Raising turkeys for meat can lead to huge profits for you.
However, if you are just starting out, there are some things you need to know before diving into this business.
First of all, you would need to choose the best kind of turkey to raise.
There are many kinds of classifications for turkeys - wild and domestic, Broad Breasted White and Broad Breasted Bronze among others.
The best recommendation would be Broad Breasted White turkeys.
These domestic turkeys have been bred with the intention of selling them off for meat in mind, so their breasts are big and their meat is savory for those turkey dinners.
You should purchase day old turkeys, known as poults, in the spring when they are inexpensive.
Buy males and females for breeding purposes, so that you won't have to buy poults every spring.
The next step in raising turkeys for meat is to set up a turkey brooding area.
You could use a children's plastic pool lined up with an inch of wood shavings as a start.
Supply this area with a large food and water container, but make sure that this is accessible to turkeys.
Turkeys are known to starve or thirst simply because they couldn't find their food and water in their own pen, so make sure that the area is not too big for the turkeys to get confused.
You need to look out for the health of your turkeys if you are raising turkeys for meat.
Feed mixtures can be purchased in your local feed mills, with the respective mixes for the ages of the turkeys.
An adult turkey eats an average of a pound of feed a day.
You also have to look out for the blackhead disease, which is fatal to turkeys.
If you have chickens around, you need to keep them away from your turkeys as they carry the blackhead organism without negative symptoms on them.
A turkey that contracts the disease, however, is certain of death without proper medication.
Raising turkeys for meat is a high reward business.
The demand for the turkeys are highly seasonal, but that one huge payday on Thanksgiving is well worth the effort.