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From about the time the wild turkey was slaughtered and cooked on the first Thanksgiving Day, birds of this species have been bred for meat. Therefore, no one deliberately bred egg-bearing breeds of turkeys, since usually you have to choose: either a lot of meat or a lot of eggs. Birds that would gain a lot of body weight, along the way bringing 300 eggs a year, simply do not exist in nature. As there is no fatty, but dairy breed of cows.
When choosing turkeys, you will have to choose not between egg production and meat qualities, but between rapid weight gain and endurance. Modern meat crosses gain weight very quickly, but are quite demanding on the conditions of detention and feed. Many local turkeys are much smaller, grow longer, but are able to live on pasture in the summer and do not require a special microclimate in the chicken coop.
The most hardy breed of turkeys, of course, is the progenitor of all domestic breeds – a wild turkey, which still interbreeds with domesticated livestock, producing offspring second in terms of endurance. But since there is no wild turkey in Eurasia, it makes sense to pay attention to the breeds of turkeys that have long been acclimatized in the conditions of the South of Our Country.
Breeds of turkeys, formed on the basis of crossing local turkeys of the Caucasus with productive meat breeds, although they lost some weight compared to the parent meat breed, more than compensated for the loss of a couple of kilograms of the ability to survive acquired from local birds in not very favorable conditions. At the same time, new breeds of North Caucasian turkeys are larger than the original local ones.
North Caucasian bronze
The local breed, bred in the Caucasus until the second half of the twentieth century, was distinguished by a very low live weight (3,5 kg). However, she could survive in very extreme conditions. After the Second World War, it was decided to increase the meat mass of local turkeys. Local turkeys were crossed with the American meat breed of turkeys: bronze broad-breasted.
Bronze broad-breasted has a significantly greater body weight and higher egg production.
As a result of selection work in 1956, a new breed of turkeys was registered – the North Caucasian Bronze.
There are two lines in the North Caucasian bronze:
- Light. Adult turkeys weigh 11 kg, turkeys -6. The slaughter weight of turkeys of this line is more than 4 and 3,5 kg, respectively;
- Heavy. The weight of adult turkeys is 18, turkeys 8 kg. Slaughter weight at 4 months 5 and 4 kg.
Both lines under favorable conditions become sexually mature at 8-8,5 months, under unfavorable conditions at 8,5-9 months. The egg production of turkeys is 70 eggs per year with a fertility rate of about 82% and hatchability of turkey poults from fertilized eggs up to 90%.
Birds begin to rush at about 9 months, the laying period lasts about 5 months.
The North Caucasian bronze is highly viable and can be bred not only in the south of Our Country and Central Asia, but also in other regions with a temperate or continentally hot climate.
From the local breed of turkeys, the North Caucasian bronze inherited high resistance to infections, which is very important for the owner of a personal farmstead. Unfortunately, the population of the North Caucasian bronze is declining due to the introduction of broiler breeds of turkeys.
North Caucasian silver
After the emergence of interest in turkey breeding not only in industrial complexes, but also in household plots, there was a need to breed turkeys with colored plumage and good meat qualities.
The turkey had to be distinguished by precocity, gain weight well, be adapted to keeping on the plot and have an interesting appearance.
The new breed was bred on the basis of the Uzbek fawn breed of turkeys and the American white broad-breasted.
Breeding turkeys had to inherit the ability to reproduce in natural conditions, meat quality and plumage color.
When breeding, introductory crossing with white broad-breasted, breeding in oneself, strict culling in color, moderate in terms of economic characteristics were used.
The result of the breeding work was a breed of turkeys with a good ability to reproduce and a rate of gain in live weight. Adult turkeys weigh 11,5 kg, turkeys – 6. At 4 months of age, the weight of turkeys is 4 – 4,8 kg.
The main advantage of the North Caucasian silver is the colored covert feather with white fluff, due to which both the live turkey and the carcass have an attractive appearance. Turkeys have a very interesting color, and the carcass does not have black stumps in the skin, giving it a repulsive appearance.
Since the North Caucasian Silver was created with a priority for breeding in private farms, it has increased embryonic stability and good viability of turkeys after hatching. It is capable of reproduction in natural conditions (the instinct of incubation is developed) and in an incubator.
Today, the breed is quite homogeneous and has retained its characteristics for several generations, which indicates its stability.
You can compare a photo from an old magazine and a modern turkey of the North Caucasian silver breed.
Uzbek fawn
The unpretentious Uzbek fawn breed of turkeys is distinguished by high vitality. Turkeys are able to get food on pastures with little or no additional feeding and grow their entire brood to adulthood. These advantages make the Uzbek fawn breed of turkeys a good choice for a private backyard, thanks to which it is bred not only in Uzbekistan, but also in the North Caucasus and Tatarstan.
But the breed has many disadvantages: low egg production (65 eggs per cycle), low egg fertility, low live weight of birds. An adult turkey weighs 10 kg, a turkey about 5 kg. Young growth at 4 months is gaining 4 kg, but they are usually raised to adulthood. The quality of the meat in the breed is also low.
These shortcomings served as prerequisites for breeding the North Caucasian silver turkey, which took endurance and unpretentiousness from the Uzbek breed, and good meat quality and quick weight gain from the broiler meat.
Black Tikhoretskaya
The breed belongs to the light type. Bred in the 50s of the last century by crossing local breeds of turkeys with bronze broad-breasted. At first, the breed was called “Kuban black”. Turkeys of this breed have a pure black plumage without brown feathers, like the bronze varieties, but also with a green tint.
Adult turkeys weigh up to 11 kg, turkeys up to 6. In principle, this breed gives a good slaughter meat yield (60%). For comparison: meat breeds of turkeys give a slaughter yield of 80%. At four months, the young weigh up to 4 kg, but few people clog them at this age. They usually grow to adulthood.
Turkeys are good hens, however, with average egg production: 80 eggs per year. Hatchability of turkeys from eggs is 80%.
It is bred in the central and southern parts of Our Country. The breed did not receive wide distribution due to too high adaptability to the breeding region. Its advantages include the ability of turkeys to live in uninsulated rooms until cold weather. And the disadvantages are greater mobility, because of which the breed requires a mandatory spacious range. Often, black Tikhoretskys are used to breed new breeds of turkeys.
The best breeds for broiler breeding are Big turkeys from the English company BYuT. More precisely, these are broiler numbered industrial crosses Big – 6, Big – 8, Big – 9.
Crosses are of a heavy type and do not differ in appearance. Their preference is given to white plumage, so that the carcass has an attractive appearance. The turkey of these crosses reaches a weight of 3 kg already at 5 months, and it can be sent for slaughter. Adult turkeys can weigh up to 30 kg.
But it should be borne in mind that these turkeys cannot be called unpretentious. If it is not possible to provide them with high-quality feeding and maintenance, it is better to stop at less productive, but more unpretentious breeds. In addition, according to the owners of Bigs, a large carcass is still very difficult to sell. They themselves prefer to slaughter turkeys with a weight of 5 to 10 kg.
Reviews of owners of domestic turkeys
Conclusion
When choosing a breed of turkeys, a beginner can be advised one of the North Caucasian turkeys, as a golden mean between completely unpretentious, but unproductive local birds and very productive, but pampered and requiring special conditions meat crosses.