Finishing feed for Turkeys

[Turkeytruff]

Well theres your problem, heritage breeds are not broad breasted. My educated guess would be you have standard bronze which are heritage. In which case you wouldnt have to AI. My broad breasted bronze tom is 7 months old and pushing 50 lbs. Standard or heritage bronze do not get that big and do mate naturally.

yes this makes sense! thanks I am such a newbie I should have figured that out

 

[Arielle]

I get what youre saying here, but at the same time people throughout the last 150 years have mostly fed their chickens and turkeys corn as a sole ration. They didnt have our fancy milled and bagged feed products to feed out. And as far as i can tell they didnt make their chickens all fat (sorry but look at the old generations and how much less they (the people) weighed back then compared to now) Things like that dont add up. Gnome' sayin?

I bet if we could look a little deeper into what birds were fed long ago, we would find corn was not the only feed these birds ate. Free ranging chickens would certainly eat vegetation and bugs of all sorts. Corn is not the only grain used for feed; many farms also grew other grains and starchy vegetables. I would love a time machine to see how these animals lived. I do know that milled feeds provide a very good basis for poultry diets. With thoughtful supplements to beef up the vitamins and animal protein. I also think it is easy to forget the challenge of providing enough food for people and farm animals in the by-gone era before tractors. I suspect that we have a less than accurate understanding of those years. Corn as a sole ration is lacking enough protein; and you are right, the animals would have been lean. A fattened animal was a luxury. ANd most people didn't eat the "crap" that is regularly eaten and is regarded as a typical American diet. WE have beome a nation of fat people and fat pets. DUe to over consumption of carbs. Sorry for the rant. Interesting topic. Obesity I find very intersting as I personally am battleing the bulge, and winning. I decreased the carbs to good green leafy vegies and pure meats. Like our lean American ancestors that thrived on farms.

Will see if I can find info on old feeding methods.

Quote: Hey--we learn this one at some point. My BBW are HUGE compared to the heritage birds.

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

I bet if we could look a little deeper into what birds were fed long ago, we would find corn was not the only feed these birds ate. Free ranging chickens would certainly eat vegetation and bugs of all sorts. Corn is not the only grain used for feed; many farms also grew other grains and starchy vegetables. I would love a time machine to see how these animals lived. I do know that milled feeds provide a very good basis for poultry diets. With thoughtful supplements to beef up the vitamins and animal protein. I also think it is easy to forget the challenge of providing enough food for people and farm animals in the by-gone era before tractors. I suspect that we have a less than accurate understanding of those years. Corn as a sole ration is lacking enough protein; and you are right, the animals would have been lean. A fattened animal was a luxury. ANd most people didn't eat the "crap" that is regularly eaten and is regarded as a typical American diet. WE have beome a nation of fat people and fat pets. DUe to over consumption of carbs. Sorry for the rant. Interesting topic. Obesity I find very intersting as I personally am battleing the bulge, and winning. I decreased the carbs to good green leafy vegies and pure meats. Like our lean American ancestors that thrived on farms.

Will see if I can find info on old feeding methods.


Hey--we learn this one at some point. My BBW are HUGE compared to the heritage birds.

My battle with its a bit slow going... every time the va plays games and says "here take more pills for your pain" i end up gaining untill i get in for surgery and off the meds. Back in the ol days i am sure they experimented with feeds they could produce on the farm as well as most probably did freerange their birds. I fully agree. Tractors and harvesters now can drive themselves with gps... people forget that oxen mules and horses used to do those jobs.

yeah I have to agree with the bb's too. Ive got bbb & heritage bronze. Two very different breeds when it comes to size, thats for sure.

 

[Arielle]

Pardon me for going off topic for a moment, but I think it is worth it.

It took me years because doctors are not as knowledgeable as they think they are and live in a profession where pharmacuitcals are viewed as the be all - end all. THough some are starting to reaize other methods of treatment can be effective. I've had a doctor to tell me to eat less margarine-- my mother did the shopping and the food prep; when there were left overs piled it onto my plate. THen complained to me how fat I was getting. I see the medical field as functioning much the same. GIve drugs then worry about the side effects. Bottom line, I have come to understand how my body feels for pain, for how energized, how much work I can do is very related to my diet. When I eat a lot of breads and starches, my stamina drops, my joints hurt. On a diet of mostly unbreaded and unsweetened meats and green salads I can run with my kids, avoid the after lunch sluggishness, and so far avoid pain in a wrist almost destroyed by a kick from a horse. I was told I would have arthritis; I have since learned arthritis too is controlled by diet. A lower carb diet helps the body to function correctly and little pains like arthritis go away with out drug. We used to eat whole grains, now we eat just the white finely ground flours. Food intake for me has been like medicine but without the side effects.

I'm not saying there isn't a place for drugs; there certainly is. Just saying better results with no side effects can be achieved by eating more like a caveman or Daniel Boone.

Is this a new concept to everyone?? Producing my own meat led me to turkeys.

 

[frank53061]

I agree I am in the Medical field kind of and I deal with Medical personal every day Finding a good Doctor is like finding a Diamond in a Goats butt.
But getting back on Subject I was reading about all the wonderful Drugs out there for Fowl and what is banned and what is not.
For those who need it for there Poultry or have to used it and had good results that's great if that's the path they want to travel.
By no mean would I classify myself as a Hippie but I was brought up on a farm that 90% of all Human or animal medical problems could be fixed with a old tried and true home Remedy.
There was that 10% that a Vet had to brought in to hopefully fix the problem or the Doctor was needed for the Family member.
Some times the easy path is not the best path.
So far all the Illnesses that all my animals have had were fixed with a home remedy or organic method for curing the Illness.
This may not be true a month from now.
You don't know how many smelly home remades have been smeared on me in my life time.
Some of the same remedy's that were used on the Pigs and Cattle LOL.
I had no side effects from these Remedy's with the exception of when the rainy season comes around and my Hoof and mouth kicks up

.

 

[Arielle]

THanks for the laugh Frank!!

I remember reading a story about a mother that had a son with epilepsy. They had tried 15 out the 17 drugs for treatment and NONE worked. In despiration, she started researching alternatives and found a very old treatment from the 1920-1930's where a clinic fed children very high fat diets-- 80% of the calories as I remember were as fat. SHe found many recipes to re-create, too. She cured her child. I don't remember now how long the son ate this diet, 6 months, a year, but it worked. Forever after reading this I have been convinced that fat and oils in our diets have been maligned.

Frank I sure hope you have all those remedies written down some where--more and more people are looking for the old methods.

 

[Celie]

I get what youre saying here, but at the same time people throughout the last 150 years have mostly fed their chickens and turkeys corn as a sole ration. They didnt have our fancy milled and bagged feed products to feed out. And as far as i can tell they didnt make their chickens all fat (sorry but look at the old generations and how much less they (the people) weighed back then compared to now) Things like that dont add up. Gnome' sayin?

150 years or so ago, chickens were a scrawny version of what they are today, on the old homestead. People fed them whatever scraps the dogs left and garden waste, like the bruise they cut out of the tomato they ate at lunch and the bread that went stale and weren't used for breadcrumbs. It was slim pickins' and chickens were called the prize hen, if they laid 200 eggs a year! Corn was fed to most livestock to fatten them up before butchering. The corn starks, starks from sugar cane, after the sugar was squeezed out and the sort was called fodder and was used, too. People ate a big breakfast full of fatty foods to get through the day, because they needed the extra calories for the hard physical work, and people were smaller in size, because nutrition was poorer. People had to make due with a biscuit and a bowl of greens or maybe a plate of beans and rice. Meat was not served at every meal, many babies died before the age of 4 years old and life expectancy was 40 years. Today life expectancy is 80+ years, we are bigger and stronger and most babies live past the age of 4. If you look back in history, the good old days were not so good! Just look at some of the developing nations of today! Think about it !

Quote:

Pardon me for going off topic for a moment, but I think it is worth it.

It took me years because doctors are not as knowledgeable as they think they are and live in a profession where pharmacuitcals are viewed as the be all - end all. THough some are starting to reaize other methods of treatment can be effective. I've had a doctor to tell me to eat less margarine-- my mother did the shopping and the food prep; when there were left overs piled it onto my plate. THen complained to me how fat I was getting. I see the medical field as functioning much the same. GIve drugs then worry about the side effects. Bottom line, I have come to understand how my body feels for pain, for how energized, how much work I can do is very related to my diet. When I eat a lot of breads and starches, my stamina drops, my joints hurt. On a diet of mostly unbreaded and unsweetened meats and green salads I can run with my kids, avoid the after lunch sluggishness, and so far avoid pain in a wrist almost destroyed by a kick from a horse. I was told I would have arthritis; I have since learned arthritis too is controlled by diet. A lower carb diet helps the body to function correctly and little pains like arthritis go away with out drug. We used to eat whole grains, now we eat just the white finely ground flours. Food intake for me has been like medicine but without the side effects.

I'm not saying there isn't a place for drugs; there certainly is. Just saying better results with no side effects can be achieved by eating more like a caveman or Daniel Boone.

Is this a new concept to everyone?? Producing my own meat led me to turkeys.

You can say that again about Doctors and nutritionist are even worse. They say to eat certain things one day and not to eat them the next, constantly changing the rules, when it seams simple enough to me that if I eat less processed food in boxes with chemicals and ingredients I can't even pronounce and more fruit and vegetables, fresh, like God made them, I am healthier for it. About 7 years ago, I was quite ill heart trouble, severe Hypertension, going to the doctors every month. I was told I would be in a wheelchair within 6 months, in severe pain, and being mammogramed every other week for the big "C". I was rereading Leviticus and realized that God made these flesh bodies and He told us how to eat to keep them healthy! 7 years later, no medication, no wheelchair and no cancer! Also no shellfish, catfish or pork. Only what God told us were clean food. I am not saying I would not ever take a Doctors advice or go to the hospital or take medication, if I needed it, but all things in moderation work best. The hatcheries, for example say to feed meat chickens "MEDICATED FEED". Why? Why are we growing our own food so it will be natural or medicated? Most Medicated feed have antibiotics in them, so if we eat the medicated birds and become ill, we will be somewhat immune to some antibiotics and have to take stronger and stronger medication to fight off the bad bugs! I do Not use medicated feed!:

I get what youre saying here, but at the same time people throughout the last 150 years have mostly fed their chickens and turkeys corn as a sole ration. They didnt have our fancy milled and bagged feed products to feed out. And as far as i can tell they didnt make their chickens all fat (sorry but look at the old generations and how much less they (the people) weighed back then compared to now) Things like that dont add up. Gnome' sayin?

My battle with its a bit slow going... every time the va plays games and says "here take more pills for your pain" i end up gaining untill i get in for surgery and off the meds. Back in the ol days i am sure they experimented with feeds they could produce on the farm as well as most probably did freerange their birds. I fully agree. Tractors and harvesters now can drive themselves with gps... people forget that oxen mules and horses used to do those jobs.

yeah I have to agree with the bb's too. Ive got bbb & heritage bronze. Two very different breeds when it comes to size, thats for sure.

When I was on pain medication, it was the same way, our brains feel good and will actually give us more pain, to get more. I am not saying pain control is not sometimes necessary. But like all things in life"MODERATION"! If we use moderation in eating and exercise, we will weigh less and put less stress on our bodies and lessen the need for stronger and stronger Rx. Quite a few years ago, I lost 42# in 9 weeks and went from 150# to 108#, by just eating right and walking(usually up and down stairs). I was in my late 40's and the Doctors told me I could not lose weight that fast and stay healthy, so bring the stubborn person I am, I just had to prove him wrong.LOL. I drank nothing but skim milk, 100% fruit juice, plenty of water and an occasional cup of coffee. I prepared my food according to the diet given to a heart patient and a diabetics diet, combined and counted calories not to go over 800 a day and very low fat grams. At the end of the 2 month I was in better health than when I started, I no longer wanted junk foods nor craved anything and I felt great! The doctors asked me to write down exactly how I did it, what foods I ate and what foods I avoided, so they could use it as an example for their overweight patients. I will shut up now.

 

[Arielle]

I LOVE IT !!!! DON'T shut up!!!

I'm trying to avoid the big "C" too. RUns in my family, my grand mother and most of her sisters gone by ages 55-60. I'm trying to beat the odds as I carry the big "C" gene for it.

If you want to learn about most of the nutirion sudies relavent to weight loss read read Dr Atkins, the old editions of his book. THe new version is stripped of all the scientific studies.

From another source, I found a simple study done about 1930 where a group of scientists traveled island to island in the far north, looking at the teeth of the Inuit people. They counted teeth and they counted cavities and they noted whether or not the government provided additional food. The difference in teeth health was astonishing. About 40% vs. 10% cavities !!! To eat a diet of meat and fat ( not processed foods, and little or no carbs in this example) resulted in good strong teeth almost free of cavities. My take away is eat unbreaded meats and green vegies.

I'm not perfect, but I"m trying. Primarily clean meat, and some vegies, berries and nuts.

In another source, written for women, but much applies to men too, Dr Christiane Northrop does a fantastic job of detailing the effects of individual nutrients on heart and muscles; and the effects of insulin on water retention and heart disease. Basically the high carb diet is killing us.

I don't hear any of this from doctors.

ANd the news, is still in the dark ages spewing misinformation and certainly not up to date.

As far as medicated feed. I lost a whole batch of chicks to coccidia. I do use medicated however, I do not eat those chicks until the meds have cleared the body. I would love to know how you manage the poults and chicks to expose them to the coccidia in a manner that they will survive and so can avoid using the feed medicated with amprolium. Care to share??