Just curious how everyone raises their turkey poults.
Kevin Porter of http://www.porterturkeys.com/poultstartingtips.htm suggests the following on his website:
Tips on Starting your poults
The following information is my poult starting methods and what works successfully for me and is only here for those looking for a little guidance to get their newly hatched poults off to a good start.
I start my poults out in a homemade brooder, which measures approx. 24 wide x 48 long x 15 high, Yours doesn't necessarily have to be quite this large. I cover the bottom completely with paper towels. I just scatter their feed right on the paper towels for the first couple of days so they can easily pick at it and get use to eating . After that I use a small chick feeder. Their heat source is a heat lamp (With either a 75 or 100 watt bulb)"Not florescent" I recommend the red colored heat bulbs as the red light helps prevent canabalism. I hang the light approx. 8 from the brooder floor. I normally place this right in the middle of the brooder with plenty of room for them to get away from it on each side if they get too hot. It may also be a good idea to put in two heat lamps,side by side,one for backup just in case one burns out during the night, Their drinking water container is placed off center of the heat lamp so it doesn't get too warm. After the first week I put them on a wire floor, you can also put down shavings at this time if desired. Then you can gradually reduce the wattage of the light bulb as you notice them not needing as much heat.
I start my poults out on a 30% protein, non-medicated turkey starter crumble.
I add a vitamin and electrolyte supplement to their drinking water. Normally 1/4 tsp. per quart of water.
I also add apple cider vinegar to their water as well, 1/2 Tbs per quart. This is reported to reduce the incidence of coccidiosis and inhibits harmful bacterial or algae growth in the water. This can be mixed with the vitamins.
I keep this in the water of all my adult birds too.
For shipped poults I recommend adding a tsp. of brown sugar per quart of water for a couple days after arrival for a quick energy boost just to help them recover from shipping stress. This can be mixed with the vitamins and vinegar.
After my poults have reached a couple weeks of age or so I switch over to a 26% protein, non-medicated turkey starter crumble. I continue to feed them this till they are around 3 months of age, I then switch again to a 22% protein turkey grower/finisher pellet.
Kevin Porter of http://www.porterturkeys.com/poultstartingtips.htm suggests the following on his website:
Tips on Starting your poults
The following information is my poult starting methods and what works successfully for me and is only here for those looking for a little guidance to get their newly hatched poults off to a good start.
I start my poults out in a homemade brooder, which measures approx. 24 wide x 48 long x 15 high, Yours doesn't necessarily have to be quite this large. I cover the bottom completely with paper towels. I just scatter their feed right on the paper towels for the first couple of days so they can easily pick at it and get use to eating . After that I use a small chick feeder. Their heat source is a heat lamp (With either a 75 or 100 watt bulb)"Not florescent" I recommend the red colored heat bulbs as the red light helps prevent canabalism. I hang the light approx. 8 from the brooder floor. I normally place this right in the middle of the brooder with plenty of room for them to get away from it on each side if they get too hot. It may also be a good idea to put in two heat lamps,side by side,one for backup just in case one burns out during the night, Their drinking water container is placed off center of the heat lamp so it doesn't get too warm. After the first week I put them on a wire floor, you can also put down shavings at this time if desired. Then you can gradually reduce the wattage of the light bulb as you notice them not needing as much heat.
I start my poults out on a 30% protein, non-medicated turkey starter crumble.
I add a vitamin and electrolyte supplement to their drinking water. Normally 1/4 tsp. per quart of water.
I also add apple cider vinegar to their water as well, 1/2 Tbs per quart. This is reported to reduce the incidence of coccidiosis and inhibits harmful bacterial or algae growth in the water. This can be mixed with the vitamins.
I keep this in the water of all my adult birds too.
For shipped poults I recommend adding a tsp. of brown sugar per quart of water for a couple days after arrival for a quick energy boost just to help them recover from shipping stress. This can be mixed with the vitamins and vinegar.
After my poults have reached a couple weeks of age or so I switch over to a 26% protein, non-medicated turkey starter crumble. I continue to feed them this till they are around 3 months of age, I then switch again to a 22% protein turkey grower/finisher pellet.
