Egg with no shell??

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

Quote:
if the heritage birds are being fed 28% all their lives, they will get leg problems...i want mine to grow slow to prolong their live as any pet owner would...thats how slow i want them to grow

No it does not cause them leg problems ?? I have two adults here that are 4+ years old and they get low protien only during breeding season and then when they are out on the range they get free choice on 28% feed and they are just fine. I have never once out of hundreds of turkeys had one that developed a leg problem from eating too much or gaining weight too fast, That only happens on the BB types. They will live up to 10-12 years no matter what you feed them.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Quote:
if the heritage birds are being fed 28% all their lives, they will get leg problems...i want mine to grow slow to prolong their live as any pet owner would...thats how slow i want them to grow

No it does not cause them leg problems ?? I have two adults here that are 4+ years old and they get low protien only during breeding season and then when they are out on the range they get free choice on 28% feed and they are just fine. I have never once out of hundreds of turkeys had one that developed a leg problem from eating too much or gaining weight too fast, That only happens on the BB types. They will live up to 10-12 years no matter what you feed them.

why do you only feed them low protein in breeding season...always an adventure letting them free range

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

why do you only feed them low protein in breeding season...

While in breding season one does not want an overweight bird. Since they are in pens and not out free ranging on a high protien diet they would gain alot of weight and be out of shape for breeding. So we put ours on a 16-18% diet and only feed them 1/2 pound of feed a day per turkey

always an adventure letting them free range

We always let ours "free range" after they are about 10-12 weeks old until harvest or breeding season then once that is over they are back out again till one or the other.​

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

well i just let mine free range and they go up and down hills so im guessing they are in good shape...lol

 

[dave3877]

i feed mine a ration of mixed feed, scratch grain, some meat and fresh veggies/ scraps depending on if theyre breeding or feeding heres my recipe. for breeding its simple and lean. i usually feed 1/4 nutrena game bird grower 1/4 18% lay pellets, 1/4 14% creep pellets, and 1/4 rice bran pellets. it bulks them up good but the hens still lay great. now for my feeder turkeys i go with 1/4 28 % game bird, 1/4 creep pellet, 1/4 rice bran and 1/4 32% catfish food. i also do it like i do broilers and put corn meal or gluten blende d with oil into feed to make a high protien mash. gives them a shiny sheen and it throws weight on them. the catfish food is a hard pellet like mini chunk dog food but i run everything once through my grandad's old grist mill so its not quite crumble size but very palatable size. not as much waste