Some small farmers toy with the idea of raising their own turkeys or perhaps even making it into a stream of secondary income. Of course, at some point you have to kill the turkeys in order to eat them or sell them. Generally speaking, raising turkeys is not much more difficult than raising chickens, with a few exceptions.
There is a saying that turkeys are more apt to find a way to die, then they will to live. Apparently it is easier for them, which is where the difficulty in raising them comes in. If you're planning on raising these fickle-on-life birds, you'll have to be prepared for every eventuality, from drafts when they're chicks to protecting them from predators when approaching maturity.
If you're planning on raising turkeys, try just raising a few at first instead of diving in with several dozen. This will minimize your losses if you find them too difficult to raise. Order your stock from a local nursery or one online, such as McMurray Hatchery, that has a track record of safely shipping live birds or eggs to incubate. Finally, it may be helpful to visit others who raise turkeys in your locality. Contact your county Cooperative Extension office to learn of turkey farmers that would be willing to give you a tour of their facility.
0 comments:
Post a Comment