Questions and answers on turkey raising

Media

Part of Farming and Cooperatives

Title: Questions and answers on turkey raising
Contributor: Burgos, Carlos X.
Language: English
Year: 1946
Subject: Turkeys—Philippines.; Poultry—Philippines.
Rights
Fulltext: Questions And Answers On Turkey Raising By CARLOS X. BURGOS Chief, Livestock Extension Division Bureau of Animal Industry (With the last issue we finished the domesticated turkey. In the weigh as much as 22 or 23 kilos. In with Livestock and Poultry Questions United States, they are the Mammoth color, they are black or brownishand Answers. We start with this is- Bronze, the Medium White, the black, with a copperish sheen or brilsue Questions and Answers on Tur- Bourbon Red, Narragansett, and liance. There are also narrow white key Raising. After this set, we wi// Slate. The last is a blend produced barrings on the wings, tail feathers. publish Questions and Answers on from the crossing of the Black and tail coverts, and breast. Duck Raising. Goat Raising. Rabbit White turkeys of Europe. 12 D R . . escribe the native turkey. a1sing and Fish Culture.) 7. Why do not many people rai·se Th e native turkey is very small 1. From what country did the turk~ys originate? The turkeys originated from America, where they are still found in a wild state. They were first domesticated by the Aztecs in Mexico. from which country they found their way to Spain in the 16th century and then to England. Later, turkeys were reintroduced into America from Europe as new breeds. 2. How did the name "turkey'' originate? Some believe that it originated out of the resemblance of the fowl to a Turk with his fez on, or, possibly, from the fact that the Moors known as Turks brought it to England from Spain. In Spain the turkey is known as "pavo." This fowl is related to the pheasant. 3. Where did the Philippine turkey come from? Most probably, it came from Mexico, as Spain governed the Philippines largely through that colony. turkeys in this country? compared with the Bronze. The toms Because of the general belief that weigh, on the average, 5 to 8 kilos; too much hand feeding is essential and the hens. 3 to 4 kilos. The black to the successful raising of turkeys. turkeys of Bulacan may weigh a lit8. Is that belief based on facts? tie heavier than these. The average No. Turkeys can be raised as native turkey. however, resembles the easily as chickens. In fact as to the Bronze in appearance, except that it growth of meat the turkey is a faster does not have that metallic sheen the grower than the chicken, and once latter has. it is over one month old and it gets 13. How may the ma/es be distin"'.ell accustomed to the range, espe- guished from the females? c1ally a suitable range, it is very eco- The males, even when very young. nomical and easy to raise. are usual!y larger than the females, 9. What do they like most to eat Psoecially as to size of shanks an<l in the range? body. As they grow older, their difTender grass, shoots, berries, fruits, ference in size becomes more marked grass seeds, beetles, grasshoppers, :rnd the foce caruncles of the males worms, frogs, tadpoles, and lizards. appear to be more prominent. LikeIf left to range over newly harvested wise, the fleshy appendage over the fields of palay or corn, they will pick nostril that shortens and elongates at up fallen grains and other seeds that will is much more developed in the had escaped the eye of the harvester. male than in the female. Moreover, For this reason, in Calfiornia, many only the male, when full grown, grows rice growers use turkeys to clean spurs and a tuft of tough hair over their fields after harvesting. the crop. 10. Can turkeys be raised on a As to behavior the male, when large scale in the Philippines? adult, may easily be distinguished 4. What do the census figures show about the turkey population in the Yes, and this has been done. Early from the female, especially in the in 1939, a man from Bataan who had presence of the latter by his various turkeys never raised turkeys started with a showy ways-the spreading of the tail 27,754; few dozen turkey eggs. He raised feathers into fan-shaoed forms, his Philippines? In 1903 there were 9,201 in the Philippines; in 1918, and in 1939, 43,419. his poults (young turkeys), guided strutting gait, and his long-drawn goblargely by instructions furnished by bles which he emits when hearing the Bureau of Animal Industry. By sharp and piercing sounds. The feChristmas in 1940, he had over 200 male sometimes imitates th~ strutting Bronze turkeys. In some barrios of of male, but she is a poor imitator. 5. What were the leading provinces in turkey produ;;tion according to the 1939 census? They were, together with their respective populations, as follows: a. Pampanga . . . . . . 5,586 b. Bulacan . . . . . . . 4,494 c. Negros Occidenal. 4,139 d. Nueva Ecija .... 3,883 e. Laguna . . . . . . . . 3,640 f. Pangasinan . . . . . 3.542 g. Rizal . . . . . . . . . . 3,457 h. Cebu .......... 2,928 i. Tarlac ......... 2,162 j. Iloilo . . . . . . . . . . 1,685 6. What are the most important breeds of turkeys? In Europe, they are the White Holland, a continental popular breed, and the Black Norfolk, an English breed, both of which played an important part in the development of 8 Tuguegarao, Cagayan, before the war, 14. What is a satisfactory place farmers preferred to raise turkeys in for turkeys? flocks of fifty or more. In Binango- A place that drains easily during nan and Angono, Rizal; and in Ha- the rainy weather and where no staggonoy and Paombong, Bulacan; there nant water collects. If possible, the were also many raisine; th Pm. I .ike- soil should be sandy loam if it is not wise, many farmers in Cebu City; in a rolling country. The range should Janiuay, Iloilo: and in some towns be wide and rich in green feed, tender of Occidental Negros were successful edible buds, fruits, berries, weed in raising them. seeds, grasshopners, and oth<>r insects. 11. Describe the Bronze turkeys. Wild or semi-wild surroundings with They are the largest breed of tur- no predatory animals help to reduce keys; they weigh 13.5 to 15 kilos for the cost of maintenance and to protoms and 7 to 9 kilos for hens. In the mote successful turkey production. Philippines, they weigh only 10 to 13 15. If the range is limited what is kilos for full-grown toms and 5 to 6 the best policy to lo/low? kilos for hens. Exceptionally large Divide it into at least two parts Bronze turkeys in the United States so as to rotate the range and let the plants of one part recuperate. 16. Is a house necessary in raising turkeys? It is always better to have at least a shed with one or two sides covered as protection against the prevailing winds that usually accompany heavy continuous rain. Some people raise turkeys in the open. Even in such case. however. their roosting place sho~ld be also provided with a windbre8.k against the prevailing winds which are accompanied by heavy continuous rain. 17. Are enclosures important for turkeys? Yes, when there are neighbors nearby. But where there are none or they are far away. the turkeys will do better if allowed to roam as they please in the open fields. 18. Will turkeys return to roost in the same place as cllickens do? They will; but as a precautionary measure when the flock is fairly big. a bov or some other person should herd ·them. keeping them where food is plentiful and mal..-ing sure that they are not lost ormolested. Turkeys can be easily herded in the same way as goats and sheep. But it should be remembered that they have a higher market value than the ordinary goat. 19. How many eggs do the native turkey hens lay? They lay ordinarily a clutch of 14 to 16 eggs, which may be increased when feed of better quality and greater variety is available. They lay two to three clutches a year. 20. What is the egg production of Bronze turkey hens? The Bronze turkey hens lay 16 to 20 eggs to a clutch. If the eggs laid are removed so that only one is left in the nest at a time, tbey will lay as many as 26 eggs or more to a clutch. If the nest is removed at the end of a period of a clutch, they will lay again in 10 days to 2 weeks. The average number of eggs laid in a year by a small flock of 20 hens, frequently supervised by the Bureau of Animal' Industry during 1940 and 1941, was over 90 eggs per hen. It may be stated here that this flock was fed a laying mash similar to that given to the White Leghorn commercial flock kept by the same owner. 21. Where do turkey hens prefer fo lay their eggs? shape, and color. Their eggs are large, oval. very much more pointed than the average chicken egg. whitish. and abundantly spotted with reddish brown dots. The Bronze turkey eggs are much larger and have a more prominent coloration thnn those laid by the native stock. In fact. there are times when many of the native turkey eggs are almost spotlessly white so that they may be mistaken for White Leghorn eggs. 23. How. then. may nests be placed to control egg production? Empty barreis or fairly big boxes, used as nests. may be arr2nged in dark places in the turkey house or shed. or they may be spread and fairiv concealed among the shrubbery. ft is in1portant, however, to visit such places daily to collect the eggs, or if other nests are put in other places they should be protected against rain or against attack by pigs or any other predatory 2nimals. 24. Ho\r.1 n1ay tl1e eggs be collected without disturbing the hen? This may be done by first locating the nesting pl>ice of the hen at a distar.ce early in the morning. When the place is located, one shoul9 wait un~i! the hen leaves. It is easy to tell when she leaves. because she continually calls out the flock to know its whereabouts. The gobblers, as soon as they hear her calL will inform her of their whereabouts by their typical answer call. 25. Whal is the procedure in collecting the e1Uis? An egg should be dated as soon as it is laid, and the egg last laid is left in the nest, unless there are available China eggs or other artificial eggs which should, of course, be left in the nests. 26. Are turkey eggs as palatable £1.S chi~lcen eggs? Yes. If the turkeys have continuous access to a laying mash or are fed daily with a grain mixture, the fresh eggs laid by them cannot be distinguished from chicken eggs except for their larger size. Older eggs, kept away from feeds or other products emitting odors which may be absorbed by eggs, will have the same flavor as chic!<cn eggs similarly kept. 27. How many eggs may be set under a turkey hen? Generally, about 15 turkey eggs. If there are broody chicken hens at They prefer to lay them in nests that are well concealed and difficult to find. In fact, whenever they lay, they leave their roost early in the noming and go quietly direct to their lests. 22. Describe their eggs, as to size, - the time the turkey hen sits, as many as nine eggs may be set under each of these hens. When the poults hatch they may all be given to the turkey hen. On the seventh day after the rARMING AND COOPERATIVES infertile or dead germ eggs have beer removed, two or three chicken egg! shoulct be included to hatch. The rea· son for this will be explained later Oider large turkey hens that havE proved to be good mothers may bE given as many as twenty eggs, bul their nests should be well made. 23. What is the incubation perioc of turkey eggs? The incubnion period of turkey eggs is 28 days. This is the reasor '"·by chicken eggs, to be incubatec with turkey eggs, are included afte1 the 7th day of incubation, for both ki•!cls of eggs lo hatch at the sam~ time. 29. l·Vhaz is the reason for includ· in!:! a few chickens eggs with the turhc.v eggs? To have chicks in the sGme hatch tc:at will teach the poults to eat. C!!icks readily learn to eat he mash feed placed before them and the i:oults try to imitate whatever thE• chic''s do. 30. Wli.•i precautions should be taken in setting eggs under turkey h'::n.-o;? The sam·~ prec'1utions taken with c!:jcJ.:ens. Se~ to it that tl1e n1.:sting macerial is sufficiently thick and that tl:e n0st is w€!l1 m2de. That the hen in alip.;bi:ir:g on itS nest does not break ~ny egg. That the necessary measures are taken to get rid of lice and rnitc:; before p~acing the eggs under ?r.cub:'ltion. 1'hHt steps are taken to p;·otect egg~ from ants. crows. snakes. rats. and such other animals that may cau~e disturbance to the sitting hen. 3 1. TV hat months are most favorable for raising poults? In places where weather conditions are similar to those in Manila, incubation may be started as early as the middle of October and as late as the midctle of January. 32. What is the reason for this? Generally, the conditions in these parts of the year are more favorable for raising poults. From November onward, there are longer spells of good weather. Green, especially tender greens, are easily available, end there are usually plenty of insects. Continuous rainy weather and coarse pasture feeds are not favornble to turkey production. The period for raising young turkeys, however, could be extended if in spite of adverse weather conditions, they could be properly sheltered and given tender green forage. 33. Can turkey eggs be hatched under artificial incubation? Yes, but to be successful in ordi( C1,,1ti11111'1/ ,,,, pt191· 17) 9 Questions And ... t Cr111ti11111·1i fr''"' p11g1· Q) nary incubators it is necessary that only turkey eggs of the same size be set and that the bulb of the thermometu be placed on the same le\•el with the uppermost portion of the eggs. All other factors to be considered, such as age of eggs, moisture, and heat should be. the same as those for chicken eggs. 34. What is the best ratio of toms to hens? Use one vigorous tom for as many as ten hens in small flocks. In large flocks use one tom for every 6 to 8 hens. 35. What is the percentage of fertility in turkey eggs? Usually. it is 90'; to 100';, which is higher than the percentage in chicken eggs, but sometimes all the eggs in a clutch are infertile. 36. Why is this so? It appears that a successful breeding is sufficient to fertilize the whole clutch of eggs. However, when one tom is too big and heavy for the hens or if other toms continually interfere during mating, the turkey hen lays infertile eggs. 37. How many turkeys can be reised in a hectare of pasture land? It is from 20 to 30 hens, depending on the luxuriance of plant growth, and on the number of toms to be used. If most of the food, however, can be given in well-balanced con..:entrated feed mixtures, even 500 turk~~-~!!Y.. b«:.!~!!~_per .hectare. Albay B. P. ! .... ( Co11Ji111(1'(( from page 16) the afternoon. In one of these experiments conducted on the 15 cavans seedlings of Tomas Alianza of Bagumbayan, Legasoi. Mr. Ilagan found the seedbeds studded with cracks or slits where the worms absconded. Broadcasting of the compound was accomplished around 6: 30 p.m. but on account of these slits which practically sheltered the pet peeve of the farmers, success was about 80% only. Several kilos of white arsenic have been requisitioned from the Manila office of the Bureau of Plant Industry and with the farmers themselves ready and willing to furnish the ricebran, it would ·not be amiss to avert that this simple mixture may prove a real substitute for calcium arsenate in subjugating the rice cut- and armyworms that today are proving real thorns on the side of the rice planters. FARMING AND COOPERATIVES JVITH OUR •TENANTSJ New American Farm Machinery Will Help Farmers Everywhere Br IL\1rn1.D FA1R Ri·11frr.,·· Spc·(illl :'\Ew YORK, June b (Reuter)-:\""" iarm m;h .. ·hincry dl':-:.ignl'd in the l'Xperinwnrnl \nlrbhop:< oi the l' nited State; Gu\'crnml·nt's ·rt'nnl':'"l'l' \"allry Authority projrt·t. a ::'7~0.000.000 hrdro-cl,·ctril' po\\-l'r and flood l'ontrol den_·lopnwnt. will lwneiit farmers thrmq.dttout the world. ·rhe Ill'\\- machinl·ry is heing made :ffailahle for rnanufacturcr lw conunercial con\.'.'ern:', much of it con:-<iderrcl useful for increasing food production in Eurup<' and ihia. The L: nit~d ;\at ions Rcli .. i and R .. hahilitation Admini>traIt should be remembered that th" more birds there are, the more shoots, buds, fruits, and insects are needed for feed every day. 38. Give a poult mash feed mixture. Mix the following according to weight: 3 parts, first-ciass tiki-tiki 2 parts, finely-ground yellow corn part, finely-ground mango (or soybean oil meal) 1 part, binlid 1 part, fish meal (or shrimp meal or meat meal) To every 100 kilos of the abovegiven mixture add 3 kilosof finelyground oyster or clam shells and }~ kilo of salt. 39. When should the leedins ol poults start? 1'he feeding of poults should start 36 to 48 hours after hatching. Like chicks there is sufficient food in their bodies to keep them from getting hungry. 40. Where is the mash feed placed when aiven to the poults? On the second and third days small amounts of poult feed may be spread over clean newspaper or other clean surface or directly in the feed trough. From the fourth day on, the feed should be given in the trough and it should be either dry or in moist form but never wet. If moist, the amount should be such that the poults may clear in 15 minutes; they should be fed every three hours. Larger amounts if not consumed are liable to spoil and do harm. (To br rr111/i1111rd) (.'f1rrn-po11dt'11/ lion has or<lrrrd 500 units of a new thrc:-;hing- machine for U"'l' in Central Europe. J\notiH"l" 250 units ha\"c hecn nrdnc<l lw South American burer>. .\lodcl; of the machinery h:{ve been placcil on public exhibition for manufacturer:-.' in:-;pn:tion and some are on fartor\' :t:'st·mhh- line:-;. '"l'he lll'W <lcYdop11w1;t> \\ill h;·lp farn1e1-,; thrr:<h \\·heat mill ilour. drr hay, irri~atr fields and ;-;hell pranuts. One 111ad1inr rn11'idercd ,uitablc for l; :'\ R RJ\ and South Americ·an use is a trailer thrl':<hcr. It can lw to\\Td behind an autonwhilr from onr <mall hill field to anothl"r ancl thn·slH·s-\\ idr Yarictr of ;!rains. :\ frcd .!!rindl"r ha::-; been de\·rloprd to meet th!' needs of the small farm. It wri!!h!:' only -J.i pounds exclu~i\"e of hopper motor and control :1ttad1nwnt ;1utomaticall~- rq .. !ulates the flo"of grain into the mill and does not require the con":'tant atkndanre ·of .the farmer. 'frsts ha,·e shown this mill ran grind all the g-rain required durin.:! the year for an an·rngc size farm. A Ill"\\" machine also ha:< hrrn dn-iscd to scarifr sel'<i>-to hreak the hard seed roating 'to speed gcnnin.ation. Laboratory expcrimrnts show 85 to 90 per cent of bmh dm·rr :<ced \\·ill ~erminate within 21 day:< if it ha:< been :<carilied. Only 20 per cent of the uns~arificd seed~ g-erminate in he same period. J)rin~n I)\" a onc-horsepo"·rr motor the machine. con:<ists of an abrasi,·c disc and fan. It ha:< a capacity of 200 to 300 pounds oi seed> per hour. A spri.:ial peanut harvester i:::- tractordr:nn1 and equipped with a series of moving forks that pull the peanuts krour;<l nut>) from the ground, shake the dirt from them and throw them into loose ro\\'s for effective drying. One man can operate this harvester and lw working two rows at a time can puil and shake 15 to 30 acres of peanuts a day. Another Ill"\\' devise i> a portable :<prinkler for irrigation. !t consists of a motor-driven pump, a series of sprinklers nnd durable lig:htweig:ht pipe with connections that can he rcadill' detached so distribution lines can be easilv moved from one place to another over ti1e fields. 17