Turkey farming

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Turkey farming is very popular in western countries and the major turkey producing countries are United States of America, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Annual per capita consumption of turkey meat in the above said countries ranges from 4-8 kg per year. Turkey population touched 259 millions in 1992(Singh, 1996). The estimated world turkey meat production in 2004 is 4.94 million tones.

History and thanksgiving holiday:

Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo) is a large gallinaceous bird of the family Meleagridae that is native of North America, domesticated in Europe and are now important source of food in many parts of the world. Columbus took specimens to Spain in 1948. Reports on turkey were there in Germany in 1530 and in England by 1541.  

The basic plumage color is black and not bronze. The females have black breast feathers with white tips, which help in sex determination as early as 12 weeks of age. 

Board breasted white:

This is a cross between Board breasted bronze and White Holland with white feathers. This variety was developed at the Cornell University. White plumage turkeys seems to be suitable Indian-Agro climatic conditions as they have better heat tolerance and also good and clean in appearance after dressing. 

Beltsville small white:

Breeds of turkeys in the World:

It has been dominated by three breeding companies offering 4 parental heavy type breeds (Big six, Hybrid large white, Nicholar 900 & 700) and 5 medium heavy types (BUT-8, BUT-9, Big-9, hybrid super medium & Nicolas 300). In addition to Poland the regional breeders have introduced two medium varieties, Benkova and Jancowski in 1995. In Europe, medium type turkeys available are, Gaubin(France), and Kvama(Poland).

Turkey terminologies:

Tom Adult male turkey

Hem Adult female turkey

Poult Young one of turkey

Snood or Dew bill The fleshy protuberance near the base of the beck Caruncles The fleshy protuberance on the head and neck usually pink or thred in color which appear from about 5 week of age Dewlap A large flap skin seen immediately below the chim Bread A tuft of hair attached to the skin of the upper chest region Strut Mating behavior of male turkey Shooting the red The development of caruncles and this is supposed to indicate (Similar to an ulcer) the most difficult time in the life of young turkey

Debeaking:

Poults should be debeaked to control feather picking and cannibalism. Debeaking can be done at day old or 3-5 weeks of age. Remove the beak at about one half the distance from nostril to the tip of the beak.

 Desnooding:

 Removal of the snood or dewbill is to prevent the head injuries from picking and fighting. At the day old the snood can be removed by shumbnail or finger pressure. At 3 weeks of age it can be cut off close to the head with sharp scissors. 

Detoeing or toe clipping:

Clipping is done at day old by removing the tip of the toe just to the inside of the outer most toe pad including the entire toenail. 

Turkey egg:

 turkey will start to lay from the 30 week of age and its production period is 24 weeks from the point of lay. Under proper feeding and artificial lightening management turkey hens lay as much as 60-100 eggs annually. Nearly 70 percent of the eggs will be laid in the afternoon. The turkey eggs are tinted and weigh about 85 gms. Egg is noticeably pointed at one end with strong shell. The protein, lipid carbohydrate and mineral content of turkey egg are 13.1%, 11.8%,1.7% and 0.8% respectively. The cholesterol is 15.67-23.97 mg/gm of yolk.

Turkey meat:

 Turkey meat has nutritional and sensorial properties which make it almost ideal raw material for rational and curative nutrition. People prefer turkey meat because of its leanest nature. The protein, fat, energy value of turkey meat are 24%,6.6%, 162 Calories per 100 gm of meat. Mineral like potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium, zinc and sodium are present. It is also rich in essential amino acids and vitamins like niacin, vitamin B6 and B12. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids and essential fatty acids and low in cholesterol. 

Force Feeding:

 Starve out problem is one of the major factors for early mortality in poults. So special care has to be taken for supplying feed and water. In force feeding, milk should be fed at the rate of 100ml per liter of water and one boiled egg have to be given at the rate of one per 10 poults up to fifteen days and that will compensate the protein and energy requirements of the poults.

 Poults can be attracted to the feed by gentle tapping of the container with the fingers. Colored marbles or pebbles placed in feeders and waterers will also attract poults towards them. Since turkeys are fond of greens, some chopped green leaves should also be added to the feed to improve the feed intake. Also colored egg fillers can be used for the first 2 days as feeders.

Litter materials:

The common litter materials used for brooding are wood shavings saw dust, paddy husk, chopped saw etc. The thickness of the litter material should be 2 inch at the beginning and may be increased to 3-4 inch in course of time by gradual addition. The litter should be raked at frequent intervals to prevent caking. 

Rearing systems:

 Turkeys can be reared under free range or intensive system. 

Free range system of rearing:

Advantages:

•         It reduces the feed cost by fifty percent.

•         Low investment.

•         Cost benefit ratio is high.

 In the free range system, in one acre of fenced land we can rear 200-250 adult turkeys. Shelter should be provided during night at the rate of 3-4 sq.ft. per bird. They should be protected from predators during scavenging. Planting of trees is desirable for providing shade and cooler environment. The range should be rotated which will help to reduce incidence of parasite infestation.

 Free range feeding:

 Since turkeys are very good scavengers, it can consume earthworms, small insects, snails, kitchen waste and termites, which are rich in protein and that will reduce the feed cost by fifty percent. Apart from this leguminous fodder like Lucerne, Desmanthus, Stylo etc., can be fed. To avoid leg weakness and lameness in free ranging birds, calcium should be supplemented at the rate of 250gm per week per bird in the form of oyster shell. Ten percent of feed can be substituted with vegetable waste to reduce the cost of feed.

Health cover:

Turkeys in the free range system are highly susceptible for internal (round worms) and external parasites (fowl mite). Hence once a month deworming and dipping is essential to improve the growth of the birds.

 Intensive system of rearing:

 Advantages:

• Improved production efficiency.

• Better management and disease control.

Housing:

• Housing protects turkeys form sun, rain, wind, predators and provides comfort. • In hotter parts of the country the long axis of the house should run from East to West. • The distance between two houses should be at least 20 meters and the young stock house should be at least 50 to 100 meters away from the adult house. • The width of the open house should not exceed 9 meters. • The height of the house may vary from 2.6 to 3.3 meters from the floor to roof. • An overhang of one meter should be provided to avoid the rainwater splash. • The floor of the houses should be cheap, durable and safe preferably concrete with moisture proof.

 When turkeys are reared under deep litter system, the general managemental conditions are similar to that of chicken but care should be taken to provide adequate floor, waterer and feeder space to accommodate the large  bird. 

Marketing of turkeys:

The meat of turkey has nutritional and sensorial properties which make it almost ideal raw material for rational and curative nutrition. The turkey can produce 30gm of digestible protein from 100gm feed. The dressing percentage of turkey is 80-87%, which is highest of all farm species.

Common diseases of turkey

Blue back:

Blue back is a permanent dark discoloration of the skin on the back and some- times the side and the breast of the turkeys with dark plumage but not turkeys with white plumage. It is caused by recessive factor.

Pendulous crop:

Pendulous crop  is otherwise known as baggy or sour crop. Weakening of the corp. and supporting tissues causes dropped crop so that feed and water accumulate in the organ and pass out slowly or not at all resulting in foul smelling semi liquid accumulation affecting the crop lining and treatment always useless. 

Prevention:

• Selecting strains not carrying the genetic factor. • Avoid exposure of turkeys to excessive heat without shade. • Giving continuous and easy access to clean and cool drinking water. • Providing ample shade.

 Stampeding:

 Turkeys are subject to fright especially during night. Severe losses from injury, straying, smothering, bruising, broken limbs and death by predatory animals may result into stampedes. Avoiding disturbances at night and providing low intensity light at night may lessen it.

 Breast blisters :

They are much more common in toms then in hens. They are believed to be caused by continuous irritation of the skin that covers the breastbone. 

Cannibalism:

 Feather picking is a mild form of cannibalism to which turkeys are addicted, especially during the growth period. It can be prevented almost completely by debeaking. 

Prevention:

• Avoiding overcrowding in confinement.

• Feeding an adequate diet.

Control of Mycoplasma in Turkeys:

Pulse treatment with Tiamutin:

Tiamutin is given at the recommended dose for three days in a month in turkeys in order to prevent the occurrence of Mycoplasma infections. 

Measures to be taken during outbreak:

• Quick disposal of dead birds.

• All sanitation measures of drinking water to be adopted. • Spraying of disinfectant in the shed.

• Separation of working personnel of infected pen from healthy pens. • Personnel hygiene before and after entering in the infected pens. • Use Vitamin E and C to overcome stress. • Frequent change of infected litter.

• Quick separation and disposal of sick and ailing birds. 

Measures to be taken after breakout:

• Infected flock after recovery should be disposed off quickly. • Emptied sheds and infected equipment should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before reusing the same.

• Disinfected sheds can be kept empty for 2-3 weeks before housing the birds. • Burning should destroy the infected litter. 

Not ;;I got this online

Tips on how to build Quail bird cage

We wrote these quail keeping guidelines for just some who find quail keeping as a hobby or q even small scale quail farmers who keep quail to supply eggs and/or meat because of their family or maybe commercial purposes. The quail arises from a wild environment as any other domesticated animal and it's related to chicken.


We should try to allow them to have back at least some what we have taken from them regarding their lifestyle. They can obviously not care for themselves locked up so additionally, firm abs minimum that we should give the quail is food, water and a healthy environment. The quail’s lifestyle is related to chicken’s. The quail likes warm weather conditions and they’re (the majority) migratory birds within the wild. If we have the particular facilities, it’s a good practice to get a winter and a summer place for that quails and move them twice 1 year. The quails will find this very exciting this also stimulation will even encourage nesting. Because of their winter accommodation we should move the quails to some light, dry, ventilated but not necessarily draughty place. Heating is not necessary unless temperatures fall under -5˚c. In the summer is best to keep the quail outside but again, the they must have access to a dry, drought free location and shade. Obviously you will have to make certain your enclosure or aviary can be safe that no predator can get to your quails. Don’t worry if you can’t provide your quails a different summer and winter place, they're going to feel just fine at a permanent place if you make that comfortable enough on their behalf.

Keeping quail in cages

For the quail cage, a quail requires no less than ½ sqft of floor area. There are not many specific quail cages around to buy, we make our own design for our layers and breeding stock. Some quail keepers use a rabbit hatch for keeping their quail in but you need to realise that while the rabbit likes shady dark environment the quail needs a lot more light to feel good, so the rabbit hutch is not the best option to use as a quail parrot cage. What you can do though, if you intend to keep quails indoors (shed, barn) it is possible to transform a rabbit hutch in a quail cage. What you carry out is this: remove the rear panel and replace it along with welded wire mesh. This way you'll provide your current quails as much light as humanly possible. If your rabbit hatch features a separated (nest) area, get lessen it, your Japanese (coturnix) quails won't require it. An average rabbit hatch is all about 4' x 2' (120mm times 60mm). This allows you maintain to12 Japanese (coturnix) quails for each tier. On a hobby scale, if you want to supply the most possible comfort for your current quails, then you put 6-8 quails in a cage of this size. For egg production this would be 6 hens and only two cock quail. The “furnishing” on the quail cage should be as follows:

Litter/Bedding – We believe essentially the most practical bedding for quails is okay wood shavings. The quail loves to have a dust bath which they do within the wood shavings but if you actually want to please them put some dry sand in a suitable tray or container, they’ll like it.
Feeder – the quail feeder could be a small pet bowl, small chicken feeder or possibly a through feeder. If you will use bawl for feeding it is best to put at least 2 in the cage and in the case of using a through feeder a little 250-300mm (10”-12”) feeder would become sufficient. It’s also practical to place the feeder outside the cage to save more space for that quail and to prevent the feed contamination from the quails messing on it. You can get feeders that you hang onto the wire mesh on the cage. Hang it from the outside the cage and make cut outs about the mesh to allow the quail in order to push their heads through to get at it (width-1 ½”, height-2”). Your pet bowl is the least useful solution for hygienic reasons. If you need to place the feed inside the cage use a chicken feeder or a by way of feeder.
Drinker – again, the quail drinker could be a small pet bowl, small chicken drinker or if you need to keep the water cleaner, you're able to do the same as with the particular feeder, get one that hangs onto the wire mesh from your outside. Obviously make some cut outs as described within the feeder section above.

Make sure that your quails possess always dry litter and use of feed and drink continually.

Another important condition for good quail egg production is to provide the quails with ample light. A layer quail needs 14 hours of light per day for optimal egg production. If you keep your quails within a place where there is enough natural light you should have no problems during the summer period but if you would like the quails to keep laying eggs within the winter period as well, you have got to fit a light near the cage to replace the short daylight. The light doesn’t have to be strong, an energy saving lamp would do. The same applies if you keep your quails in a dark place as being a garage without windows, dark steady, etc. The best practice is to plug in an automatic timer switch for that light, this way you won’t forget to turn it on / off on time. Warning: DON'T work with strong light! If you keep more quail cocks than one within a same cage strong light will make them aggressive and they will start to fight with each other. To read more info on quail cages in order to get free building plans for just a low budget simple quail parrot cage.
source

Quality Eggs from quail birds/eggs for the body

CALL (081)3828-1133 for egg /bird purchase and consultation

 Nature's Answer to your Health, Looks, Smarts, Libido and Gourmet Flair

Few foods can claim the nutritional value and of a quail egg. As an enriched source of anti-oxidants, essential fatty acids, and Vitamin B Riboflavin, it's often the natural food of choice for medical cures, relief from inflammatory diseases and strengthening our immunity systems.
These and other food nutrients further contribute to brain development, sexual potency, glowing skin and healthy hair. And it does this with practically no crabs, no bad cholesterol and food spoilage. Now imagine all of this from a product known for its 5-star elegance and cultural exquisiteness.

A Kid Friendly Food for Healthy Skin, Hair & Immunity

Quail eggs improve skin color and strengthen hair. That's why quail  eggs are used for egg yolk facial and hair care masks. Its Vitamin B2 Riboflavin provides glowing and healthy skin, while the Vitamins A, B and E give your child shiny and voluminous hair. All this from a 100% natural alternative to harmful hair and skin care chemicals. Quail eggs are also rich in ovomucoid proteins, antioxidants and lysozyme. As a sugar-free, non-processed source of these nutrients, this makes quail eggs ideal for controlling infections  and  inflammations leading to asthma, allergies, eczema and psoriasis....That Offers Hope For Chronic medical Conditions..As an alkaline forming product, quail eggs have been prescribed as a dietary remedy against tract disorders such as gastritis and ulcers.
 Along with its enriched source of antioxidants,  magnesium, Vitamin B6 and potassium, the quail egg can remove stones formed in the kidneys, liver and gall bladder. They also have the nutrients and properties to help give you the needed energy, resistance from illness, and faster recovery following surgery or from chemotherapy effects and other cancer treatments.
Finally, as a low carb, low calorie food, quail eggs are ideal as a non-invasive approach to heart conditions and diabetes treatment. Finally, as a 100% natural source of iron, Vitamin A & B12, quail eggs can greatly benefit those suffering from anemia....And Boosts your Body, Libido and Brain Power..It is no wonder that quail eggs are a common staple in Asian diets.
As an enriched source of chlorine and omega-3 fatty acids, nutritionists recognize the benefits of quail eggs in promoting good memory, enhancing brain activity and regulating the nervous system. Body builders recognize the advantages of quail eggs over chicken eggs as a high protein food without the carbohydrates and bad HDL cholesterol.
Now add its phosphorus and Vitamin B, D & E for testosterone, and men have a 100% natural aphrodisiac that does not compromise weight maintenance....While Delighting your Guests Then imagine all of these benefits in a colorful delicacy that rouses cultural traditions and the admiration of banquet chefs for its simplicity and multiple flavor enhancements. The quail egg has an air of exotic elegance that can dress up hors d'ooeuvres without the contamination and messy presentations associated with many upscale, cultural canapés.

Report on Quail Eggs

Chinese medical practitioners have used quail eggs for thousands of years to successfully combat allergies such as rhinitis, asthma, hay fever, spasmodic cough and skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. More recently, they have been used in Russia and Poland, and they are widely available from pharmacies in France, Switzerland and Germany. Now, at last, quail egg treatment has reached Nigeria. Treatment of quail eggs is recognized around the world.  The list of diseases that can be cured (or alleviate the disease), using quail eggs are quite wide.
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There were a lot of mouths to feed on an Egyptian building site so if you weren't employed
as a pyramid technician you were probably growing wheat, fruit and raising quail. The
Egyptians soon realised that quail were a brilliant source of protein for their workers so
established large farms for breeding them.
In fact, quail were so common that they had their own heiroglyph. If you haven't studied
Egyptian before this is a good place to start.
Step 1) Draw an owl, a quail and some water. Step 2) Put them all together and what have
you got? The word Moon of course! That's because an owl is pronounced M, quail is
pronounced Oo and the symbol for water is pronounced N. Next time you go to an Egythian
restaurant we recommend ordering an Oe Omlet.
These days, Egyptian might not be that widely spoken anymore but quail are still an
important source of food for both the meat and eggs in a lot of countries. Quail eggs are in
fact arguably more nutritious weight for weight than chickens eggs but more on that later.
Quail have features in other countries too. In the Far East records of quail go back as far as
770BC. It is thought that the Chinese quail is the ancestor of many of todays breeds. Quail
have been bred domestically for over 4,000 years.
Unlike chickens, quail are very good at flying. In fact they are migratory birds. Most migrate
by flying often traveling from as far as Africa to England. They have strong flying wings but
like to glide when traveling long distances. Other mountain quail migrate on foot from high
to low altitude in small groups.
like chicken the
word quail has found its way into the English language. The term 'quail'
means to 'shrink back in fear or cower' . This is not our experience of quail
aside this story,it also recorded in the bible that jehovah feed the children of israel with
quail meat when they requested for food while in the wilderness
Before i go on
am sure you have your reasons for buying this book,you have heard that quail breeding is a
lucrative business
you have had that its require minimal investment to get started;
well,you are right and you may be wrong also, but the reason is not far fetched. you are right
because it does require minimal investment to get started,less stressful when compared
with poultry farming and other advantages such as listed below
● 1. Requires minimum floor space.
● 3. Quails are comparatively sturdy birds .
QUAILBUSINESS.COM


part 2
A TO Z OF QUAIL FARMING AND PRODUCTION
the quick banker in animal production
● 4. It can be marketed at an early age . ( I,e: five weeks)
● 5. Early sexual maturity starts laying eggs in about sixseven
weeks of age.
● 6. High rate of egg laying 280 to 295 eggs per year.
● 7. Quail meat is tastier than chicken and has less fat content.
● 8. It promotes body and brain development in children.
● 9. they contain less cholesterol .
10. Quail meat and eggs are a nutritious diet for pregnant mothers .and lastly
● 11.the only treatment of ailments through an egg recognize all over the world
infact,you could compare it to trevo
but again like i stated earlier,it has it disadvantages which is when you don't understand the
business itself
so what do i need to know?a lot needs to known before starting any form of business and
quail business is not exempted
1.planning the business
it very important to have a business plan before going into quail farming
i would say you should have the money needed from day one to the 6th week,which is when
you start recovering your investment and start making profits,any delay in food or other
things which will be stated later could lead to loses which is not a good practice in
business.so get a plan.
more so ,that you are already a poultry farmer does not guarantee your success in quail
farming although this may reduce the initial investment as you may have some of the items
needed for quail breeding.
the following should be considered when starting out in quail farming
capital:
whether you starting afresh or as a poultry farmer,it important to have a rough estimate of
expenditures from day of purchase to production and then to sales
The market:
before even sourcing for the capital needed for this business, a market feasibility study
would be required to know if quail eggs are marketable in your location.any shortcoming in
the above list could lead to a waste of time and lose of capital
raising capital
the best form of loans this days are from agriculture development banks
if you don't have one in you state, you may decide to go to the particular state which this
banks are situated
or look for other means as stated below
Family relation
micro finance banks
and co operative society
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Getting started
let me help you with my story
i got it rigth by starting quail breeding on a small scale,i did this to get a better
understanding of what i was going into.
i started from the day old chicks(this will be discussed later) went to the hatchery
myself,sorry forgot to tell you i bought the eggs for the hatchery as well
after two days, i had lost 7 chicks and in the space of 10 days, 17 quail chicks were gone(i
mean dead).
i lost most of this quail birds just for two reasons i will be discussing later,sure i had other
pitfalls but gues what, you bougth this book to avoid those pitfalls
below are the maturity level of quail birds sellable in the market..generally speaking, these
are the startup points for quail breeding
1.day old
2.1 week old
3.2 weeks old
4.point of lay
Further explanation:
day old chicks are chicks hatched thesame day you purchasing them,
the good side of getting day old chicks is the cost .
day old chicks cost the lowest,but
day old chicks have high mortality rate plus the fact that you cannot tell the male to female
ratio which is a disadvantage for a new farmer
A week old:this could be the best as a new farmer in quail breeding,why ?you may not
need to heat their pen like the day old chicks,you have reduced mortality rate to about 7
percent and the only thing needed at this point is regular feeding .but the cost is always
higher than day old chicks
Two weeks old same advantage and disadvantage as a week old chicks,but again you
don't always get this kind of chicks readily available in the market
point of lay this could be the best for your business as the chicks are now mature
,mortality rate is now reduced to about 1% and you can differentiate between female and
male
QUAILBUSINESS.COM