Baby turkeys leaving the broodet

[TNminifarm]

First time turkey mom ...and production at that.

My poults are 4 weeks old and has most of their feathers. Its 70 to 95 during the day and 45 to 55 at night... when can they go outside permanently... do i still need to wait until they are 8 weeks old or can i kick them out sooner?

Also when can i start giving them meat bird feed crumbles? They are on a chick starter feed now for the 1st month but can they transition to meat bird / higher protein feed now or should i wait a little longer?

Whens the best time to process them? I heard 20 - 24 weeks ... is this true? (5 to 6 months?)

Thank you!

Also can they go straight into the coop with my adult chickens and juvenile teenage chickens ... or do they need a grow up transition pen first?

 

[R2elk]

First time turkey mom ...and production at that.

My poults are 4 weeks old and has most of their feathers. Its 70 to 95 during the day and 45 to 55 at night... when can they go outside permanently... do i still need to wait until they are 8 weeks old or can i kick them out sooner?

Also when can i start giving them meat bird feed crumbles? They are on a chick starter feed now for the 1st month but can they transition to meat bird / higher protein feed now or should i wait a little longer?

Whens the best time to process them? I heard 20 - 24 weeks ... is this true? (5 to 6 months?)

Thank you!

Also can they go straight into the coop with my adult chickens and juvenile teenage chickens ... or do they need a grow up transition pen first?

Your turkey poults should have never been on chick starter. They need a high protein turkey or game bird starter for their first 6 to 8 weeks. That should be followed by a quality turkey or game bird grower for the next 6 weeks. After 12 to 14 weeks, they can go on a quality adult feed.

At 4 weeks old, your poults probably still need supplemental heat at night.

If you live in an area where blackhead is a problem, you should not keep turkeys with chickens or on ground that chickens have been on.

If blackhead is not a problem, there are other reasons to not keep turkeys with chickens as the turkeys may become harmful to your chickens once they are bigger than the chickens. Turkeys need a lot more room than chickens need.

Processing time depends on what size carcass you want and whether they are BBs or heritage turkeys. BBs can be processed at 3 to 4 months depending on how small a carcass you want or 6 months if you want a monster.

 

[TNminifarm]

Your turkey poults should have never been on chick starter. They need a high protein turkey or game bird starter for their first 6 to 8 weeks. That should be followed by a quality turkey or game bird grower for the next 6 weeks. After 12 to 14 weeks, they can go on a quality adult feed.

At 4 weeks old, your poults probably still need supplemental heat at night.

If you live in an area where blackhead is a problem, you should not keep turkeys with chickens or on ground that chickens have been on.

If blackhead is not a problem, there are other reasons to not keep turkeys with chickens as the turkeys may become harmful to your chickens once they are bigger than the chickens. Turkeys need a lot more room than chickens need.

Processing time depends on what size carcass you want and whether they are BBs or heritage turkeys. BBs can be processed at 3 to 4 months depending on how small a carcass you want or 6 months if you want a monster.

They are bromze breasted production and we were told by the farm store that tom males will get around 35 lbs at processing day and hens will be about 25 lbs ... so thats what we are aiming for.

They only have chick starter, meatbird, and layer ... they told us chickstarter for the first bit and then meat bird after that which is double the protein levels but never told us when to switch them

Do you think they can go outside at 6wks or should we wait until 8 weeks. Our run for our chickens is HUGE so they will have plenty of space to free range in an environment that is also enclosed and safe from predators... its about an 1/8 of an acre ... 100 x 200 feet not counting the coop and other covered shelter (10x10) we have for them. I dont know about blackhead ... what is that?

 

[R2elk]

They are bromze breasted production and we were told by the farm store that tom males will get around 35 lbs at processing day and hens will be about 25 lbs ... so thats what we are aiming for.

They only have chick starter, meatbird, and layer ... they told us chickstarter for the first bit and then meat bird after that which is double the protein levels but never told us when to switch them

Do you think they can go outside at 6wks or should we wait until 8 weeks. Our run for our chickens is HUGE so they will have plenty of space to free range in an environment that is also enclosed and safe from predators... its about an 1/8 of an acre ... 100 x 200 feet not counting the coop and other covered shelter (10x10) we have for them. I don't know about blackhead ... what is that?

Do not trust feed stores that will not carry proper feed for the animals they sell. They lied to you and did so most likely because they don't know any better or because it is the company line they are taught to say.

BB turkeys need a proper high protein turkey or game bird starter even more than heritage turkeys do. Failure to provide the proper amounts of lysine, methionine, niacin and protein prevents them from developing properly.

Those stores refuse to carry the proper feed because they don't consider it profitable enough. They do not care about your poultry, all they care about is their profit margin. They don't care that your turkeys will most likely have to be processed early because of leg issues.

Your turkeys can be outside in the daytime. Once you have them acclimated to the night time temperatures, they can stay out.

Blackhead (histomoniasis) references

 

[Devils Flower]

If you have the time make a small playpen as I call it for them to hang out in outside a few minutes every day. Make sure they have a sunny place and some shade in there playpen.. Keep water and food. Then move it up too a couple of hours a day and bring them in before dark. They should be ready to go outside all the time in about 4 - 5 days but will still need heat at night. This is what I have done with all my ducks and chickens and my baby turkeys.