I just got a turkey!!! What to do?!?

[mewithoutashley]

So my DH brought home a turkey! I never thought we were going to get one!

What in the world do i feed him?
And how long should it take for him to get used to use so we can let him free range?



My peacocks and chickens are having a fit over him! He's really talkive!



Thanks!

 

[onthespot]

I feed gamebird feed for whatever point in life is appropriate.

I would not let it range for at least a week or two. You may want to clip its wing feathers too. They can really fly up in the trees and into neighbor yards, especially younger ones before they put on adult weight, but their wings are long and they are light bodied.

 

[chickenannie]

It's always good to do research before you get the bird.
Here's some great info on a former post -- read through this:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=92240

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

What in the world do i feed him?

27% gamebird feed

And how long should it take for him to get used to use so we can let him free range?

10-12 weeks. poults are very fragile before this point and they can die real easy if let out too early.need to keep in a coop till then.​

 

[Chicks R Friends NOT Food]

27% is if you plan on eating him asap. It'll make them fill out fast. I put mine lower because they're pets. And don't forget, turkeys can fly not just in trees, but on houses as well. My friends had a bunch of wild turkeys around their yard, then they heard a bunch of clatter on the roof... it wasn't santa.

I feed mine game feed and lots of scraps and grass and let them forage for bugs- basically everything my chickens get. They love slugs and watermelon.

 

[dc09]

I have got 16 turkeys for xmas, if you plan to eat him you should feed it on turkey growers pellets until heis 12 weeks old, then you can put him on corn for a few weeks and then start tio feed him on finishers pellets until you decide to kill him, make sure he isn't fed for atleast 12 hours before you kill him.

If you don't want to eat him then feed him growers until 12 - 13 weeks old and then corn or something similar until 18 weeks old and then either keep him on corn or give him layers pellets, don't think you'll get many eggs though

 

[mewithoutashley]

Thanks for all your replies! I plan on keeping him as a pet, so i'll feed him a little under 27%. He's doing good and is very talkive =]




Guess he'll stay locked up in our old chicken coop untill he gets used to being here!


thanks for the help! =]

 

[QuailKeeper]

if hes an adult and he lives with the chickens, he can eat what his coop mates eat. the high(20%+) feed is really needed when they are young but once he is an adult you can slowly switch him over to chicken feed

 

[ginbart]

From what I was reading, I didn't think you were suppose to put turkeys with chickens because of them getting black heads? Just wanted to know. Thanks

 

[spydertoys]

The feed store here has a Turkey Starter ration..I've been using that for my poults. However...where I lived before, it wasn't available so chick starter was used and it was just fine for them.