What kind of supplements should I add together with fodder?

[MrDankYT]

I'm thinking about growing fodder for my turkeys and giving it as their main food, I know this is gonna give them slower growth but I don't need them to get plump and fat since I don't raise them for slaughter and they have ability to forage for food such as insects which there are loads of and lots of vegetation, I'm assuming I would still need some supplements, Is there some sort of powder you could dust the fodder with? They already have access to oyster shells.

 

[CindyinSD]

You don't show on your profile where you live. You might get away with less investment in feed if you live down south and/or on a farm. Where I live, wild turkeys range all over the hills. They cover miles of ground foraging for an adequate diet. Poults are hatched in spring, just in time for the flush of springtime abundance. If spring comes too late and/or unusually wet or dry, they die. Right now we're pretty short on turkeys from what I can see. Last spring? Ha! Blizzards clear up to May 23rd. Poor turkeys!

Anyway... There's no possible way you could get away with doing what you propose where I live. In order to develop properly and live healthy lives, poults need at least a 19% protein gamebird feed or equivalent. The only practical means of delivering that level of protein for most of us is with a soybean meal-based recipe. You could also use fish meal, but that's not easily accessible where I live. I do formulate my adult birds' feed, but not my baby-youth food. They get gamebird starter. Be sure to check the dates on the bag--hard to find sometimes, but they're there somewhere.

I studied up on fodder a couple months ago. The big claim is that you can turn a handful of barley (etc) into a quality high protein food. No one I can find has any documentation for this. It's possible that, for a brief period after sprouting, the availability of the seed's bio-available protein spikes, but also likely that, as it grows its roots and tiny first greenery, it uses this up and becomes lower in protein than the original seed. With a seed planted in the fertile earth, partaking of the sun, it would replenish its resources quickly. Unless you fertilize it, though, and give it more light than I can in winter, that can't happen.

Adding (trademark) Nutribalancer is good (if you can access it), but cannot make up for a lack of protein.

If you're really excited about growing your birds' feed, you might look into mealworm farming or raising black soldier-fly larvae. Don't go with earthworms, though. I don't know whether turkeys would eat them, but they can harbor a disease called turkey blackhead.

Early nutrition is vital to the long-term health and physical development of your birds, so this is a bad time to experiment. Sure, you can give them fodder, kitchen scraps (anything you eat), a handful of mealworms and/or black oil sunflower seeds (when their beaks are big enough). They especially enjoy and benefit from meat scraps including chicken and even turkey. (cooked only, of course) Do make sure though, that 90% of what they eat is at least 19% protein turkey/gamebird starter and later, a quality flock raiser will do. There are nutrients especially needed by turkeys that will not be prioritized in feeds meant for other poultry, but can be expected to be included in flock raiser.

 

[CindyinSD]

Oh yes... they don't need oyster-shell until they start laying, and not at all for males. They do need appropriately sized grit. If they don't have it readily available, they may take the oyster shell instead. This could hurt any non-laying bird over a period of time, especially babies. As long as there is grit available, it's fine to leave oyster shell in the general area. Since your birds are small however, there's no point having it out.

 

[MrDankYT]

I live in southern Sweden, mild winters, I let the turkeys out whenever I can every day of the year, lots of fruit in summer, they love pears and all the other vegetation in our big property, since they forage constantly they probably pick up grit as they forage for bugs and other food sources, I mean how else do wild turkeys get grit? Also I forgot to mention I intend to give younger turkeys and brooding turkeys the normal 25% or something turkey feed I already give to them.

Let me rephrase my question, I keep turkeys in three groups, normal turkeys, growing poults with their mothers, and broody hens.

My thought for how I can feed them:

Normal Turkeys=Access to fodder in their coop, ability to forage almost every day, access to grit (which I'll probably give them in designated bowls like I do oyster shells), and vitamin and other essential nutrients through supplements

Growing poults with their mothers=Access to fodder and 25% protein ground pellets, grit, and foraging, more foraging the older they are.

Broody hens=Access to fodder and 25% protein ground pellets, grit, and oyster shells

Will this work? Letting the older turkeys rely more on foraging instead of the pellets that seems to just be fattening them up.

Thanks for your answers.

 

[CindyinSD]

It sounds like you've got a handle on things, and your location will work in your favor with abundant year-round foraging. I'll bet you will do well, as long as you have sufficient grounds for the number of turkeys you're pasturing. You could offer them a measured quantity of feed at the end of the day, to give them incentive to come home if you want to insure they're motivated to do that. Otherwise they may not feel they need you at all.

@R2elk may have better info than my guesses can offer.

 

[MrDankYT]

Well they already seem to have no incentive to come home, they roost in the trees every chance they get and that's how most of them get eaten by predators, I try my best to keep them from flying up there in the first place and I'm not sure if clipping their wings is the right thing to do since they avoid predators using them and fly long distances in a short time with them to make things more fun and easier for them

 

[MrDankYT]

I'll give updates once i start with this!

 

[CindyinSD]

When I go out in the evening I sing out, "I have food for you; I have birdie food!" and they all come running into the fenced yard. At present though, there's not much for them to eat but snow and whatever I give them. I always use the same sing-song call, in the same tone of voice, same red bucket...

They won't go into the coop, no matter how bad the weather. They fly up and roost on its roof. I think I might convince some of the smaller girls, but I have four geese who also use the coop and the turkeys are afraid of them. (It's breeding season after all. They are more like feathered snakes than geese!)