I want to raise baby turkeys,what is best to feed them and what precautions should I take to keep them healthy
Question by red_neck_25276: I want to raise baby turkeys,what is best to feed them and what precautions should I take to keep them healthy
I raise chickens,will this be a problem,what vaccines are a must and what form of vitamins should I give.
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4 Responses to I want to raise baby turkeys,what is best to feed them and what precautions should I take to keep them healthy
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Ok, firstly this site is open to the public so therefore – any dumb idiot can answer.
SO if you want to get facts you should ask a vet, farmer, chicken farmer or just trot down to your local zoo and ask for their advice.
Don’t go getting the wrong information from people who just want to get a laugh and say, “YOu feed them a gallon of tar a day.”
(By the way that is a joke… DO NOT FEED TURKEYS TAR)
skincancerdoctor
January 18, 2012 at 1:17 pm
I just got a shipment of 27- 2 day old turkeys from Cackle Hatchery. They hatched out on June 30 and I got the July 1. To date I have only lost one poult. It died on the second day.
When they got here I put them in with some two week old Polish chicks. (from the same hatchery)
I took the turkey poults out of the box one at a time and placed their beaks into some sugar water that was about 98 degrees. Then I placed them under one of the trouble lights w/75w bulbs. I have two of them on a bird house that is 4′ x 5’6″
It has wood floors and wire floors that can be installed when the poults get large enough. I have been feeding my poults some Starter/Grower 24% protein that I am giving them. I am just giving them plain water at this point. I don’t believe in putting medicine in a healthy animal with the belief that it will keep them healthy for months on end. I pulled the Polish last week. When they get a little older and they move onto regular poultry grains I will give them some good vitamins/supplements.
Probably about the time I put them on the ground in late winter. I plan on keeping them on wire for a few months. I have five Spanish Blacks, five Blue/lavenders, five Royal Palms, six Bourbon Reds and five whites. I lost the extra white that they mailed me.
I can’t emphasize how important it is to dip their beaks in the water. Then go back in a hour or so and do it again. Some don’t learn just by doing it once. Also it is important to have a handful of baby chicks to show them the way. I had purchased the standard Polish so the turkeys would have someone to show them how to eat and drink. I don’t know of any vaccines. I plan on putting the extra turkeys in the freezer. I am hopeful for a trio of each breed and then to eat the remainder. I couldn’t make my mind up what breed I wanted so I get almost all of them. I knew that I didn’t want the bronze. Keep them warm. One hatchery says, ” if you order baby turkeys then you better have a good thermometer. Keeping them warm is the most important thing when they are small. Once they get feathered they are not a problem. That is when I will put them on wire. Good luck in your endeavor with turkeys. The framers of the constitution wanted to make the turkey the national symbol. They got out voted. The Eagle is nice.
Pigeonboy
January 18, 2012 at 1:44 pm
I would think that if you raise turkey’s like you do chicken chicks you would be alright but I am told that turkey chicks are extremely hard to raise. . . . you really gotta know what you’re doing and yeah,turkey’s WILL stand in the rain and hold their mouths open and will actually drown.
Once they are big enough should they make it that far I would put them in the same pen as my chickens and they would just have to learn to get along.
As far as I’m concerned,turkey’s are much different than a Guinea and Guinea’s and chickens can live together.
I have my Peking and Mallard ducks in with my chickens and they get along though once in a while my Peking Drake and my rooster seem to get into a superficial challanging match but it is short lived and no one gets hurt.
As far as feed goes,the Feed Stores carry a game bird feed which I would figure would be better for them than chicken feed.
Just Q
January 18, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Ok my catalog is out dated 2002. (4oz was 9.30 plus shipping) broiler booster is what one hatchery recomends if has Vitamins A, D, E, B-12, electrolytes, and biotin, it is added to water and is to make them stronger healthier, and prevent weak legs. We have never used this product we have always given warm sugar water. If you want vaccines check with the hatchery you plan to use they will know what diseases might be a problem in your area. We never had ours vaccinated and had no problems but we had a haritage breed that was diesease resistant and hardy.
22% turkey starter is recomended but again check around with local feed stores and your hatchery the closes we could get was 19%. Due your best to prevent them from drowning in their water and getting wet while young place marbles or rock in the waterer, make sure it is stable and can’t get knocked over. Use a heat light the temp at floor level is to be around 90-95 degrees. No it is not recommended to have them with chickens I think it is black foot disease that is the big concern, we raised ours right with chickens for 8 years and had very healthy birds. At the time we started turkeys we also had peafowl and guinea’s at the same time I can’t recall which breed was to be on a screened floor or the babies would eat their own waste and it would kill them, I prefer to have all mine off the floor when starting them it is easier to clean the building and you can put rodent poison out if they come and heat rises and if water spills it will hit the floor and not soak all birds. try to make their area so it is round if it is square they will get in the corners and smother eachother they also do this if they aren’t warm. Beware once your tom’s are about 2 years old they can go from being the family dog to wanting to fight with any human male that has gone through puberty. ( Our Peacock had to protect my husband more than once) Yes a turkey will stay out in the rain or at least our tom did all the time but the hens would go inside, drawning in the rain is a bigger problem when they are younger from what I have been told. The biggest advantage to our turkeys were if we added eggs to the hen’s nest she was the best setter and mother ever. Never have we been able to get a chicken to hatch her own eggs but the turkey hen hatched several clutches of chicken eggs (she killed the ducks when we tried them) and the tom and her were very protective of anything she hatched even after these birds were a year old.
Good luck I hope you enjoy having turkeys!
The neighbors dogs killed all my birds this past spring and we are needing to start all over. To prevent dogs from digging under fences if you keep bird in , lay chicken wire down and cover with dirt when the dogs try to dig and hit the wire it hurts their pads and will normally go away.
JILL
January 18, 2012 at 3:20 pm