Is a turkey a pet? Turkey themed activity

Turkeys are the largest domestic birds. The weight of turkeys reaches 9 kg, and turkeys - up to 16 or more. This domesticated bird is descended from the gobbler, a wild American turkey. Among the Aztecs, under Emperor Montezuma, turkeys and dogs were the only domesticated animals.

Since 1985, roast turkey has become a ritual Christmas dish on the English table. For four centuries, the favorite bird of the Indian emperor Montezuma conquered the whole world. Turkeys are bred everywhere up to the Far North. The unhurried behavior of this bird has even become part of proverbs and sayings. They say: swaggering like a turkey, puffed up like a turkey, dressed up like a turkey, stupid like a turkey, etc. Although why does he need intelligence with such and such beauty?

In terms of early maturity, turkeys are superior to geese and ducks, and their meat is excellent, dietary and very healthy, especially for children and the elderly. Modern technologies for industrial intensive breeding of broiler turkey poults make it possible to fatten young animals up to 3-4 months of age for meat.

Turkeys begin to breed at one year of age. Up to 90 eggs are obtained from one bird per year. Turkeys lay intensively for only three years.

Despite its wide distribution, not very many turkey breeds have been bred - just over a dozen.

Photos of turkeys

Among all representatives of galliform birds, turkeys are considered the largest. The closest relatives of turkeys are pheasants and peacocks. Many of us know turkeys well as poultry with delicious meat. Let's look at what types of turkeys are found in nature, what they eat, how and where they live, and let's start...

... From the outside. Turkeys have a small head, but their body is very powerful. The weight of an adult male turkey can reach from 5 to 11 kilograms, the females of these birds are several times smaller: only from 3 to 5.5 kilograms.

In terms of body type, turkeys resemble peacocks: in addition to the size of their head and body, they also have a long neck. Turkeys have an impressive beak, and most importantly, durable. Just like many representatives of the order Galliformes, turkeys are naturally endowed with all kinds of decorations: earrings and other leathery outgrowths. It is worth noting that turkeys have plenty of unfeathered areas of skin on their bodies.

There are two types of turkeys in nature: common and ocellated. The difference between these species is both in the color scheme of the plumage and in size. As for habitats, both of these species are residents of America. But it is worth clarifying that the ocellated turkey inhabits territories from Mexico to Guatemala, and its relative on the continent prefers more northern zones (Canada).

The ocellated turkey has a blue coloration in the non-feathered areas of the body, while in the common turkey these areas are colored pink. Turkeys have decent-sized wings, the feathers of which are very long and strong. The limbs of both species are elongated and thin, decorated with spurs.

Their large mass makes these animals slightly clumsy, so they prefer to move on the ground. It is extremely rare to see a turkey flying, although it is worth noting that this bird flies much better than peacocks and pheasants. Flight is used only in exceptional cases: to hide from the enemy. But turkeys run great, it is not difficult for them to reach speeds of up to 30 km/h, and if a completely hopeless situation arises, and life depends on speed, then these wild chickens accelerate to 50 km/h.

Listen to the voice of a turkey

These birds have a whole sound palette that allows them to communicate with each other. In a calm environment, these are melodic sounds, and in case of danger, the turkeys begin to cluck nervously. By the way, this very clucking is used by females to communicate with their offspring. As mating season approaches, male turkeys make a gurgling sound to attract a female to mate.

Wild turkeys are primarily herbivorous birds. Their diet consists of grass, seeds, juniper berries, and shrub berries. But sometimes these birds diversify their daily diet with animal food: snakes, toads, insects, lizards and frogs.

Reproduction occurs once a year, in the spring months. Egg incubation lasts about a month. One female can have from 10 to 14 eggs in a nest. They are colored yellowish with red patches. Wild turkey chicks that are born can become victims of dangerous predators: pumas, foxes, owls, raccoons, rats, snakes, etc. Turkey meat is very tasty, so it is not surprising that it has so many natural enemies. People are not far behind wild predators: in order to pamper themselves with game, people organize real raids on the places where turkeys live.

Turkeys are bred less often in private backyards than chickens and ducks. However, they are currently a fairly popular bird. Of course, many summer residents are concerned about the question of how turkey was domesticated, as well as about its currently available varieties. There are actually many breeds of this bird.

Origin of Turkey

The ancestors of these modern domestic birds were wild individuals living in Africa, Mexico and North America. Most of them are very large turkeys with long legs, short wings and a tail. They were called that for the same reason as the American Indians. Even today, wild animals are considered game birds and hunted for their tasty meat. These birds were originally brought to Spain (in 1519) from America. Therefore, they are often called “Spanish chickens”.

Ancient turkeys

Thus, the American and African origin of the turkey is beyond doubt. But when were these birds first domesticated? Recently, scientists in the USA and Canada conducted a DNA study of turkey bones found at archaeological sites dating back to 2 thousand BC. e. and ending with the 18th century. As a result, it was revealed that they were first domesticated back in 800-100. BC e. The bones of these birds are found on the territory of ancient settlements in Mexico and Nicaragua. Scientists also came to the conclusion that many of their breeds were bred in Central and South America independently of each other.

Wild turkeys: description

The progenitors of this one lay about 20 eggs, and do this right on the ground. An interesting feature of such a bird as the wild turkey (photo below) is that the males sometimes join the herd of domestic individuals. In this case, very viable and hardy offspring are obtained.

So, we have found out the origin of turkey. Next, we will consider what features characterize the most popular varieties of these poultry.

White broad-breasted

This variety of turkey was developed in the United States in the 60s. The starting breeds were White Dutch and Bronze Broadbreasted. These turkeys were brought to our country in 1970 from the English River Rest farm. Based on the white broad-breasted, three crosses were obtained - medium, light and heavy. The latter can weigh approximately 5.2 kg already at the age of 13 weeks. The average body weight reaches 4.1 kg, and the light body weight reaches 3.5 kg. Adult heavy-cross turkeys can weigh 20-25 kg, turkeys - 11 kg. The average weight is 15-17 kg and 6-7 kg, respectively; the light weight is 9 kg and 5.5 kg. From one turkey you can get 80-90 pieces per year.

Cross big 6

This is one of the most popular breeds at the moment. Its main advantages are early maturity, high weight and very good reproductive ability. Big 6 (turkey) is a bird bred on farms in England. Males of this cross can gain weight up to 22-25 kg, and females up to 11 kg. Both are distinguished by their white coloration with a black tuft on the chest. A distinctive feature of this breed is that thirty percent of the weight of the bird carcass falls on the breast. Turkeys stop growing at 90-100 days of age. By this time they are completely ready for slaughter.

Station wagon breed

These birds are well muscled and have white plumage. Adult turkeys weigh 6.5 kg, and females 4.76 kg. One hen can hatch and feed up to 61 turkey chicks. The station wagon has gained popularity among farmers not because it quickly gains weight - it does this slower than many other crosses - but because it does not require artificial insemination to hatch chicks. The cross is a two-line cross, obtained from crossing Y2 males with Y1 females. He was bred by the North Caucasian ZOSP.

Bronze broad-breasted

Turkey chickens of this breed are popular primarily due to their heavy weight. In males it can reach 15-18 kg, in females 10-11 kg. There are cases when the weight of birds of this breed reached 30 kg. However, of course, not everyone will be able to raise such a turkey. To achieve such a result, you need to spend a huge amount of feed.

Another quality that makes a bird like the bronze broad-breasted turkey (photo below) popular among farmers is its high egg production - up to 120 pcs. in year. Of these, more than 80% of the eggs are fertilized. In this case, the yield of cubs during incubation is 70-75%. Turkeys of this breed are distinguished by simply remarkable maternal qualities. Sometimes even chicken, goose or duck eggs are placed under them.

What is the origin of the turkey of this breed, remarkable in its qualities? The bronze broad-chested was bred in America. The parent breeds were black English and American turkeys.

Moscow white

This is a Russian turkey - a bird bred by the Berezki state farm in the Moscow Region by crossing Dutch, Moscow bronze and local white turkeys. Its main advantages are considered to be high egg production, tasty meat and neat presentation of the carcass. The weight of males can reach 12.5 kg, females - 7 kg. So far, this breed is not very widespread in our country and is used mainly as a gene pool for creating high-performance crosses.

North Caucasian breed

There are only three varieties of this breed - silver, bronze and white. The first one has the greatest weight. Silver North Caucasian males can increase body weight up to 15 kg, turkeys - up to 7 kg. White birds reach weights of 12 and 7 kg, respectively, and bronze ones - 14 and 8 kg.

Tikhoretskaya black

This variety was bred in the Krasnodar region through long-term selection of local black turkeys. It was first described in 1958. Turkeys have black plumage and a strong build. These are very active birds, in addition to pasture breeding, they are also adapted to cage rearing.

Virginia breed

These turkeys were bred in Holland back in the 18th century. Even then they were valued for their tasty meat and high egg production. The breed's qualities were improved through selection for weight and broad chest. Crossings were also carried out with other varieties, in particular with the bronze broad-breasted. At the moment, the Virginian breed is distinguished by its pure white plumage and heavy weight.

Well, now you know what the origin of the turkey bird is. It lives in the wild in America and Africa. Having domesticated the turkey, people bred a huge number of its breeds, distinguished by their large weight and high fertility. Of course, for a personal household or farm, it is better to choose those birds that are well adapted to survival in this particular region.

We weren’t immediately at home as we are now. Therefore, from the beginning I would like to talk about the history of the “domestication” of turkeys. This was done by the ancient Maya tribe. Turkeys were brought to Europe sometime between 1530-1532. It is known for sure that in the 17th century they were already very actively bred on the Lower Rhine. Nowadays, turkeys are very common poultry and a fairly large number of breeds have been bred, the maximum weight of which reaches 20-25 kilograms. That is why this bird was given the title of “the largest poultry.”

Breeding domestic turkeys.

Main breeds of turkeys.

Today there are a very large number of turkey breeds. Let's consider the most popular:

Bronze breed of turkeys.

Bronze turkeys are a light breed type. The average live weight of adult turkeys is 7-8 kilograms, and females 5-6 kilograms. Egg production can range from 50-100 eggs per year. More details: " ".

Moscow bronze breed of turkeys.

Bronze broad-chested breed.

Moscow white breed of turkeys.

Moscow white turkeys have become a real achievement of domestic breeders. The average live weight of adult birds - turkeys is 12-13 kilograms, and turkeys - 5-7 kilograms. Turkey poults at 17 weeks of age weigh 5-6 kilograms. Egg production is 100 eggs per year. Read more «

Homemade turkey (Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus, 1758; male name - turkey, chickens - turkey poults; outdated Russian name for domestic turkeys - Indian chickens) is one of the common species of poultry from the order Galliformes, which originates from the common turkey.

Origin and history of domestication

Domestication of the common turkey took place in the New World, where indigenous people domesticated the wild turkey long before the Europeans discovered America. In 1519, turkeys were brought to Spain (hence another, outdated, name - “ spanish chickens"), and after 5 years they spread to France, England and throughout Europe. Another early name for turkey is " turkish chickens", which is assigned to the bird in English ( "Turkey").

Appearance

Turkeys are the second largest poultry after ostriches. The live weight of adult turkeys is 9-35 kg, turkeys 4.5-11 kg.

They have strong long legs and a wide tail. There are characteristic skin formations (“corals”) on the head and neck; a fleshy appendage hangs from the upper part of the beak of males, reaching 12-15 cm during the period of excitement of the bird. The plumage can be white, bronze, black and others, depending on the breed and variety.

Breeding and maintenance

Turkeys in general, and especially young ones, are very sensitive to cold and dampness, and therefore their breeding on private farms is successful only in warm and temperate, drier climates, where in winter they can be kept in well-caulked, although not heated, protected poultry houses. from the northern winds. On the south side of the poultry house, in the wall at a height of 10-15 cm from the floor, manholes are made for the birds to exit the room. The yard near the poultry house where turkeys are released should be as spacious as possible, since turkeys, like geese, love space and without walking the health of this bird cannot be guaranteed.

Since turkeys have not lost the ability to fly, they either have their wings clipped (more appropriate), or make high houses, or keep them indoors.

Since turkeys have a quarrelsome nature, no more than 30-35 females with 3-4 males should be placed in each section of the poultry house (8-12 females are considered per turkey).

In the poultry house, at a height of 90-100 cm from the floor, a perch is made of wooden blocks 73 mm thick and wide (per head) and the width between the bars is 35-40 cm. Nests for turkeys are installed in the following dimensions: width - 60 cm, depth - 60 cm, height - 60 cm, threshold height - 15 cm. There are five laying hens per nest.

A turkey over five years old and a turkey four years old are not suitable for breeding.

In industrial conditions, keeping turkeys and raising young animals is carried out mainly in large, windowless poultry houses (with controlled microclimate and lighting) on ​​litter or in cages.