turkey

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mecklenburg turkey
Turkey family

The turkey , also Haustruthuhn ( Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus f. Domestica ), the domesticated form of Truthuhns and forms a kind . Male animals are turkey , turkey or Welsch Hahn , females turkey , Puthenne , Dinde or turkey called. In Switzerland is called the animals as Truter and Trute .

Domestication

Turkeys were already kept by the Aztecs in what is now Mexico and were very important because in the New World, before contact with the Europeans, only a few animal species existed that were suitable for beef rearing. Turkeys then possibly came to Europe as early as 1497 with Christopher Columbus . More widespread, however, is the theory that they came to Europe later with Spanish seafarers between 1520 and 1540. Hernán Cortés was probably the first conquistador to come into contact with the Aztecs in 1519 and defeated them by 1521. After that, Cortés is said to have actually brought turkeys to Europe - compare turkey # Cultural significance .

Surname

The German names turkey and turkey are reminiscent of the attractiveness of animals, especially roosters ( trut-trut or put-put ). Another regionally established name is Kollerhahn , it was derived from the rumbling threatening sounds of the rooster.

Turkish chicken is a term that is rarely used in Germany today . It is often believed that the turkey came to Germany via Turkey . However , after the Turkish wars in 1547, the word Turkish was also generally used to mean “foreign” or “unknown”. The British also named the animals after Turkey ; Today is the turkey both in England and in North America turkey . The English name turkey "Turkish Hahn" called in English originally the guinea fowl , because this is actually from Numidia came via Turkey to Europe, and then after the discovery of the New World also transmitted erroneously on turkeys - so occupied since 1555th

Characteristics of the pedigree poultry

German turkeys, black

In Germany one does not speak of different breeds of turkeys , but essentially of different colors of the German turkey . These are divided into three weight classes, as turkeys differ almost exclusively in size and color:

  • Heavy turkeys: old cocks up to 15 kg, young cocks 9–12 kg, hens 6–7 kg.
  • Medium-weight turkeys: old cocks up to 12 kg, young cocks 8–10 kg, old hens 6–7 kg, young hens 5–6 kg.
  • Light country turkeys: old cocks 7–8 kg, young cocks 6–7 kg, hens 4–5 kg.

The bronze , white and black-winged turkeys are among the strong and heavy hues . The middle-weight class of colors include the bourbon , black and red-winged turkeys . The slight color variations of the country turkey type include the Cröllwitz turkey (USA: Royal Palm ), the Narragansett turkey and the blue , copper , red and yellow turkey.

Turkey fattening and hybrid breeding

Factory farming of turkeys in the USA

Turkeys are mainly kept for their meat. Turkey meat is low in fat and calories; the protein content of the meat, similar to beef and pork, is between 17 and 25 percent; In addition to high levels of B vitamins and iron, turkey meat also contains copper, potassium and zinc. Turkey meat may contain drug residues.

For poultry production , special hybrid turkeys (also called turkey hybrids ) - similar to hybrid chickens - are bred using the hybrid breeding method. These are crossed from pure inbred lines and are not suitable for further breeding. Hybrid turkeys convert feed into meat very efficiently and are therefore quickly ready for slaughter. The breast meat makes up about 30% of the total weight of the animals.

In Germany, the hybrid turkey BUT Big 6 is mainly used (market share of 95 to 97% in 2006). There are currently only three breeding companies in the world that offer hybrid turkeys in the market and control the genetic pool of the turkey industry.

Since hybrid turkeys are bred to grow rapidly and have a large pectoral muscle, physical problems arise for the animals. In some cases turkey fattening - also in organic farms - is criticized by animal rights activists for not keeping turkeys in a species-appropriate manner .

Diseases

Turkeys can be affected by several infectious diseases . In poultry farms, so-called turkey flu is important, it is a bacterial infection caused by Bordetella avium . It can also occur in other poultry species and is then referred to as avian bordetellosis. Turkey chicks are particularly affected; the symptoms range from rhinitis (“runny nose”) to bronchial and pneumonia . The infection is highly contagious . Turkey flu is an economic problem in turkey fattening in the USA. The infection with Bordetella avium is often made worse by secondary infections with other bacteria or viruses. The sick birds do not gain enough weight, and deaths also occur. Avian bordetellosis cannot be distinguished from turkey rhinotracheitis (caused by a pneumovirus) on the basis of the symptoms .

Web links

Commons : Turkeys  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Pute  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Why is the turkey called turkey? (No longer available online.) In: Geflügel Zeitung online. HK-Verlag, September 30, 2010, archived from the original on June 16, 2013 ; Retrieved September 5, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gefluegelzeitung.de
  2. ↑ Manfred Golze: Attractive and economical: The light shades of turkey . In: poultry newspaper . No. 1 , January 4, 2012, p. 14-16 ( online [accessed September 5, 2012]). online ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gefluegelzeitung.de
  3. ↑ turkeys. (No longer available online.) Sonderverein Deutscher Tuten und Perlhuhnzüchter e. V., archived from the original on June 19, 2013 ; Retrieved September 6, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sv-puten-perlhuhn.de
  4. ↑ Chicken and Turkey - a shopping guide, consumer center Saxony
  5. ↑ ÖKO-TEST, January 2012
  6. ↑ Shana Maria Bergmann: Comparative study of fattening turkey hybrids (BUT Big 6) and a robust breed (Kelly Bronze) regarding behavior, health and performance in free-range husbandry . Dissertation, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, 2006.
  7. ^ W. Branscheid, G. Hahn, M. Wicke: Quality of turkey meat - problems and countermeasures . University of Göttingen, Research and Study Center for the Processing Industry Vechta, 2004. ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / fgbaff.de
  8. ↑ Der Spiegel: Eco-Poultry Industry: The Suffering of Organic Turkeys September 3, 2013
  9. ^ A b Hans-Joachim Selbitz, Uwe Truyen, Peter Valentin-Weigand: Veterinary microbiology, infection and epidemic theory . 8th edition. Enke Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8304-1080-5 , p. 169-172 .
  10. ^ NM Beach, S. Thompson et al. a .: Bordetella avium antibiotic resistance, novel enrichment culture, and antigenic characterization. In: Veterinary microbiology. Volume 160, No. 1-2, November 2012, pp. 189-196, ISSN  1873-2542 . doi: 10.1016 / j.vetmic.2012.05.026 . PMID 22721730 . PMC 3469198 (free full text).