a few questions on turkey raising

[spish]

after my terrible start with turkey raising (whole flock of 12week olds wiped out by cocci) my new order is here.

im now the proud owner of 8 x 2week old ronquieres

now i just want to ask a few questions to make sure im doing the right thing with these.

1.
what percent protein should they be getting? with my first lot of turkeys i was able to buy a special food just for young turkeys..but since the breeding season is normally over now (i was lucky to track down these 8 so late in the year) the shops arent carrying the food anymore until next year....so i need an alternative.

2. they are now 2 weeks old....i put my last flock outside at 12 weeks old and they caught cocci and died. ive since found out i shouldnt put them outside until after 16 weeks, but by that time it will be winter here.....should i keep these guys inside now until spring??

3. ive heard putting acv in their water will be good for them...but i dont know if the guy at the store was confusing them with chickens (!) i bought some anyway. do i put it in their water and how much do i put in per litre?

4. at what age do they no longer need a heat lamp? i turn it off for a few hours in the day (its 30 degrees here some days at the moment so i thought theyd be ok without in the day) but they still huddle in the corner as if they are cold?

5. as i know cocci is present in the ground here, is it worthwhile putting the medicine in the turkeys water as a preventative? (we use ESB-3 here)

6. for how many hours a day do young turkeys sleep? some of these seem really active but then theres one or two who just stand around/eyes closed all day (unless you bring the food out!) are some just lazier than others or are they ill?? (i could just be being overprotective since the last lot got wiped out)

7. at what age can i give them 'scraps'/'treats' to eat? (veggy peelings and so forth)

8. at what age can they be sexed?


sorry for all the questions but i just want to get it right this time!

 

[spish]

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Hi spish,
Sorry to hear about your bad turkey experience. I feed mine what is called Turkey & Gamebird starter. It's 21% protein.After 16 weeks, they can go out, but keep a low hanging light for them incase they need to warm themselves quickly. As far as acv in water, I don't know what that is.If it's vitamins, I mix 1 tablespoon of liquid vitamins with a gallon of water. 2 days on, 2 days off. I would keep a bulb on for them to warm by until spring, but not a heat bulb after they're feathered. I use a 60 watt bulb.Yes, since you've had cocci, treat the water with meds. When poults are raised by mom, the babies hardly have thme to sleep, as mom is always teaching them to forage for food. In a brooder pen, they sleep ALOT. I will give mine scraps after 12 weeks, but VERY little at first. The tom, to me, shows signs of "tom-ism", at about 4-5 months, by the way they carry the tail, & the head gets more color. I HOPE this helps! Good luck with this group!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

What are ronquieres? Do we have these in the U.S. under a different name? Can you put up pictures?


Never mind I looked it up. There are some AWESOME bird breeds that were developed in your area!

 

[spish]

they are really beautiful when they are older...really hope this flock makes it. many thanks for the advice
acv is apple cider vinegar...i know a lot of people put it in chickens water but id never heard of it being put in turkeys water until a few days back....

ive managed to pick up a food that is 20% protein for gamebirds/pheasants/peacocks etc its the closest matching i could get for now..but a kind man in the agricultural centre has offered to try and order me a 25kg bag of the turkey feed...so fingers crossed he can get it!

its good that i get to keep them in over winter....gives me much more time to build a bigger and better coop/house for them hee hee


once again thanks for the reply, i really appreciate it

heres a link to google pictures showing the ronquieres turkey
http://www.google.be/images?um=1&hl...yTswbQ1525Bg&ved=0CB8Q1QIoAA&biw=1024&bih=623

 

[Tunastopper]

I can normaly get a feed store to order anything I want since I have alot of birds. I feed a 30% protein turkey starter to the young ones. Then I had a problem with the food.
So this weekend was a nightmare looking for food. I went the feed store that I have been buying food at since the deaths. I guess I bought the last bag of starter. They said the had turkey breeder so I bought 10 bags. When they loaded the bags in my truck I noticed they where moving. They had more bugs in them than any bags I have ever seen. I went to the desk and the old lady said "They all have bugs this time a year, your turkeys will eat them." No I don't want them. I have turkeys in the house. I don't want bugs. I didn't want to explain what I just went through. So I got my $200 back and went turkey food shopping. The next store told me they had turkey starter. When they put them in my truck they where not starter. They were turkey grow. They said they here the same think. No they are not. I paid turkey starter price so I got my money back and left. I went to a feed store 40 miles from my house that is a purina dealer. I had the bags loaded and left. I found out the shorted me a bag. I called and I am picking it up today. Next week I will do it all again.

I am not real happy with some of the ingredients in the turkey feeds. Does it bother anyone if there food has ethoxyquin in it and they don't say how much?

 

[Shaun]

Greetings -

Where in Belgium are you? I lived in Beersel as an exchange student back in '73. Lovely country, friendly folk, but not so many farmers (but I live in farm country here in Michigan, so not a great comparison). I get back there every few years.

Yes, you can (and SHOULD be putting ACV in their water). I put about the equivalent of about 5-10 ml/liter. I don't measure very well, I'm afraid.

Probably 10ml/liter would do fine.

If you have access to reasonably priced eggs (or your own), you can feed them add'l small amounts of finely chopped scrambled eggs to boost their protein. I've done this before with weak poults and it seemed to work well, but we have our own eggs. I've seen the price of eggs over there - wow! Vitamins are always a good idea.

Wish you good luck!

 

[spish]

im in Tongeren (oldest city in belgium) we live out of the city though on a little sort of farm so away from all the tourists

yes we have our own eggs (and sell a huge amount due to our cheap prices compared to the shops!!) so giving them scrambled/boiled eggs are no probs.
thanks for letting me know about the acv, shall start dishing that out first thing tomorrow.
what kind of vitamins should i be looking for? ive never seen vitamins for sale for poultry here, but plenty for pigeons/parakeets/budgies etc.....would those do?

im originally from england and everything was so readily available there for poultry raising, but out here its a bit hit or miss sadly......

 

[Tunastopper]

Can you get soybean meal or fish meal to add to regular poultry feed. Soybean meals is like 48-52% protein here.

 

[spish]

the pheasant crumbs i got contain soyabean meal so im mixing that with the gamebird starter...but think i still need to add the eggs for protein