Are my turkeys on track?

[Big Dan]

I am news with meat turkeys and am trying to make sure they are on track with size and weight. They look very healthy and active. They are BBB and 6 weeks old. I went and weighed all 4 of them. The smallest was 3 lbs next was 3.5 lbs and the two big ones were both 4 lbs. Does that sound like the right pace. I have a big family to feed on turkey day and Christmas. I want a plump bird. They are on a meat bird 22% but I mix up steam rolled outs and corn chop 50/50 and leave that in a different dish free feed as well. Is all this sounding correct?

 

[Big Dan]

Are my feed thoughts correct?

 

[Arielle]

Dan, you are doing fine.

THese birds will be ready for butchering in 4-5 months, well before THanksgiving. Fast growth isn't super important except to the commercial growers, so if they are growing well enough to meat your needs and you are feeding healthy greens to make a very healthy bird to eat, then I commend your efforts.

THere is a growth chart at one of the big hatchery sites. Try Meyers under the selection for buying the BBW or BBB. Just remember it is ok to be a little behind those numbers. YOu are not a commericial operation and you are feeding greens and oats. Both are good for the GI and the greens definitely make for a healthier animal.

Good luck.

 

[Big Dan]

Yea they get hay and some free range. Its hard to let the,m free range a ton because I have a ton of meat chickens. The have a pretty big pen to run and stretch in so I supplement them the hay. They love running around. They are going to be dinner but they get to live the life before then.

 

[Arielle]

WHen the meat birds, or any animal, gets enough exercise to build strong muscles , tendons and bones, they are better able to move between food sources and water source. When my BBW got to the end ( toms weighed 35# AFTER butchering) the last month was spent laying around and not moving very far: like maybe 2-3 feet and then laydown. This senerio developed despite my efforts to move them to the back yard to walk around, and then herd them back 100 feet to coop.

THey are designed to put on muscle very fast.

REcently I ate a heritage bird that had free ranged all the 9 months. He was pretty big, maybe 30-35 # live weight. HE could still fly if necessary. I let the meat chill in the 'frig for 2 days. It was the BEST tasting meat EVER!! Honestly, the BBW tasted like a grocery store bird as I had fed them pellets, especially the last month as they didn't move around to graze.

I'm trying a meat experiment, with 2 groups of cornishX; one given commercial pellets, the other pellets plus grass. Looking for a better feed cost and better flavor. Will see . . .