What is the best food for turkeys?
For adult turkeys, you can use a 16 – 20% protein feed. Most feed companies are, once again, going to brand this as a game bird feed. Gamebird and Turkey are pretty much interchangeable when it comes to commercially available feeds. This food will be the staple of your turkey’s diet for the rest of it’s life.
What should I Feed my 5 week old Turkey?
If at 5 weeks old you still have half a bag of high protein turkey starter, just feed it till it is gone and switch when you buy a new bag. At about 13 weeks or so, your turkeys can start eating a regular turkey or game bird feed. At this stage, you can start feeding a lower percentage protein.
Can baby chickens eat turkey feed?
This percentage protein is fine for chickens but may cause your turkey chicks to grow slower than they would if they were on an appropriate feed. Feeding your baby chickens a higher protein turkey feed for the first few weeks should have no long term effects.
Can I Feed my Turkey Chicks chicken starter?
If you are brooding chicken chicks and turkey chicks together you should always go with the higher protein feed if possible. Chick starter typically has a protein percentage of 22 to 24%. This percentage protein is fine for chickens but may cause your turkey chicks to grow slower than they would if they were on an appropriate feed.
What should I feed my baby turkeys?
Baby turkeys need to eat turkey/gamebird starter mash or crumbles, a blend specially formulated for their growth and development. Layer or breeder mash, crumbles, or pellets should never be fed to poults, not even as an emergency ration.
How do you take care of baby turkey chicks?
Make sure they are fully feathered and at least eight weeks old before moving poults to their new outdoor housing. You can give them access to outdoors but still provide the lamp at night for a week or two, and then finally move them to their new, grown-up turkey roosts and pen.
How do you keep turkey chicks alive?
To ensure poults remain close to heat, water, and food, restrict them to a smaller brooder space for a few days. A rafter of young turkeys can become confused in a large space. This can cause them to starve or catch a chill. To minimize workload, construct a brooder that will accommodate the growth of the young flock.
How do you take care of a newborn turkey?
Keep them clean and dry. Pine shavings or rice hulls make good bedding. Never brood them on slick surfaces like newspaper. Never give a turkey poult cold water - cold water can be deadly to turkey poults.
Can you feed turkeys chick starter?
Feed for Turkey Poults Turkey poults require higher levels of protein than chicks. It is recommended that they are fed unmedicated chick starter with a supplement of brewer's yeast (2 cups per 10lbs of feed). For their first 12 weeks, poults should be given a 28% protein feed.
Are mealworms good for turkeys?
Because of mealworms' low nutritional content, most rehabbers moisten and coat the mealworms with a nutritional powder formulated to meet the needs of young birds. But please be assured that providing mealworms to birds does them no harm.
Why are my turkey chicks dying?
Baby turkeys often die because they are not getting enough protein, they are too hot or cold (or there is a fluctuation in temperature), there is a lack of shade, they aren't getting enough water, or because predators get to them.
Is it hard to raise a baby turkey?
Turkeys are not that hard to raise, but they differ a bit from chickens in terms of what they need, and raising them from poults (baby turkeys) is more time- and energy-intensive than raising chickens from baby chicks.
How long do baby turkeys need a heat lamp?
A thermometer is highly recommended. This should be placed at chick level in the brooder. 95 degrees is the ideal brooder temperature for the first week of the poults' lives. After the first week, you can decrease the brooder temperature by 5 degrees each week until they are fully feathered (6-7 weeks).
What should you not feed turkeys?
Here is some food that you should not feed to turkeys:Low-Quality chicken feed.Dairy foods.Onions.Raw meat.Chocolate.Processed foods.Fruit pits and seeds.Tomato and eggplant leaves.More items...
What do wild baby turkeys eat?
What do baby turkeys eat in the wild? For the first month of their lives, baby turkeys eat mostly protein foods like mollusks, insects, and small reptiles. After this critical month of life, babies are just as omnivorous as adults. They start eating more seeds, vegetables, roots, fruits, grains, and nuts.
How do you tell if a baby turkey is a male or female?
0:521:50Tom or Hen Turkey Poult? How To Tell the Difference - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipOkay and then if you look at their snood which is that little bump on the top of their nose. TheMoreOkay and then if you look at their snood which is that little bump on the top of their nose. The females is smaller. And the male's is bigger.
Why should you be mindful about feeding turkey chicks?
While turkeys are disease and sickness-resistant, appropriate feed management may help your birds get off to a good start and stay healthy for the rest of their lives.
Buying commercial turkey feed for turkey chicks
Purchasing bags of commercial turkey feed is typically the simplest and most cost-effective approach for small flock owners to guarantee their turkeys are getting the greatest nutrition. There is no need to worry about providing commercial turkey feed for the turkey chicks that you have at home.
What foods can you give to your turkey chicks?
For the long-term health of your flock, make sure you have a good range of grains and a good mix of minerals and vitamins. Turkeys require more protein than other poultry, and they can also benefit from micronutrients that chickens and ducks may not be able to absorb.
Dried peas
Peas are an excellent substitute for maize in summer diets. They’re one of the first things that turkeys of all ages consume, and they’re high in protein for growing birds. Peas are also a low-cost option for huge quantities of specialized feed.
How to Feed Turkeys for Maximum Growth
If you’re growing meat turkeys and need a rapid boost of healthy weight increase, there are many feeds you may use to assist your birds to reach harvest size quickly. Turkeys, in general, require significantly more protein than other fowl, particularly while they are young and developing.
Can you give fermented feed to baby chicks?
Fermenting your commercial or homemade mixed turkey rations allows you to benefit from lactic acid fermentation. It’s a simple and efficient approach to make digestion easier for your flock, resulting in bigger birds that require less feed.
Raising baby turkeys
The road to a mature tom (male turkey) or hen (female turkey) begins with raising baby turkeys, or turkey poults. Temperature and brooder setup for raising poults is similar to baby chicks. One big difference is poults need to be warmer than baby chicks during the first week to 10 days.
Raising adult turkeys
Adult turkeys thrive in spacious outdoor areas as a group of at least three to six birds. Some backyard flock raisers allow their turkeys to free-range with a predator-proof fenced area for nighttime protection.
Choosing turkey breeds
Both toms and hens can be raised for meat, with the main difference being bird size. One of your first choices will be whether to raise traditional or heritage turkey breeds.
What do turkeys eat?
Young turkeys need a high-protein diet like Purina ® Game Bird & Turkey Starter feed from birth to 8 weeks old, while your chicks need a chick starter feed, like Purina ® Start & Grow ® feed, from birth to 18 weeks old or so.
Raising turkeys with chickens
Raising turkeys with chickens can be a delicate topic. Some enthusiasts integrate the two species well while others have noted disease issues. Be sure to research comingling in advance and always follow a bird integration plan.
What to feed a turkey?
Here are some common snacks often offered to turkeys: 1 Watermelon#N#This is an excellent summertime treat to offer your turkeys as it can help keep them hydrated even on the hottest days. All parts of the watermelon are safe to feed your turkeys, including the flesh, seeds, and rind. 2 Apples#N#Most turkeys love apples and will enjoy pecking at them cubed or sliced. Seeds should be removed if possible, but small amounts of seed ingested on occasion are not dangerous to your birds. Applesauce is a great snack option for young birds as well! 3 Peas#N#This is probably going to be the table scrap your turkeys enjoy the most! Peas are a healthy snack to offer your birds and can be offered dried, cooked, or frozen. You can even mix peas into your regular feed ration for extra protein! 4 Spinach#N#If you really want to offer spinach to your turkeys as an occasional treat or snack, doing so in small amounts is fine. Spinach can block the absorption of calcium, leading to bone density issues over the long term if fed in abundance.
What is the best food for turkeys?
Many custom rations for turkeys include a variety of grains and seeds, including: Corn. While corn is not the most nutritious food on its own, it can be a great option for providing fat and overall energy. This can be especially useful in the winter, so corn is common in most winter rations.
What Is Fermented Feed?
Fermenting is a way to take advantage of lactic acid fermentation in your commercial or custom mixed turkey rations. It is a simple and highly effective way to make digestion easier on your flock, leading to larger-sized birds with less feed required.
How much protein do turkeys need?
As turkeys grow, their protein requirements change. Young turkeys require around 28% protein from the start to ensure they grow quickly and safely.
What do turkeys eat?
Their exact diet depends on the season and available food and their age and stage in life. Turkeys eat insects, snails, slugs, lizards, snakes, and grasshoppers. They enjoy nuts, acorns, seeds (including many wild weed seeds), corn, grain, and peas. They eat berries, flowers, bulbs, foliage, and fruit.
How to attract turkeys to your farm?
Attracting wild turkeys can be as simple as clearing out some dense brush and leaving large trees available for roosting or as elaborate as planting a diverse selection of plants to attract them. Native nut-bearing and fruit-bearing bushes, shrubs, and small trees help attract turkeys, quail, and deer to the area as they will feed, rest and nest in areas where food is abundant.
Why mix your own feed ration?
Mixing your own feed ration can be the best option if you want to focus on a more cost-effective sole ingredient to provide the right nutrients or if you have a larger flock and prepackaged bags of feed are not enough . Additionally, mixing your own ration can be a great way to ensure your flock is receiving only organic or antibiotic-free grains.
What is the best feed for turkeys?
Besides commercial feeds that contain high levels of protein, turkeys can be supplied with alfalfa hay as their main feed. In contrast, inadequate or excess protein may be detrimental to the health of turkeys.
How to feed a turkey?
1. Grazing on pasture. Intake from pasture or range grass (grass from 4 – 6 inches long) accounts for 50% of their diets. Wild turkeys often forage near wooded areas. Therefore, you should provide them with ground feeding areas or platform feeders which is large, low enough to accommodate these large birds.
What do turkeys eat?
In the wild, turkeys forage regularly and will eat many various kinds of natural food such as insects, fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, plants, and small vertebrate animals. Turkeys often mainly rely on acorns during the winter season because other alternative food sources may be rare.
Why do meat birds eat rations?
For meat birds, rations are typically formulated to achieve good health and maximum productivity but not too fast to cause any health-related issue.
Can turkeys forage in pasture?
Some farmers allow turkeys to forage freely through pastures and fields or sprinkle vegetable scraps, or toss a handful of mealworms in order to encourage them to forage. A simple tip you need to keep in mind is that your turkey can access fresh, clean, and available water at all times.
Do turkeys need more protein than chickens?
Turkeys can be a fun addition to a backyard flock if you are looking for company, nutritious meat, and eggs. Generally, a turkey needs more protein than a normal chicken. Check out my article below to know about turkey feed and effective methods to raise a fat and healthy flock. 1.
Do market birds need high energy?
Grow market birds require high energy level feeds. However, when feeding potential breeding stock, in order to avoid body fat in birds, the feed should contain a large amount of fiber. When it comes to breeding turkeys, diets with high protein will negatively affect the hatchability of eggs.
What is the best feed for a turkey?
The best feed for turkeys is a 28% unmedicated turkey starter for day old poults, which will be gradually transitioned to a 12% unmedicated maintenance ration for adult turkeys.
What is 12% turkey feed?
Once your turkeys get to adult size, they are fine with a 12% feed as a maintenance ration. 12% non medicated poultry feed should be really easy to find at most any feed store. Notice that 12% is a maintenance ration, not a breeding/laying ration.
What is the best feed for a day old poult?
For your day old poults, use 28% feed or a gamebird starter which will be a 30% feed. Poults need a much higher protein feed than most other young birds and the appropriate day old poult feeds are noticeably more expensive than what would be fine for chickens.
Why do you want to keep track of the poults age?
The reason that you’ll want to keep track of the poults age and reduce the protein percentage of the feed is that higher protein feeds are expensive and lower protein feeds are less so.
What is starter feed for poults?
As the name “starter” suggests, it is the first feed your new poults need. It will be a bit higher in protein than the grower and come in smaller pieces, called a crumble, so it’s easier for the poults to eat.
Does turkey feed change as it grows?
Protein % needed will change as turkey grows. You’ll notice in the table at the beginning of the article, the percent protein in the feed changes as the poults grow. This is normal for any feed ration.
Can you use turkey starter instead of broiler feed?
Sometimes it can be hard to source a higher protein feed for your poults, and it’s easy to think well what about using a broiler feed, instead? Short answer: Don’t do it. The only acceptable substitute for turkey starter is gamebird starter.
What is the best feed for a turkey?
As you can see from the table above, the younger the turkey, the more protein it needs. This means that you need to provide the best quality of feed to your turkeys. At these young ages, the best feed for turkeys is processed feed. Other sources of feed for turkeys are: Grains and seeds. Insects.
What do turkey chicks need to grow?
For every organism to grow, they need food . Foods rich in proteins and other nutrients help animals to grow quickly and in good health. The table below shows the protein needs of turkey chicks according to their age: Turkey Age.
Why Should You Raise Turkeys?
Are they easy to raise? Sure, Turkeys are easy to raise and fun to watch. There are a lot of reasons to raise turkeys. Here are just a few:
How hot should a turkey poult be?
From the table above, it is clear that turkey poults need the highest temperture in their first week. Their temperature need reduces by 5° F every week until it gets to 70° F when they can leave the brooder box (or when they get complete feathers).
How to give turkey chicks enough temperature?
How to Give Your Turkey Chicks Sufficient Temperature. Here are tips to giving your poults sufficient temperature: Heat Lamps: The use of heat lamps is a very common method of giving heat to poults. One great thing about heat lamps is that you can change the height or regulate it to reduce/increase the temperature.
How many eggs do turkeys lay?
The downside is that turkeys do not lay as many eggs as chickens. Most laying chicken breeds lay as much as 2 eggs in 3 days , but turkeys cannot lay more than 3 eggs weekly.
What is shredded paper for turkey chicks?
Shredded Paper – The shredded paper helps your turkey chicks to feel warm and cozy. The downside of this bedding material is that you have to change it more regularly than others.
What do baby turkeys eat?
Food. Baby turkeys need to eat turkey/gamebird starter mash or crumbles, a blend specially formulated for their growth and development. Layer or breeder mash, crumbles, or pellets should never be fed to poults, not even as an emergency ration.
How to keep turkey poults warm?
A good brooder will have several things – it will keep the poults safe, have either bedding to absorb wastes or a wire mesh floor to allow droppings to pass through, and a heat source. A brooder can be as simple as a cardboard box with one to three inches of wood shavings for bedding, or as complex as a commercial metal box brooder. For a few poults, cardboard has the advantage of being cheap, disposable/recyclable, and sanitary. A wooden or metal brooder is more appropriate for larger numbers of poults, or if you raise many batches of poults per season. It should be scrubbed and disinfected between uses. Brooders should be large enough to allow the poults to get away from the heat source –3’x4’ is a good size for a few poults and will allow plenty of room for the first couple of weeks. Turkey poults grow rapidly, and will need a larger brooder after a few weeks – they should never be overcrowded. For the first few days, place paper toweling or an old cloth towel over the litter, so the poults learn to eat food, not litter. Keep the brooder clean – change litter at least once a week, more if you have many poults. Damp dirty litter and droppings can cause respiratory problems and infections. Poults should never be brooded on newspaper – its surface is too slick and can cause leg problems.
What is the best grit for turkeys?
Turkeys have no teeth – they need grit in the form of small rocks to grind their food. Baby poultry grit consists of very small stones, like coarse sand, similar to parakeet grit. It should never contain oyster shell or other forms of calcium – excess calcium is very detrimental to poults. Most store-bought small grit preparations already have oyster shell in them. You can “make” your own chick grit by purchasing a bag of decomposed granite from a building supply store. Wash the granite in a large tub, rinsing out fine sand and mud, and letting it dry. Save the larger pieces for adult poultry, and sprinkle a bit of the smaller grains on the turkey starter as if you were salting food. If poults are given no additional food other than turkey starter, they don’t NEED grit but it may help in certain situations (see below).
How hot should a brooder be for chicks?
It should have a cooler area for chicks to find their level of comfort. For the first week of life, the brooder should be at about 95 degrees. Poults will let you know if the brooder is too hot or too cold. Too hot, and the birds will crowd as far from the heat as possible.
What is the best ration for a poult?
A good emergency ration is a 50-50 blend of rolled oats and cornmeal, whirled in a food blender to a mash or crumble consistency.
How big should a brooder be for a poult?
It should be scrubbed and disinfected between uses. Brooders should be large enough to allow the poults to get away from the heat source –3’x4’ is a good size for a few poults and will allow plenty of room for the first couple of weeks.
Why should turkeys not be roosting?
Broad-breasted varieties or other meat birds should not be given roosts because it can cause crooked keels and breast blisters. 3”-4” of bedding should be provided for broad-breasted breeds of turkey. ~~Turkeys are happiest when they have more room.
