans. Bourbon Red Turkeys
“Bourbon” comes from their origin in
Bourbon Country, Kentucky, where they were
first bred in the 1800s. They’re also known for
a delicious, full flavor and are considered one
of the best-tasting heritage turkey breeds.
What is the largest breed of
turkey?
Ans. Bronze Turkey
The Bronze Broad Turkey is considered by
some to be largest and heaviest of the
turkey variety and is of American origin.
 What is the rarest turkey?

Ans. Auburn Turkey

Auburn Turkeys, also known as Light Brown Turkeys,
is a heritage turkey breed. They are one of the rarest
varieties currently in the world. Auburn Turkeys
plumage is light reddish.
HOUSING
SYSTEM
 Importance of Housing

– Housing is important to protect turkeys from extreme weather

conditions, predators, and to provide shelter for the eggs of
laying hen.
– Adult turkeys prefer to be outdoors regardless of the weather
and can be outdoors most of the time from the age of 8 to 12
weeks onward. Before that point, young birds should be kept in
a brooder, perhaps with access to a sun porch.
Site Selection for Turkey houses

– East-West Conformation
– Topography
– An adequate source of water
– Distance to neighbouring residence
– Secured location
Factors considered in constructing
a commercial turkey house.
– Orientation (East-West Orientation)
– Width
– Length
– Topography
– Drainage
– Floors
– Type of house
Materials for Building a Turkey
House
– Wood is an ideal construction material of roosts for turkey.
– A lightweight fiber glass or metal panel roof will be fine and
it will keep the birds out of the weather.
Basic Equipment in Turkey House

– Housing
– Ranging Area
– Feeder
– Waterer
– Roosting Area
– Laying Nests
– Fencing
Types of Housing

RANGING AREA
Feeder and Waterer
 Roosting Area

– Turkeys require elevated roosting spots to

spend the overnight hours, ideally with a
sheltering roof to protect them from the
elements. It is possible to build a single
roost pen with space for several birds or
build a set of roosts.Either way, mounting
the roost on skids or wheels will allow it to
be easily moved. By moving the roosts
around the range area, it can prevent
manure from building up in one spot
Laying Nest
 Fencing

– The fencing material should be as high as possible, at least 4

feet, given that the birds can and will fly.
– In a pen environment, topping the fence with netting will
protect the birds and prevent escape.
Floor, Feeder, and Waterer Space
Requirement of Turkeys
 Brooding

– The term brooding refers to the period of

poult’s life from day 1 to about six weeks of
age.
– Poults are usually placed in brooder rings for
the first 5 to 6 days. From 7 days to 5 weeks
of age depending on the sex of the bird, they
are given from 0.9 to 1.4 m2 (1 to 1.5
square feet) of floor space per bird.
– During this time, the poult needs supplement
heat, special starter feed and protection from
exposure to disease.
 Breeding

– For breeding, a more solid

permanent turkey house can work
well.
– A small pen or box with solid sides
makes a good space for a broody
hen to hatch out poults. This pen
can be placed within the larger
turkey house.
Feeds and
Feeding
Feeds and Feeding

– FEEDING: Young turkeys need to eat turkey starter mash or

crumbles, a blend specially formulated for their growth and
development. Layer or breeder mash, crumbles, or pellets
should never be fed to birds, not even as an emergency
ration.
– It has a high calcium content that is toxic to birds and will
cause bone, liver, and kidney problems or cause death.
– A good emergency ration is a 50-50 blend of rolled oats and
cornmeal, whirled in a food blender to a mash or crumble
consistency.
– Turkey needs more protein in their food for first few
weeks than other domestic birds
– The protein in poultry feed should be at least 28
percent. You can go with chick starter which contain
about 28 percent of protein
– Turkeys are opportunistically omnivorous which
means they will reading sample a wide range of foods
both animals and vegetable.
Four main stages in process of
feeding turkeys
– Pre-starter feed
– Starter feed
– Grower feed
– Maintenance feed
– Starter feeds should contain no greater than 28% protein
– too much protein causes growth problems. For the first
few days, sprinkle feed on a paper towel so that birds can
learn to eat.
Food they eat

– Seeds and gain including spilled birdseed or corn and wheat

in agricultural field
– Corn, hickory nuts, beech nuts or walnuts cracked open or
swallowed whole
– Berries, wild grapes, crabapples and other small fruits
– Small reptiles including lizards and snakes
Foods that you should never feed
to turkeys
– Other livestock feeds
– Dried/ Raw bears
– Fruit pits
FEED

– The energy, protein, vitamin and mineral requirements

more when compared to chicken.
– Provide shell grit at the rate of 30-40 gm per day per bird
to avoid the leg weakness.
– In intensive system, greens can be fed up to 50% of the
total diet
HOW CAN A BREEDER HELP
TURKEYS TO GAIN WEIGHT

Corn can help turkey to gain weight increase the turkeys

intake of corn. Poultry corn “scratch”, helps add to the protein
mix and will help a turkey to gain weight. Some turkeys don’t
eat massive amounts of corn so just make sure it is available
and they will pick though it occasionally for a bite.
 Culling
And
Reproduction

Vanneza C. Sumaoang
 Culling

– Slaughtering and processing your own turkeys on-farm can be a

rewarding if messy, experience.
– You can sell turkeys at the farmers market, to restaurants, or
you’ll need to make sure your facility is USDA-approved and
meets all your local and state requirements for poultry processing.
– Just like how we cull a chicken the process is the same.
– Uniformity and finish will increase with more floor and feeder
space per bird. Turkeys should be culled on a continuous basis as
well. Severely cull the birds at 8-10 weeks of age.
 Reproduction

– Turkeys lay their eggs in the ground nests. They choose nest areas that are covered
by brush to help prevent detection by predators.
– The female turkey lays an egg each day in her nest for u to 11 days. The eggs take
about 28 days to hatch.
– Turkeys raised for meat in factory farms usually don’t breed naturally so it’s o
wonder that many people wonder just how does turkeys reproduce? Instead, farmer
artificially inseminate them.
– In the wild male turkeys seek the attention of females in the early spring by wooing
them with a special courtship dance.
– During the dance male turkeys fan out their tail feathers puff up their body feathers
an display their brightly colored waddles in an effort to win a female.
DISEASES
AND
PARASITES
 Aspergillosis (Brooder Pneumonia)

DESCRIPTION AND SYMPTOMS

– This is a fungal infection usually caused by
Aspergillus fumigatus. It most commonly affects
poults 5 days to 8 weeks of age.
– Indicators of infection include heavy or rapid breathing
and yellow or grey nodular lesions in the respiratory
tract especially lungs and air sacs, occasionally in the
mouth or trachea. Lesions are common in the eyes and
can sometimes occur in the brain.
 Aspergillosis (Brooder
Pneumonia)
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
– There is no practical cure for infected birds. Cull
TRANSMISSION them. Aspergillus spores are very difficult to
– Inhalation of large numbers of eliminate and can infect other avian species and
Aspergillus spores from humans
infected hatchers, brooder – Raising the humidity and eliminating the source
houses, litter, or feed. Spores of the infection will limit the spread of the
are present in almost all litter disease. Spraying the litter lightly with an oil-
materials and grow at room based germicide will help. Control dust and
temperature (~70° F) or movement of spores. Replace litter if highly
warmer contaminated. Do not use litters high in bark
 Blackhead or Histomoniasis
DESCRIPTION AND SYMPTOMS
– This disease, caused by a protozoan (Histomonas
meleagridis), is characterized by increased thirst,
decreased appetite, watery sulfurcolored droppings,
drowsiness, weakness, dry-ruffled feathers, dark
cyanotic head, and lesions in the liver and ceca.
– Mortality is high, especially in poults less than 12
weeks of age. Histomonads are very stable inside cecal
worm eggs that are ingested by earthworms.
Earthworms can carry over the protozoans to
successive broods year after year
 Blackhead or Histomoniasis
TRANSMISSION PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

– Birds are infected with the protozoan by directly
ingesting cecal worm eggs in the soil or indirectly
ingesting the eggs through earthworms infected
with the protozoans.
– When eaten, the birds release the protozoans by
excreting them in feces. The protozoans together
with E.coli and other intestinal bacteria produce
the disease. Turkeys, chickens, peafowl, and
several game bird species are susceptible to the
disease.
– Ideally, separate turkey flocks from
chicken flocks and separate young
birds from older birds. Use good
sanitation practices in the brooding
area. Rotate range areas frequently.
Feed containing a medication
specific to Blackhead can be used as
a preventative or to treat infected
birds.
 Infectious Sinusitis or M.g.
(Mycoplasma gallisepticum)
DESCRIPTION AND SYMPTOMS

– The bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum

causes a swelled sinus that is soft at first but may
become hardened as the disease progresses.

– The eye may become closed or may even be

destroyed during the infection process.
Coughing, sneezing, and a thin nasal discharge
usually occurs preceding the appearance of the
swelled sinus. In the lower respiratory form, the
disease may present itself through coughing,
sneezing, and gasping.
 Infectious Sinusitis or M.g.
(Mycoplasma gallisepticum)
TRANSMISSION
– The disease is spread through
contact with contaminated birds or
materials. The disease will pass into
eggs from infected hens.
– The organism can survive for
several days outside of the bird’s
body and within the eggs for longer
periods of time. Recovered birds
remain carriers. Diagnosis can be
made by blood testing.
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
– Obtaining poults from Mycoplasma free
flocks is the best prevention for this
disease.
– Antibiotics or vaccine can help control
the disease in breeding flocks to some
extent if necessary. Dispose of M.g.-
positive flocks, as infected birds always
remain carriers
Turkey coryza

DESCRIPTION
A condition of turkeys possibly associated with Bordetella
avium (previously designated Alkaligenes faecalis) infections.
This bacterium usually causes mild respiratory disease in
only a proportion of the flocks, and low mortality. It can be
synergistic with other respiratory pathogens such
as Ornithobacterium, Pasteurella spp, Mycoplasma spp. and
pneumoviruses.
Turkey coryza
SYMPTOMPS PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

– Decreased appetite, weight gain – Antibiotics are not very effective,

and feed efficiency. control mrespiratory stressors,
– Loss of voice. chlorination of drinking water.
– Ocular and nasal discharge. – All-in/all-out production. Good
drinking water hygiene.
– Conjunctivitis.
– Vaccination
– Snick.
– Dyspnoea.
Turkey coryza
Paratyphoid or Salmonellosis

DESCRIPTION AND SYMPTOMS

The disease, caused by bacteria of the genus Salmonella,
generally affects young birds but older birds may be
affected.
The vents of newborn poults may become pasted up with a
sticky white diarrhea that hardens on the vent, prevents
the bird from defecating, and causes death. Other
symptoms in poults include loss of appetite, diarrhea, and
unabsorbed or putrid yolk sacs. Mortality can be high in
young poults. Older infected birds may have occasional
enteritis and diarrhea, if there are any symptoms at all.
 Paratyphoid or Salmonellosis
PREVENTION AND
TRANSMISSION TREATMENT

– Transmission of the disease is – Immediately isolate or cull infected

through eggs, on eggs via fecal birds. Antibiotics may be of some use
material, exposure to infected to help with secondary infections. All
birds, and cross contamination salmonella infections must be reported
due to poor biosecurity to state regulatory agencies.
practices. Note that humans,
turkeys, rodents, pets, wild
birds, etc. can all contract and
carry the disease
Ticks (Fowl Ticks)
DESCRIPTION AND SYMPTOMS
– Losses from ticks are fourfold: (1) Loss of host
blood may cause death, especially in recently
hatched poults. (2) Reduced production due to
anemia. (3) Skin blemishes which reduce
market value. (4) Transmission of disease
(Spirochetosis, Tularemia, Fowl Cholera).
Symptoms of tick infestation are emaciation,
weakness, slow growth, lowered production,
ruffled feathers, poor appetite, diarrhea, and of
course, the presence of ticks
 Ticks (Fowl Ticks)
TRANSMISSION PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

– High grassy areas provide ideal – Keep pastures well-maintained and not
habitat for ticks. The fowl tick, Argas overgrown. Seal cracks and crevices
persicus, feeds on its host located around the bird’s housing area.
intermittently but mostly at night. It Prevent tree roosting. In the event of
lays eggs in sheltered places within heavy infestation, use preventative
buildings and in the bark of trees. The medications, sprays, and/or powders to
life cycle for this tick is 7-8 weeks or repel ticks on the birds and in the
longer and adults may live without a housing.
blood meal for more than 4 years;
thus, temporary vacation of premises
Marketing
 Marketing

Turkey meat production is the main product of turkeys. Turkey meat is a

product of stable demand in North America, Europe and Latin Amierica, but the level
of per capita consumtion vary from country to country.
Turkey meat consumption is largely determined by the level of income per
capita of the population and seasonality, thus, countries with a high standard of living
traditionally have a higher per capita consumption of turkey meat.
On the ither hand, the rise in living standards and the raid pace of
urbanisation, increasing popularity of western diets in Asia and higher attention for
lower fat intake have led to a significant increase in production and consumption of
turkey meat across the world over the last decade.
Cost Structure for Turkey Production Based
on the Average of 100 Turkey

Cost Amount

Feeds Php 6,000.00

Poult Php 4,000.00

Labor Php 2,500.00

Vet Service Php 2,500.00

Utilities (water, electricity) Php 1,000.00

Housing and Equipment Php 10,000.00

Total Average Cost Php 25,000.00

Return of Investment

Cost Amount
Live birds Php 50,000.00
Eggs Php 16,200.00
Manure Php 400. 00
Empty bags of Feeds Php 200.00
Total Profit Php 66,800.00
Average return of investment Php 668.00
THANK YOU