Part 8

Wire floors may be used, as described, in the alleyways of roosting shelters to provide a place for inside feeding and watering and may also be used in the outside yards when close-confinement rearing is practiced. A practical method of construction is to make the floor in removable sections, each about 5 feet square. The framework should be made of 2 by 4's placed on edge, with the top edge beveled to present about three-fourths inch of surface; the center supports may be of 1 by 4's, also placed on edge, spaced 12 to 16 inches apart, and laid lengthwise of the alleyway (fig. 19). This frame should be covered with 1-inch hexagonal, 16-gage wire mesh or chain-link fabric wire. Hardware cloth in a 1-inch mesh made of 14-gage wire is perhaps more satisfactory and will last longer, but the first cost would be greater. The wire may be fastened with eight-penny nails and 1-inch staples alternated, one for each strand of wire, but fastened only to the top or sides of the 2- by 4-inch framework, not to the center supports. The sections should be set loosely in the alleyway and held 1 inch apart by nails driven into the sides of the framework. Supports made of either 2 by 4 or 2 by 6 inch material should be placed on both sides of the alleyway, directly under the outer framework of the floor panels, and blocked up so as to hold the floor frames 1 foot above the ground.

Since hen turkeys fly well, it is sometimes difficult to keep them in their runways. Clipping the large outer feathers (called primaries) of one wing will do much to prevent the turkeys from flying, but it is usually necessary to put a 3- or 4-foot guard made of 1 by 4 or 2 by 2 inch material and lightweight poultry wire around the edge of the roof of the roosting shelters, on gates, and on the fences themselves for 2 or 3 rods out from the buildings. Whenever practicable, these "antiflies" should be slanted in toward the yard (figs. 16 and 20). Clipping the wings of the toms is undesirable and is usually unnecessary when antiflies are properly constructed.

A 5-foot fence is usually high enough to confine turkeys, except near buildings and over gates, where the fence should be 8 or 9 feet high. Even a 4-foot fence has been reported as satisfactory by some growers. Steel posts and square-mesh poultry fencing of full standard weight make good turkey fences.

PROTECTION AGAINST DOGS

Dogs cause heavy losses among turkeys in many localities. Turkey houses must be well constructed to exclude dogs. Wire of 16-gage to 18-gage weight is necessary, and it must be very tightly nailed. The 16-gage weight should be used for the outside of buildings where it comes close to the ground. Confining the turkeys to their shelters all night and through the early morning hours is frequently a necessary precaution unless an attendant is present or protection is afforded by a good watchdog. Fences for confining poultry are not always entirely dog-proof. High roosts, provided by some growers, give protection at night, but in the early morning hours when the turkeys are off the roosts, an attendant should be in the vicinity. Feeding the flock inside the shelter is advantageous when turkeys must be confined during the early morning hours as this greatly increases the feeding period.

DEVICES THAT PREVENT TAIL-FEATHER PICKING

Tail-feather picking seems to begin by the birds' using each others' tail feathers to clean their beaks of mash. Although it does not ordinarily damage the birds for market, the habit ruins their appearance and decreases their salability as breeding stock. It is not always possible to prevent tail-feather picking entirely, especially in flocks raised in confinement or in small range lots, but it may be prevented partially by providing tightly stretched wire in or over the mash feeders. Baling wire stretched tightly or strips of ordinary light-weight poultry wire may be used.

Feeding the mash moist will also aid in preventing tail-feather picking. The kind of mash may also be a factor. A rather coarse mash containing considerable ground corn, some bran, and some coarsely ground oats or barley, including the hulls, seems to be more palatable than a fine mash and is not so likely to clog the beaks of the birds.

RANGE MANAGEMENT OF GROWING TURKEYS

In Minnesota a successful system of moving poults around the colony brooder house has been devised and is giving excellent results. The house is built with a small opening in each side, and a portable frame is so placed that the ground on each side of the house can be used as a small outside run. The birds are allowed to range to the south for from 5 to 10 days; then the house is thoroughly cleaned and the range changed to the west; and so on until the land on all four sides of the house has been utilized. The house is then moved to a clean spot, and the rotation is repeated. After the birds are from 8 to 12 weeks old the house is again moved to a clean place. Turkeys may be raised successfully on a small acreage if they are moved to a clean area each week or two and to an entirely different, clean area each year.

Other systems of yarding have been devised, but the value of most of them has not been proved experimentally. Some system of rotation is necessary on a farm where turkeys are raised regularly. For fenced ranges where the semiconfinement method is to be used, the Minnesota plan is entirely satisfactory for small flocks. For large flocks the use of large yards in the double or triple yarding system has given good results. Under this system, after 8 or 10 weeks of brooding, the poults are put on range, which may be divided into 2 or 3 equal parts. The range used is changed yearly or biennially either by moving the equipment or by having permanent equipment for each range. In the absence of fences, turkeys may be herded so that they are protected from enemies and kept within the clean area allotted to them each season. The use of portable fences and portable roosting shelters enables the grower to move the entire flock to clean range each season or several times each season. This method is practical where large areas of suitable range are available, so that the birds can be reared each season on land that has not been used, or on which no droppings have been spread, for the preceding 2 years. In wet climates it is probably safer to allow a rest of 3 or 4 years. Enough range should be provided so that plenty of growing green feed is available in each yard at all times during the season. When the same ground is used for a whole season, and rainfall or irrigation is adequate, an acre of grass pasture should provide range and green feed for about 100 growing turkeys. An acre of alfalfa or clover would probably provide feed for 150 birds, under favorable conditions.

In arid or semiarid sections, during very dry seasons, it may be advisable to provide fresh, green feed, or legume hay in abundance to discourage the turkeys from eating undesirable green feed on the range. A complete ration must be provided for such conditions.

Where the range is limited to small areas of fenced land, the use of a number of permanent range houses set in a row, preferably 200 feet or more apart, in the middle of the range and along the dividing fence is a practical method of range utilization. The dividing fence should be double so as to provide a neutral area between the two ranges. Under this plan the birds can use one-half of the range for 2 years in succession and the other half for 2 years without the buildings being moved. If individual range lots are desired for each flock of birds, permanent range shelters arranged on either side of a service lane, each with double or triple yards, are a solution to the clean-range problem. If double yards are used for each house or if the range as a whole is divided into 2 sections, a rotation of 2 seasons of use, followed by 2 seasons of rest may be the best plan. Where 3 yards for each house can be arranged or where the whole range is divided into 3 large yards, each yard can be used for 1 season and allowed 2 seasons of rest.

Under any system of permanent yards, certain sanitary precautions are essential. Among these are the following: (1) Select such a location or modify the one available in such a way that there is as little drainage as possible from the yards that are being used to those that are being rested; (2) each season, or several times each season, remove the accumulations of droppings from the ground around the houses, feeders, and water vessels; (3) grade up around each house with fresh earth each season or whenever it is necessary, to prevent water from standing near the buildings; (4) fill in or drain all depressions so that water does not stand for any length of time anywhere on the range; (5) use antiflies and, if necessary, clip one wing of each bird to keep it from flying into and contaminating the yards that are being rested; (6) prevent birds or persons from going in and out of yards that are being rested; (7) move feeders and water vessels frequently, feed and water the birds inside the range shelters on the wire floors, or place the feeders and water vessels outside on roofed wire platforms so that the droppings that accumulate near them will not become sources of infection; (8) use contamination-proof feeders and water vessels; (9) see that flies do not breed extensively in or near the houses and feeders; (10) place wide boards set into the ground, an inch or two at the bottom of the fences and extending for about 10 yards out from the buildings to prevent refuse spreading to the adjoining yards.

When birds are herded on free range some growers move the roosts, feeders, and water vessels to clean ground several times each season, whereas others use permanent roosting and feeding quarters and bring the birds back each night. In either case excessive contamination at any one point should be prevented so far as possible.

FATTENING TURKEYS FOR MARKET

In general, the best method of raising turkeys is to keep them growing at a normal rate so that at the age of about 6 months they are in prime market condition, no special fattening period being necessary. Such a method calls for liberal feeding of balanced rations throughout the growing period. A good range will supply a large quantity of feed at a very reasonable cost, but not even the best range will furnish enough of the right kinds of feed to produce large numbers of prime turkeys without supplementary feeding.

In many instances, however, turkey growers believe that it is more profitable to force the birds to forage for most of their livelihood until a few weeks before marketing time. A good plan for fattening these range-grown birds is to begin early in the fall to feed the birds mash and scratch, allowing them all they will eat of both. As they approach maturity they will eat mostly scratch grain. The mash may be fed moist or dry. Milk is an excellent fattening feed, and if plenty of liquid milk is available it may be fed with scratch grain only and no mash. Some turkey raisers feed equal parts of corn, wheat, and oats during the first part of the fattening season and gradually change to all corn as the weather becomes cooler. This system is satisfactory if plenty of milk can be fed in addition. Without milk or some other high-protein feed, the results are likely to be unsatisfactory. If too heavy feeding of corn alone is begun before the range turkeys become accustomed to it, the disease known as scours often results, especially if new corn is used. Old corn is a much better feed than new corn, but the new crop is safe after it is well matured and dry.

As a general rule, turkeys that have been raised on free range cannot be successfully fattened in close confinement. They may be successfully fattened, however, if they are confined to moderate-sized yards containing growing alfalfa or other green crops or stacks of alfalfa or clover hay. There is no advantage in confining turkeys which have been raised in semiconfinement to smaller quarters for fattening.

MARKETING TURKEYS

The marketing season for the bulk of the turkey crop is usually comparatively short, extending from the middle of November to the latter part of December. There is an increasing demand in the fall and winter and even in late summer for young turkeys. Many turkey raisers sell their birds alive to poultry dealers, who either dress them or ship them alive to city dealers. In sections where turkeys are grown in large numbers, as in Texas, dressing plants have been built by cooperative associations and poultry dealers who collect the live birds and dress them for the various city markets. As soon as possible after reaching the dressing plant, the turkeys are killed, dry-picked, cooled, and packed in barrels or boxes for shipment.

Farmers near the city markets often dress their turkeys and sell them direct either to the consumer or to the city dealer. In territory adjacent to large cities marketing both live and dressed birds at roadside stands has become common.

WHEN TO MARKET

Experiments with Bronze turkeys have indicated that well-fed, young birds of this popular variety are marketed to best advantage at from 24 to 28 weeks of age, if they are in good flesh and reasonably free from short pinfeathers. If they are kept longer than 28 weeks, the cost of maintenance and gains and the extra labor of their care cause the costs of production to rise rapidly. Under ordinary conditions 26 to 28 weeks is the best age for marketing full-fed Bronze turkey toms. For turkeys fed for rapid growth 24 weeks is a more profitable age if the birds are ready for market then, as is often the case with young hens which mature more quickly than the toms. Data obtained on more than 600 birds at the United States Range Livestock Experiment Station at Miles City, Mont., show that at 24 weeks of age the feed cost of producing live turkeys was 1 cent per pound lower than at 26 weeks of age, and 2.5 cents per pound lower than at 28 weeks. These figures, of course, will vary in different years, depending on the price of feeds. Besides this cost for feed the extra labor in caring for the birds, often during unfavorable weather, must be considered.

With the expansion of the turkey industry, the chain stores have become one of the large wholesale buyers of turkeys. They desire various sizes, according to the nature of the patronage in different localities, and as a result create a considerable market demand for hens and small toms. This is particularly true of their Thanksgiving and Christmas trade. Other channels of trade, such as restaurants, hotels, steamships, and railroad lines, prefer large toms. As turkeys become more generally used throughout the year an increase in the trade for small birds may be expected.

SELECTING BIRDS FOR MARKET

Practically all turkeys that are full fed are ready for market at from 26 to 28 weeks of age, and in many cases at 24 weeks, depending on sex, breeding, feeding, and weather. However, with range birds on limited feed, the grower can probably afford to hold his turkeys longer than 26 or 28 weeks, if necessary, because the feed costs were low during the growing period. It is, of course, very important to market only turkeys that are fat and free from small pinfeathers. Sufficient protein and minerals in the feed during the fall months are essential to proper growth and economical gains as well as to proper feather development. A prime turkey, especially a young one, is not expected to be excessively fat, but it must have an even covering of fat so that the skin appears white or yellowish white rather than dark or bluish. The breast must be meaty and the whole body free from small pinfeathers, bruises, and abrasions. Great care should be taken, therefore, not to allow the birds to bruise themselves by flying or running against obstructions; they should be handled gently and not frightened.

WITHHOLDING FEED BEFORE SLAUGHTER