Baby Turkey Help

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

would you recommend giving them that avc mixture as soon as they are brought home? to ward off any potential weakness??

We start all our newly hatched poults off on 1 TSP of Molasses and 1 TSP of Apple Cider Vinegar to a gallon of warm water for the first week of their life and the switch to just 1 TSP of Apple cider Vinegar per gallon of water until they are 10 weeks or longer, it will not hurt to keep giving them it for ever if you want to, but we have found very rarely do the need after they are 10 weeks old, but take it by a case by case basis.

For shipped poults we use 2 TSP of molasses and 1 TSP of ACV for their first week as they will be weaker and more stressed then the ones we hatch out here.​

 

[ranchcookie]

good to know, thanks for the info by the way!

was just reading through the other turkey thread, wow, what a huge amount of info to process!!

how big are the poults when they arrive ( a couple days old i'm assuming)... just wondering if the brooder i'm thinking about is going to be big enough, and for how long

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

how big are the poults when they arrive ( a couple days old i'm assuming)...

About the size of a chick at 2 weeks old or so.

just wondering if the brooder i'm thinking about is going to be big enough, and for how long

Provide ¾- 1 square foot per bird in the brooder. Most social problems are due to too many birds in too small a space​

 

[ranchcookie]

harp,

i have a rabbit cage i was thinking of using (it's 30"L x 18"W x 16"H) for the first week or two, and then was hoping i could move them out on the back deck in something like the kiddie pool, and have them indoors at night

do you think that cage is too small for the first couple weeks/??? i was sorta hoping to use it, since it would be easy to sanitize, hang a lamp from the wire upper, etc... just sort of looked like it would fit the bill.


i dont have a fortune to spend, but i also dont want to screw this up before i even get a chance to get started if you know what i mean....

thanks


ps, i looked, and i cant find anything that says how big a two week old chick is. sorry, but i have never had chickens, so dont know what to compare that too.... also i looked for some sort of expected growth chart for turkeys (you know, so much weight and height at week one, two, four, etc) have you seen anything like that? maybe point me in the right direction?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
Harp should be able to provide pics of the size of poults at different ages and the size and weights. I read on one of the other threads they are growing some out now.

Steve in NC

 

[turkey crazy]

this is my first year raising turkeys i order 5 but they didnt send one got 2 male broad breasted and one female and one bourbon red , i found the the brd brst are far smarter than the brbn rd and i tell you get the book STOREYS GUIDE TO RAISING TURKEYS , this book told far more info than any other book i have read and i did my home work before doing this , but they are 5 days old and just growing like crazy and i didnt feed them medicated or any special food just show them water and food and keep checking and clean water and you husbandry skills up and theyll do fine ,next thing you know there trying to fly, love them , so gentle and cute .

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

Harp should be able to provide pics of the size of poults at different ages and the size and weights. I read on one of the other threads they are growing some out now.

Yes I can take some pics of new hatches up to 3 weeks old for references. I'll try and get them up tomorrow evening if I can get enough time tomorrow during the day. I have been super busy everyday with all the new poults and all the chickens we got running around, but will try my best too.

i have a rabbit cage i was thinking of using (it's 30"L x 18"W x 16"H) for the first week or two, and then was hoping i could move them out on the back deck in something like the kiddie pool, and have them indoors at night

do you think that cage is too small for the first couple weeks/??? i was sorta hoping to use it, since it would be easy to sanitize, hang a lamp from the wire upper, etc... just sort of looked like it would fit the bill.


i dont have a fortune to spend, but i also dont want to screw this up before i even get a chance to get started if you know what i mean....

Best thing to use is a 90 quart clear tub from Wally world they cost 9 dollars. Line the bottom with paper towels and that is good for the first week- two. you can put 10-15 in each one.Then I would put them in the rabbit cage after that as they will need the extra heat the first week and no drafts.​

 

[ranchcookie]

<a href="http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&lpver=3&ref=11" target="_blank"><img src="http://content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/00020149.gif" border=0 ></a>

thank you so much harp!

sorry for all the questions, but if i get these little guys i really dont want to be unprepared when they show up! as it is, i was re-studying the catalogue last night and realized that the min order wasnt 10 but twenty five! woowhee! that is going to be a lot of turkeys!

i'm going to go with the tub thing from wally world, the rabbit cage wouldnt be anywhere big enough anyhow. and i think i'll get two just to be sure (in case the min is the higher number)

i saw a nice setup with two tubs like that, where they only cut one of the lids to fit with screens, left the other one solid, and put them across both to keep in more heat. sounded good to me, and then just two lamps.



with all your help, i think i have this brooder thing all sorted out, now i just have to call my feed stores that i deal with and make sure that i can get the food required


i have just never done anything like this, and worry about doing the right things.....
LOL the next batch of questions will be about the pens i was going to put them in, but i'll give you guys a break for a bit!

oh and i saw that book , turkey crazy, and already earmarked it to buy--- good to hear from someone else that it is worth the money!

steve-- which thread was that? maybe i can go over there and read for bit, and see what some of them are going through...

 

[Aschuchert]

Wow, tha is everyone for all the input!

To answer lots of questions
Yes to acv, molasses, electrolytes & medicated feed. Using all.
Yes to 2-3 cc fluids every hour when we see them decline, usually by night fall.

We've raised chicks for years, know what pasty butt and typical hatchling issues look like. Only lost 1 chick in 6 years.
Yes, we trained them to use water and food. Repeatedly.

We are losing 1 at a time, always the smallest about 10 to 12 hours apart.
Cleaning 2x day, and keeping brooder between 90 and 100 from the warm to cool spots, so there's always a sweet spot.

What I'm hearing is that were just experiencing is typical with hatchery chicks mailed to us?

I dont want to point fingers at them since they have been hatching longer than we've been raising. I just am looking for new advice, it's a big investment, especially since husband lost his job to the pandemic. We cant just find the breed anywhere, so we're down 30% on poilts, and thay represents most of our potential profit from the investment.

Thanks again, any new advice is welcome.
Thanks also for the support, I worry a lot and it may just be egg sac poisoning and there's nothing that can be done on that.

 

[R2elk]

Yes to acv

Do not give ACV to chicks or poults in a brooder. ACV during high temperature periods is harmful. Brooder temperatures are considered high temperatures.

Do not use wood chips for bedding during the first couple of weeks for poults and never use wood chips for bedding for them unless the appropriate sized grit is available.

They will eat the wood chips and without the grit, they cannot digest them and will plug up and die.