Growing time for turkeys

[Triplell]

what feed do you feed them? Flock raiser or a meat maker?

 

[yinepu]

what feed do you feed them? Flock raiser or a meat maker?

game bird pellets..

Our feed store doesn't carry any purina feeds or even turkey starter.. so the best he has is game bird.. when he runs out of that (lots of quail, pheasant people around here) then I have to go with regular layer pellets. Luckily he doesn't run out often (maybe once every three months or so).. though I have had to start poults on chick starter when he couldn't get enough game bird starter delivered.

They do "ok" on regular feed.. they just don't pack on the weight as fast and I have to keep an eye on the poults legs in case that batch of feed is niacin deficient or just supplement their water to be on the safe side. .

 

[Celie]

I too have been thinking of raising some turkeys this year for the freezer. I haven't decided on what breed to get yet. I would like at least a 15lb to 20 lb turkey dressed out.

In that case, I would not suggest Midget Whites, Beltsville(too small) about 12 to 15 pound toms, Standard Bronze or Holland Whites(too big) 40 to 45 pound toms and hens around 25 to 30 pounds. But your middle between them are Black Spanish, Bourbon Red, Blue Slates, or Narragansett. They have a mature weight of 33 pounds for the toms or about 18 pounds for the hens. You have to take off 20% to come up with the weight after processing. If you look in the catalogs from Hatcheries, most of them state mature weights, you can expect. Of course you have to realize those are AVERAGE weights and can vary!

WOW!!! It takes that long. I am not sure what I will get but I am gonna get something.

In my experience with Holland weights, for the first 8 to 9 months, they are building a good frame and the next 8 to 9 months, they put on the meat. If all you want is fast meat, you might consider the BBW(White Giants) or BBB. They are Hybrids and grow faster, being ready to harvest in 4 to 6 months. These breeds most of the time, develop leg or heart trouble because of their fast growth. These are the commercial breeds, you find in the meat cases today. They need to be AI, because by the time the Tom reaches sexual maturity, he is too big in the breast to mate naturally. Heritage breeds are turkeys that mate naturally and live several years, reproducing more turkeys, year after year. Depending where you live may, you may not want to Winter Over a Heritage breed!

game bird pellets..

Our feed store doesn't carry any purina feeds or even turkey starter.. so the best he has is game bird.. when he runs out of that (lots of quail, pheasant people around here) then I have to go with regular layer pellets. Luckily he doesn't run out often (maybe once every three months or so).. though I have had to start poults on chick starter when he couldn't get enough game bird starter delivered.

They do "ok" on regular feed.. they just don't pack on the weight as fast and I have to keep an eye on the poults legs in case that batch of feed is niacin deficient or just supplement their water to be on the safe side. .

I can also not get flock raiser, Turkey raiser, or turkey breeder feed, so I have to feed The game breed starter and game breed raiser, but my flocks can make up the protein requirement with free ranging on bugs and grasshoppers. Good point about the Niacin, too.