Finishing feed for Turkeys

[Turkeytruff]

You can increase their protein levels by adding other feed and see if this makes a difference. ANd if you haven't already, peak under those feathers and see if the birds need a dusting; maybe you already check that out.

alfalpha pellets or cubes
some kinds of cat chow
bugs


My BR fly.

thanks for this suggestion Arielle. They are turning their beaks up at the alfalfa cubes I just bought a 20 kg sack of

. I'll feed those to the alpacas I think. I am also wanting to start a mealworm farm I think that would be excellent for them

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

Good ol cracked corn is what the ol timers round here all say, so its what I'm using on my tom (everyone else thinks its a treat lol)

 

[Celie]

Hi there
I have looked in every forum to see if anyone out there has advice on this. I have a combined population of 14 chickens, 2 24 week old BB 'heritage' turkeys (not sure why but they do fly and are very active), and 2 18 week old Narragansett turkeys. I have been feeding them all about 90% FF and 10% dry feed (I do try to keep the chicken pellets in one place and the turkeys in another but they do tend to all feed from both)

.
My question is are the turkeys getting enough protein? One of the BBs is eating any feathers he can find and has been plucking them from the other turkeys. I have read that this can happen when they need more protein - any ideas, advice would be great, thank you!

What is a BB Heritage?
It seems to be molting time for birds right now and I have chickens eating feathers that is blanketing the lawn, but I don't see any feather picking with my birds. I think with the colder weather they may be a little low on protein, so an increase to a 22% gamebird and turkey feed may help. Also a handfull of Black Oil Sunflower Seeds will help but their feathers in good condition through the winter months!

 

[Celie]

thanks for this suggestion Arielle. They are turning their beaks up at the alfalfa cubes I just bought a 20 kg sack of

. I'll feed those to the alpacas I think. I am also wanting to start a mealworm farm I think that would be excellent for them

Any kind of worms or crickets is excellent protein for all kinds of birdlife, but can become pricey, unless they get most of it through foraging, Corn is cheaper and is widely used for fattening all sorts of livestock, just try to avoid any GMO corn. I have also found that my turkeys are going crazy for whole Oats, so I am mixing Oats, Whole Corn, Mixed Grains and 22% protein Gamebird & Turkey Grower, With a good hand full of Boss. I really have no experiance with Alfafa cubes. I have used alfafa hay for my meat rabbits, because it has long fiber they need for lower gut health. What is the difference between the cubes and the hay? Thanks,
Celie

 

[Celie]

Good ol cracked corn is what the ol timers round here all say, so its what I'm using on my tom (everyone else thinks its a treat lol)

Corn is great for feeding almost all types of animals and is in almost all pellets, I am told. Lately feed mills are using more if it in rabbit feed, according to large rabbit breeders and they are loosing a lot of their breeding stock to "BLOAT", while other breeders say it is only GMO corn. Some poultry breeders say that their flocks won't touch GMO corn unless it's the only thing they can find. The corn I am buying is not Genetically Engineered, and all the birds love it. The only thing they love more is the oats! Someone wrote on the Chickens for 10 or 20 years thread is if the UPC on feed starts with or ends with an 8, it has GMO corn in it. I don't know, but I think if the birds are offered corn as well as other feeds and they Choose the corn, it should be naturally good for them. I do know that corn fed to laying chickens, will give you larger darker yolks. Yesterdays yolks were actually orange ! Maybe the hens are celebrating Halloween ???

 

[Oregon Blues]

Do you literally want fat, or do you want meat?

To get meat, you must feed protein. If what you want is more actual fat, the corn will do it. Corn is pretty much the same thing as feeding your birds a diet of candy.

I do not switch to a finishing feed. My birds eat the same diet up until butchering. They get a 20% protein turkey feed and fruit and greens, plus access to oyster shell. They also eat whatever they can find while they are loose in the orchard, which is not much this time of year.

My broad breasted whites are so huge now that I would be afraid to try to add a few pounds of pure fat onto them. They don't need any more weight to add strain to their legs. They are already going to put on several more pounds of muscle meat before I butcher them.

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

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?

 

[Turkeytruff]

What is a BB Heritage?
It seems to be molting time for birds right now and I have chickens eating feathers that is blanketing the lawn, but I don't see any feather picking with my birds. I think with the colder weather they may be a little low on protein, so an increase to a 22% gamebird and turkey feed may help. Also a handfull of Black Oil Sunflower Seeds will help but their feathers in good condition through the winter months!

Beats me! He called them heritage Bronze Broad breasted - they are very agile and fly and jump around a lot and like to follow me everywhere. I think if they had a hen to impress they would give it a go naturally

instead of politely waiting for AI. I was just told they look to be about 22 lbs dressed weight by 2 experienced turkey people yesterday. So they are definitely not the ones that are so large breasted that they can hardly move....
I haven't seen him do any more feather plucking so hopefully he's happier in the protein dept.

 

[MarineCorpFarmr]

Beats me! He called them heritage Bronze Broad breasted - they are very agile and fly and jump around a lot and like to follow me everywhere. I think if they had a hen to impress they would give it a go naturally

instead of politely waiting for AI. I was just told they look to be about 22 lbs dressed weight by 2 experienced turkey people yesterday. So they are definitely not the ones that are so large breasted that they can hardly move....
I haven't seen him do any more feather plucking so hopefully he's happier in the protein dept.

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.

 

[Turkeytruff]

Any kind of worms or crickets is excellent protein for all kinds of birdlife, but can become pricey, unless they get most of it through foraging, Corn is cheaper and is widely used for fattening all sorts of livestock, just try to avoid any GMO corn. I have also found that my turkeys are going crazy for whole Oats, so I am mixing Oats, Whole Corn, Mixed Grains and 22% protein Gamebird & Turkey Grower, With a good hand full of Boss. I really have no experiance with Alfafa cubes. I have used alfafa hay for my meat rabbits, because it has long fiber they need for lower gut health. What is the difference between the cubes and the hay? Thanks,
Celie

Hi I have no idea what the difference between the hay & the cubes is except probably more expensive!

I will be going to a feedstore tomorrow and will check out out the Gamebird & Turkey grower, and get some BOSS. Are you using FF? I am putting whole oats, wheat, rye, and barley and cracked corn in my FF that I have been feeding them for 3 weeks now.