For breeders, determining the sex of turkeys is of great importance, because it allows you to correctly plan the scheme for feeding birds, to choose the most optimal conditions for keeping, to achieve maximum productivity. Why is it still so important to identify the sex of the turkey, and what methods exist for this, let's figure it out.

Why is it necessary to identify the sex of turkeys

When breeding turkeys, the first thing a breeder needs to be able to do is to identify the sex of the birds.

Determination of gender affiliation will allow to solve a huge number of different tasks, in particular, such a determination by gender is necessary for:

• the correct calculation of the amount of the necessary daily portion of food, since the female eats much less than the male;
• competent actions when creating a breeding pack for further breeding offspring;
• reducing the likelihood of death of males due to fights that may occur between them for their leadership role;
• determining the productivity of the bird and creating appropriate living conditions for it;
• prevention of outbreaks of various viral-infectious diseases (male turkeys are more immune and excellent ability to resist diseases, females are more difficult to tolerate diseases);
• providing birds with a comfortable psychological state due to a competent ratio in a herd of heterosexual individuals.

Did you know? Surprisingly, the DNA of turkeys completely coincides with the DNA of an ancient bird - triceratops, which lives on Earth 65 million years ago.

How to distinguish a turkey from a turkey

Experienced poultry farmers to identify the sex of turkeys will not be difficult in the very first hours of their life. However, there are various methods that make it possible to establish a gender difference at a later age.

By external signs

By examining the genitals immediately after the birth of the chicks, their gender can be easily established. To do this, you need to carefully probe their cloaca: the chicks are taken in one hand, and the other, gently stretching the cloaca, feel the genitals.

Video: sex determination in turkey poults

The male organs have a paired structure, resemble pea-shaped tubercles, have a well-developed red color with excellent luster. Female organs are pink in color, formed in the form of a double continuous fold and are located in the middle of the bottom of the cloaca.

Important! This method is best used in the first 15 hours after hatching of babies. In this case, it has the greatest accuracy.

The length of the feathers in the wings

The technique of identifying sex by the length of the feathers on the wings “works” only for diurnal birds, then its reliability decreases significantly, since as the poultry develops, the length of the wings of the female and male becomes the same. At the age of 24, all feathers in the last row on the wing of the same size indicate the male field of the chick, but the combination of long and short feathers indicates female affiliation.

This method is often used on poultry farms and on large farms, since it allows almost 90% to identify the “boy” and “girl”.

Along the crest

You can identify the floor of the bird by visually examining its crest. As a rule, the female has a small, almost tiny crest, a rather faded shade, but the male boasts a beautiful, large, shiny, very bright comb, the shade of which becomes more intense in the spring.

Tail tail

The methodology for establishing gender, taking into account the splendor of the tail of a turkey, allows determining the result in two-week-old individuals with an accuracy of 70–75%. In females, the fluffiness of the tail is weakly expressed. The male tail is quite lush, consists of smooth, dense, long and very beautiful feathers.

By spurs and litter volume

The principal difference between males is the presence of spurs and beards. Males can boast of strong, massive spurs on their limbs and a large, rough beard, on which stiff feathers grow. In females, in rare cases, spurs can form, and the feathers on the beard are very soft and rarely grow.

An unconventional methodology for determining sex was developed by farmers from America. They noticed that the litter of the male and the female has significant differences: in the first embodiment, it is more dense, less plentiful and almost always laid out with the letter J, in the second embodiment, the droppings weigh downhill and there are quite a lot of them.

Important! This method can be used only after the first month of life of birds, when they grow a little.

According to habits

The behavior of birds in turkey poultry also reveals their gender. "Girls" behave more communicatively, they are grouped into several individuals. Moreover, representatives of the female half behave more aggressively than males, they can peck other inhabitants of the farm (chickens or roosters).Males, on the contrary, prefer to be alone, shy away from noisy and numerous companies. Groups can be assembled only when potential danger is approaching.

By size of individual

Male individuals always look larger, heavier and larger. Females are lightweight, neat physique, weigh almost half as much.This method works fine in the first days of the chicks' life, because newborn males visually look much larger and stronger.

How to determine the gender of a turkey at an early age

A female aged 1.5–2 years has a number of sexual differences, thanks to which it is easy to identify among males. But many novice breeders have difficulty installing sex for younger individuals.

Determine how the female differs from the male in the first days and weeks using the following methods:

1. In the daily age. The method of Japanese breeders for palpating cloaca makes it possible to almost completely reveal the gender affiliation of chicks, no more than one day old. By pulling out the cloaca, one can feel the genitals of birds: the male has paired bright red roundness in the form of a tubercle, the female has two pink folds interconnected.

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2. At the age of one month. A few days after birth, it becomes impossible to establish the gender of the birds by the Japanese method, then other methods should be applied. Farmers with extensive experience know that at the age of one month, the characteristic differences between females and males are their limbs: thirty-day “boys” have stronger and more massive legs than their “peers”.
3. At 3 months. It is quite easy to distinguish a female from a male at the age of three months in terms of anatomical qualities. At this age, the male forms a dense, leathery fold in the neck and spurs on the legs, which are not present in the female half of the herd, are well visualized.

Did you know? You can distinguish turkeys by voice. The fact is that the characteristic "kuldykany" is peculiar only to males. Female "talk" is more like a quiet, gentle twittering.

How many turkeys and turkeys should be in a pack

One of the main reasons why a breeder needs to know the gender of turkeys is the issue of competent herd formation. In order for the birds to feel comfortable and cozy, pleased with high productivity, good health and excellent fertility, it is necessary to maintain a balance of heterosexual individuals in the herd. It is recommended for the natural mating of birds to form a breeding flock in the following ratio: for 10 females, at least 1 male.Despite the fact that there are not so many methods for distinguishing turkeys and turkeys, but following certain tips, you can easily establish the gender of a bird at any age. Experienced breeders recommend using several methods at the same time for high reliability of the results.