When artificially hatching turkey eggs, it is important to properly prepare the material, place it in an incubator, adjust the modes and monitor the development of the embryo. If you make at least one mistake - great rice to lose the entire bookmark. Further in the article all the rules and principles for successful incubation of turkey eggs are detailed.
Selection of turkey breed for incubation
In order to get the maximum profit from turkey breeding, it is important to choose a breed with optimally suitable productivity.
Experienced poultry farmers recommend choosing one of the following breeds:
- North Caucasian Bronze. This is one of the most popular breeds of turkeys. Adult turkeys gain weight up to 15 kg, turkeys - up to 8 kg. A turkey carries up to 80 eggs per year.
- Bronze broad-chested. This popular meat breed is similar to North Caucasian turkeys. Weight of turkeys - 19 kg, turkeys - 12 kg. Egg production - 100-120 pieces per year.
- Station wagon. The breed is characterized by rapid mass gain. Weight of turkeys - 10 kg, turkeys - up to 18 kg. Egg production - 60-70 pieces per year.
- Moscow white. Highly productive breed, easily adapt to different weather conditions. Weight of turkeys - 8 kg, turkeys - up to 16 kg. Egg production - up to 100 pieces per year.
More about breeds of turkeys suitable for home breeding is described in the article, which is located here.
It is also important for a successful incubation how healthy the laying hen is - genetically and physiologically, because the quality of the eggs selected for hatching depends on this. When choosing eggs for divorce, they are taken from laying hens that differ in such parameters:
- wide breasts;
- massive hips;
- straight and powerful legs;
- long and straight keel;
- healthy eyes - they should be rounded, with clearly defined edges.
Features of incubators for the conclusion of turkey poults
With the natural removal of turkey poults - under a turkey, hatchability is higher than in an incubator. But if the purpose of hatching is to sell, then only an incubator can provide a large number of individuals.
An incubator is an apparatus inside which, thanks to heating and thermal insulation, maintains stable temperature and humidity. All incubators act the same, but their design may vary.
By the type of heating, incubators are distinguished:
- Top-heated. This option is closer to natural hatching - the hen sits on top of the eggs, and the embryo is located in the upper part of the egg. But technically, such a design is not rational - warm air rising upward is vented out.
- With bottom heating. Warm air rises only after it warms up the eggs. This method is more economical than the previous one.
The incubation problem is uneven heating. To avoid this, you have to turn the eggs. There are incubators with the following types of flipping:
- With automatic. A convenient but expensive option. Eggs roll over without human intervention - according to the established program.
- With mechanical. There is a rotary mechanism, which is activated by mechanical force - by pressing the lever.
- With manual. Eggs have to be turned over manually. This option is time consuming.
According to the purpose, incubators are distinguished:
- industrial - for large farms, designed for thousands of eggs;
- farmer - up to 5,000 eggs;
- household - up to 300 eggs.
An important disadvantage of network incubators is the risk of power outages. The consequence of this situation is the death of eggs. By the type of power, the devices are distinguished:
- No additional power source. They operate from a 220 V network. If current disappears in the network, the devices are turned off. Thanks to thermal insulation, the temperature is kept for some time, but not for long.
- Standalone. Along with mains power, there is a 12 V battery - such devices operate smoothly.
Selection of suitable eggs and their storage
You can not lay eggs in an incubator without prior selection - there will be a very large percentage of marriage. For incubation, eggs are taken:
- fertilized;
- weighing 80 g, in some breeds - 90 g;
- without shell defects, without sagging, cracks, inclusions;
- with a white, beige or slightly brownish shell.
They select eggs that correspond to standard parameters - discard spherical specimens, too small and too large, with green or blue spots.
For the incubator, eggs of the same size are selected. All selected eggs are subjected to ovoscopy (transmission). Turkey eggs are stored for no more than 10 days. If you hold the eggs longer, hatchability worsens.
Dependence of hatchability on egg storage duration:
Duration, day | Percentage of hatchability,% |
5 | 85 |
10 | 73 |
15 | 62 |
20 | 54 |
25 | 0 |
In the room where the incubation material is stored, the conditions are maintained:
- temperature - 8-12 ° C;
- humidity - 80%;
- lack of light.
When the eggs are in storage, they are turned over - at least once every 4 days.
Incubation rules
Incubation of turkey eggs is carried out in compliance with the following parameters:
- temperature inside the incubator;
- humidity and ventilation;
- Frequency of turning, cooling and spraying.
The peculiarity of incubation of turkey eggs is the high frequency of turning over, it is higher than when breeding chickens, ducklings and goslings.
Incubator preparation
Before laying eggs, prepare an incubator:
- The day before the start of incubation, the apparatus is cleaned, washed, and disinfected. Pure unfiltered water is poured into the water tank.
- Half an day before laying eggs, the incubator is heated to 38-38.3 ° C. Humidity is adjusted to 60-65%.
In simple models, you have to use thermometers - at least two, they are placed at a distance of 2 cm from the eggs. More advanced incubators have built-in temperature sensors that display information on the control panel.
Egg preparation and laying
Features of the preparation and laying of eggs:
- 24 hours before the start of incubation, the eggs are warmed to room temperature.
- Cleaned of dirt by wiping with a cloth soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide.
- On two sides put different labels - for example, "+" and "-". They mark eggs if they have to be turned over manually - labels help to turn them over correctly.
- In the apparatus with automatic turning, eggs are laid so that the sharp end looks down at an angle of 45 degrees. In apparatuses of another type - with manual and mechanical turning, the eggs are laid horizontally.
- The first time the eggs are turned over 12 hours after the start of the incubation. Next, the eggs are turned over with a frequency of once every 3-6 hours. The spaces between flips should be the same.
Video review of the preparation and laying of eggs in the incubator:
Embryo developmental stages
There are four stages of incubation:
- From 1 to 8 days, the circulatory system is formed. The germ is in the yolk. At this stage, it is important to turn the eggs, otherwise the embryo sticks to the shell and dies.
- From 8 to 14 days. By the 14th day, if the embryo develops normally, allantois - the respiratory organ of the fetus, closes.
- From 15 to 24-25 days. Embryos consume oxygen from the environment.
- From day 25 - a bite.
Transmission at different stages
In order to discard low-quality eggs in time, they are periodically translucent. Ovoscopy procedure:
Duration, day | What is visible? | Which eggs are rejected? |
8 | Assessment of the state of embryos. With the normal development of the embryo, you can see the circulatory system and the air chamber located at the blunt edge. The embryo is not yet visible - it is in the yolk. | Unfertilized and with a blood ring around the yolk. |
13 | At this point, allontois is already closing. The embryo is visible as a dark spot. The vascular network is visible. | With the absence of blood vessels. If only a dark spot is visible, dangling and loose, the embryo is dead. |
26 | A healthy germ takes up the whole egg. The whole space is dark, only the air chamber is visible - its borders are uneven and mobile. You can see the movement, protrusion of the neck. | If there is no movement, the development of the embryo has stopped. Also, the small size of the embryo and the absence of blood vessels in the translucent areas indicate growth arrest. |
In addition to transillumination, they also measure the temperature of the shell:
- Up to 13 days - 37.6-38 ° C.
- From 14 to 20 - 38-38.5 ° C.
- After 20 - 39 ° C.
Table of regimes for the entire incubation period
The temperature and humidity maintained in the incubator adjusts to the temperature of the body of the turkey hatching the chicks.
The incubation modes of turkey eggs:
Stage | Days of incubation, days | Temperature ° C | Humidity% |
1 | 1-8 | 38-38,3 | 60-65 |
2 | 8-14 | 37,6-38 | 40-45 |
3 | 15-24 | 37,5-38 | 60-65 |
4 | 24-27 | 37 | 65-70 |
Incubation Dates
The incubation duration is 27 days. The first bites appear on the 25-26th day. And by the end of the 27th day the chicks are massively hatched. Duration of excretion is 6-8 hours.
Do not often open the incubator to see how hatching is going on - wet chicks can be cold. Hatched turkeys should dry, and only then can they be removed from the incubator.
If hatching is delayed, and after some hours some chicks do not appear, it is recommended to make two notches - when the first batch of chicks dries and then those who are late get out.
Incubation Features
With the development of the embryos, the conditions of excretion also change:
- 1 to 8 day it is important to turn the eggs on time. Do at least 6 turns.
- 8 to 14 day. Eggs continue to turn over 6 times a day. Starting from the 10th day, the incubator is aired and cooled - 2 times a day for 5-10 minutes.
- 15 to 24-25 days. Now 4 flips are enough. They monitor the humidity and temperature conditions - the eggs should not dry out or overheat. Increase humidity in the incubator. The apparatus is regularly ventilated - the embryos consume oxygen from the air, it is necessary to ensure the flow of fresh streams. The incubator is aired and cooled 4 times for 10-15 minutes.
- 25-27 day. It is not necessary to air and turn the eggs. The temperature is reduced - the chicks must get used to environmental conditions.
During incubation, ventilation works - in the apparatus for this purpose there are ventilation openings blocked by moving partitions. The frequency of opening partitions depends on the design of the apparatus.
The whole process of breeding turkey poults in an incubator is presented by the breeder in the video below:
The process of hatching and subsequent care for turkey poults
When hatching begins, fresh air must enter the incubator. But drafts are excluded - chicks can catch a cold and die. While the process lasts, you should not look into the incubator so that the wet turkey poults do not get too cold - because of the cold air entering the incubator when the lid is opened.
Most turkey pork at one time. The interval between the first and last hatched is a day or more. During mass biting, the temperature is lowered to 37 ° C.
The first two weeks are the most difficult. It is important to arrange ideal conditions for turkey poults:
- Hatched chicks are placed in a box with a heating pad. They lay the fabric at the bottom. The optimum temperature is 35 ° C.
- From 6 to 10 days, the temperature is lowered to 30 ° C.
- By day 30, the optimum temperature is 20 ° C
Aviary of turkey poultry is allowed on the 10th day.
The shell remaining after hatching is boiled for 20 minutes and fed to turkey poults. These chicks need more care than other poultry. For 9 weeks they are kept warm, feeding with highly digestible fortified foods with a high protein content.
On the first day, turkeys are fed only boiled eggs mixed with wheat or corn flour. When the chicks turn one week old, the egg is removed from the diet.
In the first two weeks, turkey poults are fed:
- onion feathers;
- grated carrots;
- millet;
- low fat cottage cheese;
- corn grits;
- nettle and dandelion.
From the 15th day, the turkeys are given boiled and finely ground offal.
Near the feeders put trays of chalk, fine gravel, shells. First, turkey poults are fed with an interval of 3 hours. Over time, the number of feeds decreases.
If the chicks do not have a mother mother, they have to learn to eat - they tap their finger on a bowl of food. By dipping beaks of turkey poults into water, they are taught to drink.
In the first few hours, poultry farmers give the turkeys glucose and vitamin C diluted in water. Potassium permanganate is added to drinking water - for disinfection.
Newbie Common Mistakes
Beginners often make mistakes when incubating turkey eggs:
- Low temperature. Delays hatching. Turkeys are born weakened, inactive, swelling on the head and neck.
- Egg overheating. Hatching begins earlier than expected. Poultry are born underdeveloped. Their yolk sac is usually not pulled in and the internal organs sag.
- Waterlogging. Hatching is delayed. Chicks, not getting out of the shell, can be choked with amniotic fluid. Chicks are born weak, fluff is dirty, sticky.
- Dryness. The egg mass is reduced. Chicks hatch ahead of time, small-sized turkeys, weak.
- Lack of turning over. The embryos dry to the shell and die. If you rarely turn the eggs over, the majority of the chicks die, the rest are born with defects, sick, weakened.
Joint incubation
The reasons why turkey eggs are allowed to be raised together with chicken:
- The eggs of hens and turkeys are almost the same size. Moreover, they do not look like at all - in the incubator you will not confuse them.
- The modes of hatching chicken and turkey eggs - temperature, humidity and timing of exposure, are almost identical.
Incubation of chickens and turkeys differs in the number of turns - turkey eggs have to be turned more often. And chicken need daily ventilation from the 11th day.
Chickens hatch on the 21st day, and turkey poults one week after the chickens.
When there is a joint incubation with chickens, there is a negative point - in recent days, chicken eggs need to provide high humidity - 80%, and it can adversely affect the development of poultry. It is advisable for such a case to have a second incubator, where the eggs are placed, which are the first in the line for hatching.
Together with turkeys, goose eggs can also be hatched. They have identical temperature conditions and the number of turns is the same. Geese hatch 1-3 days later than turkey poults. On the 28th day they increase the humidity - so that the goslings hatch, but this increase will not harm the poults, as they will have hatched by this time.
Advantages and disadvantages of removing turkey poultry in an incubator
Benefits of using an incubator:
- the possibility of simultaneously obtaining a large number of turkey poults;
- thanks to a large selection of incubator models, each farmer can choose the option to suit his needs;
- the cost of incubators is relatively small, and the gain in free time is enormous.
Disadvantages of incubators:
- if the device is volatile, does not have an autonomous energy source, there is a risk of death of the eggs - all or a significant part of it, when the power is cut off;
- the need for disinfection of the device.
The key to successful removal of turkey poults is the correct selection of the incubator and compliance with the incubation regime at all stages of the process. But breeding chicks is half the battle, it is important to preserve the young, and for this the maximum attention and care will be required from the poultry farmer.
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