your mind when you think about poultry rearing. Many farmers are
familiar with chicken rearing for eggs or meat and the recently
over-flooded business of quail farming but few have embarked on turkey
farming as a source of income.
| Turkey Farming in Kenya |
Even in the few homesteads where you find a turkey or two, they are normally for aesthetic qualities as pets and not for economic purposes. This has left a huge gap in the market that can be filled by anyone seeking to start turkey farming in Kenya in 2018 as a way to earn a living through agribusiness. The market for exotic white meat is growing by the day; turkey, ostriches, quails are some of the birds whose taste Kenyans are growing to like.
To start a turkey farming in Kenya, you need to either buy a day old poults(turkey chicks) or buy a turkey hen and a tom (male turkey). Once
the hen lays the fertilized eggs, select the best 10-15 eggs for
incubating. Hatching takes 28 days only. If the technology is available
to you, you can incubate the eggs artificially to increase the
likelihood of hatching.
Brooding the Poults
Before
the poults arrive or get hatched, you want to prepare the brooding
area. Sawdust, wood shavings or paddy hast can be used for the litter.
It should be 3 to 4 inches thick at first and increased over time. To
prevent caking. It is good to rake the litter occasionally.
| Turkey Poults |
Poults need a little more space than chicken chicks. Ensure that each bird has 1.5 ft2. They also need to stay warm. Maintain a 32 to 38 degrees Celsius for the first week and reduce by 2 degrees every week after that for a months. In the second week, the space for each bird should be increased to a square of 20cm to 20cm. After 6 weeks, you can let them outside when it’s not cold or rainy.
Feeding the Turkey
You will need one feeder and one waterer for 25 birds. For a kg of of live
turkey, you will need three and a quarter kilos of turkey feed. Starter
mash is the feed that starts off your poults. That and plenty of clean
fresh water.
Growers mash is introduced at week ten.
Greens and other cracked grains like maize should also be introduced at
this point. Minerals and vitamins addition to the diet will ensure that
the turkey turn out healthy as they should.
| Turkey on a plate |
Slaughtering the turkey
At week 22, the turkey will start adding fat to their body. To know whether they are ready for slaughter, check to see whether all the pinfeathers have disappeared. This will happen between week 24 and week 28. By this time, your turkey will be averaging 8kgs. For 18 hours before slaughter, withdraw food and give your turkey lots of clean fresh water.
What do you think? Is turkey farming in kenya something you see yourself doing? Leave us a comment below.
See Also: Water Melon Farming in Kenya