- Jul 26, 2009
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Can you overfeed turkeys on fresh produce?
I always have a lot of extra produce and produce scraps/trimmings this time of year. Things like apples, pears, melons, tomatoes, summer squash, potatoes, carrots, winter squash, peaches, plums, greens, cabbage. Some of it is cosmetically unacceptable, or wormy/buggy. Some is just extra that I can't use or give away. A lot of it is scraps and trimmings from canning, freezing, pickling, and preserving, such as big bowls full of pear/apple cores and peelings.
With my chickens, I've always given them big piles of it to eat, pretty much on daily basis, and they love it.
Is it ok to do the same with the turkeys from a health standpoint -- won't make them sick or anything?
They are currently about 11/12 weeks old. I give them some everyday, but have limited the quantity quite a bit for the turkeys -- for example, daily I might give them maybe 6 or 8 average sized apples, or 2-3 overripe cucumbers, or the trimmings and outer leaves from a head of cabbage, or the peels and seed from a muskmelon. They go crazy for it.
PS -- they're just pets, so I don't really care if it slows down their growth or ultimate size, as long as it won't harm them. I realize that this type of food isn't nearly as calorie or nutrient dense as turkey grower pellets, which is their basic diet available to them at all times, due to the high water content of the produce. I also use a vitamin supplement in their water a couple of times a week. I just don't want to make them sick.
I always have a lot of extra produce and produce scraps/trimmings this time of year. Things like apples, pears, melons, tomatoes, summer squash, potatoes, carrots, winter squash, peaches, plums, greens, cabbage. Some of it is cosmetically unacceptable, or wormy/buggy. Some is just extra that I can't use or give away. A lot of it is scraps and trimmings from canning, freezing, pickling, and preserving, such as big bowls full of pear/apple cores and peelings.
With my chickens, I've always given them big piles of it to eat, pretty much on daily basis, and they love it.
Is it ok to do the same with the turkeys from a health standpoint -- won't make them sick or anything?
They are currently about 11/12 weeks old. I give them some everyday, but have limited the quantity quite a bit for the turkeys -- for example, daily I might give them maybe 6 or 8 average sized apples, or 2-3 overripe cucumbers, or the trimmings and outer leaves from a head of cabbage, or the peels and seed from a muskmelon. They go crazy for it.
PS -- they're just pets, so I don't really care if it slows down their growth or ultimate size, as long as it won't harm them. I realize that this type of food isn't nearly as calorie or nutrient dense as turkey grower pellets, which is their basic diet available to them at all times, due to the high water content of the produce. I also use a vitamin supplement in their water a couple of times a week. I just don't want to make them sick.
