HUGE newbie mistake?!?!?

[my4fireflies]

I've raised backyard chickens before, but on a small scale. I really wanted to try turkeys this year, so I talked a friend into going halfsies with me on 11 giant whites, 2 Narragansetts, and 2 bronze breasted from McMurray. I agreed to raise them at my house, but we would sell them together near thanksgiving and send a few to freezer camp in the fall for home use. I have my chickens and turkeys on separate sides of our one acre, no intermingling. We did have a few free range chickens about 4-5 years ago that occasionally scratched around where the turkeys are housed now. Other than that----I don't think I did my homework well enough.

So, here's what I did. For the first week, I kept them in a brooder fashioned out of 2 old dresser drawers lined with puppy pads. I kept them under a heat lamp 24 hours a day. After a week, the smell was getting to be too much, even with changing the pads twice a day and my son was really upset that I used his room while he was away.

We built a hoop house, right on the grass, covered it in plastic and let them roam around in there during the day. When it gets cold at night I have put them in a large brooder/cardboard box, turned upside down, so they are sleeping on the grass. I cut a hole in the top and dropped the heat lamp in there. It stays about 80 degrees in there at night. The daytime temps fluctuate a little, but it is 75-90 in the hoop house.

Yesterday I went out there in the morning and one was dead. I quickly found some info on the interwebs that said I should add ACV to their water. So I did, about 3T for 2 gallons. Last night when I went in there to put them away I saw quite a bit of loose stool around. I'm pretty sure my inexperience is going to cost me all of the turkeys.

So, I'm guessing I should NOT have allowed them to run in the grass so soon? Is there anything I can do at this point. My fear of crop issues due to ingesting bedding was what prompted me to allow them on the grass. Look like my attempt at avoiding one potential problem has led bigger ones.
ETA: Now one of my 4 week old chickens is all puffed up and lethargic. WHAT GIVES? I have never had this kind of problem before!

 

[stasichick]

oh no! wish i had an answer for you! hope they pull through!

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! Can you post pictures of them and their poop?

-Kathy

 

[Oldhawkins]

Alot of things here ....Turkey chicks need 90 plus degree heat for the first few weeks.Keeping them warm is critical.80 at night at two weeks old may be to cold for them. They should be fed exclusively chick starter also. (Hopefully they have been vaccinated or fed medicated feed.) They are to young to be on cold bare ground and eating grass that young.

 

[R2elk]

Alot of things here ....Turkey chicks need 90 plus degree heat for the first few weeks.Keeping them warm is critical.80 at night at two weeks old may be to cold for them. They should be fed exclusively chick starter also. (Hopefully they have been vaccinated or fed medicated feed.) They are to young to be on cold bare ground and eating grass that young.

Turkey poults should be started at 90°F measured at the bedding level. The temperature can be reduced by 5°F each week until the ambient temperature has been reached.

Turkey poults need a much higher percentage of protein than is contained in chick starter. They should be fed turkey or game bird starter that has a 28% to 30% protein content for at least the first two weeks. I start feeding hand cut grass clippings once the poults have been in the brooder for a day. If feeding anything other than starter, grit has to be provided so that they can grind up the food in their gizzards.

 

[Oldhawkins]

When i said "Chick" starter, i should have clarified that i meant "Turkey" chick starter. Game feed starter is good as well. I was going to mention adding grit also. I start adding grit at about 3 weeks as it greatly helps with digestion even with starter.