subject: Raising Turkeys At Home - How To Raise Turkeys [print this page] There are several reasons why people like to raise turkeys; most of them consider it to be a good business venture, while others see it as a good opportunity to provide a delicious home grown meal for the family. The fact is you will profit either way in raising turkeys at home. Among others, one of the benefits of raising turkeys is that it's like there is a built in pest control service in your home, since these animals eat bugs, mosquitoes, ticks and flies. So here are some important things you need to know in raising turkeys that will help you get a good start.
There are several breeds of turkeys such as the heritage turkeys which are the old standard turkey and are naturally bred and slow growing but were found out to be tastier. There is also what we call broad breasted bronze which produce a lot of meat quickly because their body was genetically altered for them to develop meat in large quantities.
In raising turkeys at home, it is very important to know about when is the right time to purchase them. In general, day old turkeys should be purchased in the spring, since they are not very expensive and easy to begin with. Take note that it is best to select males and females for breeding purposes.
You will need to set up a brooding area wherein you can use a children's plastic pool which can work if it is lined with about one inch of wood shavings. Aside from the brooding area, you must also create an 8- by 8-foot area to raise the turkeys for about four more weeks.
In raising turkeys at home, it also entails allowing them to go outside and play, most especially if they have reached six weeks old, they should be able to go outdoors so that they could take a bath as well as be able to flap their wings freely. Approximately, an area of 75 by 75 feet can hold around twelve turkeys.
