Greens for turkeys

[shaninsky]

I have a flock of 11 Ridley Bronze turkeys and they eat their pellets but they beg like crazy for greens. I pick grass and throw it in to them but I wondered if anyone else has a better way of supplying them the greens they crave. Also, they are about 5 months old and I feed them a "grower" feed but what should I feed once they are adults?

 

[LittleRock]

Seems like your turkeys do the same thing mine do. I feed them fresh grass as I don't let them free range after they started to wander to far away. I also give them veggies and fruits from my garden. Oh and they love cacti. I just feed them as I cut it, some for the house and some for them.

I am not sure of the exact protein percentage but my local feed store has a turkey crumble that I feed mine once the pass the 6 month mark. I think it's around +\- 20%. A buddy of mine feeds his adults a mix of layer and chick starter. His flock seems nice looking. I'm sorry I don't have an exact answer but just my experience.

 

[shaninsky]

Thanks for the info. We live in Ontario, Canada so no cacti here but lots of other greens. I was trying to get some info from the feed store about maintenance feed for turkeys but it seems they only carry the kind of feed used to fatten them up fast for slaughter. The guy at the store recommended a laying mix and to add cracked corn when the temperature gets down to -22F.

 

[Redbourbon]

We have the same issue here in Maine only Turkey grower so we mix that 50/50 with cracked corn and pick mammoth red clover and Apple's they like the clover better than the grain I think but winter is not far off

 

[hendricks115]

All of our birds (chickens, turkeys and ducks) love the greens and the cold months can be a little hard. We eat tons of fresh fruits and veggies, so I keep a bowl with a tight fitting lid and put all my scraps in which I feed my birds everyday. Last winter I started asking my local grocery store if they had any produce they were trashing if I could take it instead. I made it a point to talk to the manager and let him know I have a flock of birds and that was what I was using it for. I took pictures with my phone and showed him as well. I explained to him that they are used to all our fruit and veggie scraps plus whatever ended up going bad in the garden during the summer and early fall. We set up a day each week and I would bring 2 or 3 large boxes off "unsellable" produce home for our gang.