Practical Methods to Increase Egg Production in Turkey Farming

In turkey farming, if you want turkeys to lay more eggs, certain measures must be taken and all aspects of feeding and management must be done well, so as to increase the egg production of turkeys.

1. Set up more laying boxes early

Turkeys reach sexual maturity at 6 to 7 months of age and begin laying eggs. Generally, by the time turkeys are 5 months old, one laying box should be set up for every 3 to 4 hens, so as to prevent turkeys from temporarily failing to find a suitable place to lay and delaying the laying period.

2. Light stimulation. During the growth stage, turkeys should have restricted lighting. At 5 to 6 months of age, provide 10 hours of light per day; at 6 to 9 months of age, it can reach 14 hours; after 9 months of age, it can be increased to 16 to 18 hours of light per day. If sunlight is insufficient, artificial supplemental lighting should be used, with an intensity of 15 to 20 lux (that is, 3 to 4 watts per square meter). Light stimulation can extend the laying period, increase the laying rate by 10%, and the eggs are large, uniform in size, and have strong shells.

3. Music to promote egg laying. Play pleasant serenades that excite the chickens regularly day and night for 12 hours. Play for 1 hour, then rest for 1 hour, continuously for 7 to 8 weeks. This can raise the turkey laying rate by 10%, and the chickens are relatively quiet while enjoying the music, which also saves feed consumption.

4. Comprehensive nutrition. During the laying period, the crude protein content of turkey feed can reach 23% to 28%, and the metabolizable energy is 12.1 megajoules per kilogram, ensuring the laying turkey's demand for vitamins and trace elements.

5. Sufficient drinking water and scientific feeding. During the laying period, turkeys should be given increased amounts of clean drinking water, and the practice of “changing the water often and never cutting off the water” should be followed. For turkeys, 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day are the key times for feeding throughout the day, directly related to the egg production of turkeys.

6. Do a good job of the environment and hygiene. Do not let turkeys be frightened. The chicken house, feed troughs, and drinking water utensils should be disinfected, and pine needles should be hung and replaced frequently to prevent disease; they can also serve as a seasoning for the chickens to increase appetite. In this way, the turkey laying rate can be increased by 8% to 12%.

7. Various other auxiliary methods. Adding a small amount of manganese to chicken feed can let hens produce hard-shelled eggs without increasing shell thickness and improve the effective rate of eggs laid by chickens; adding methionine and 0.05% choline can save 50% of feed and increase the laying rate by 5% to 8%. A certain amount of traditional Chinese medicine additives such as mugwort leaf, bupleurum, skullcap, Sichuan pepper, and licorice can also be added, which not only increases the laying rate but also has disease-preventing effects.

8. Breed advantage. Excellent breeds should be selected.

9. Adjust broodiness. Turkeys have especially strong broodiness. After laying 15 to 20 eggs, they naturally incubate once, regardless of season and unrelated to external conditions. To increase the turkey laying rate, the “combine two into one” method can be used for natural incubation, or artificial incubation can be used, so that mother turkeys with brooding behavior are awakened in time and enter the laying period promptly. In this way, mother turkeys can be increased from the original annual egg production of 80 to 120 eggs to 150 to 190 eggs.

10. Deworm often and supplement more. At 3 to 4 months of age, chickens should be dewormed once with 0.04% furazolidone or Jichongjing tablets; before laying begins, mother chickens at 5 to 6 months of age should be dewormed once with levamisole or Jichongjing tablets, so as to achieve the goal of organizing the flock. After 4 months of age, feed sand grains the size of rice grains once every 2 weeks, accounting for 1% to 2% of the daily ration.