Local Farmer: 'Do not give your BB turkeys unlimited feed'

[jmurno]

So I was chatting with a local farmer who raises 150 turkeys a year. Here is some wisdom that he shared:

He gives his turkeys as much feed as they can eat for 10-15 minutes once in morning and once in evening. There is only so much feed that a bird can process into growth per day, and any extra feed is wasted money for a farmer. The BB will act like they are starving each time you feed them, but they are fine. They grow at the correct rate and are ready by thanksgiving. He starts his poults in mid-late July.

I have been copying his advice and it is working well. I modified it a bit though. Since plants have higher sugar content in their leaves at sunrise and sunset (this is why you will see grazing animals do most of their grazing at these times) and the lowest content in the middle of the day, I feed my turkeys once around 11AM, then a little less in late afternoon, then again just as they are going to bed. This way their bellies are not full during ideal foraging and grazing times.

 

[casportpony]

Interesting. Do you not need to worry about them overeating and developing crop problems? That would be my worry.

 

[R2elk]

So I was chatting with a local farmer who raises 150 turkeys a year. Here is some wisdom that he shared:

He gives his turkeys as much feed as they can eat for 10-15 minutes once in morning and once in evening. There is only so much feed that a bird can process into growth per day, and any extra feed is wasted money for a farmer. The BB will act like they are starving each time you feed them, but they are fine. They grow at the correct rate and are ready by thanksgiving. He starts his poults in mid-late July.

I have been copying his advice and it is working well. I modified it a bit though. Since plants have higher sugar content in their leaves at sunrise and sunset (this is why you will see grazing animals do most of their grazing at these times) and the lowest content in the middle of the day, I feed my turkeys once around 11AM, then a little less in late afternoon, then again just as they are going to bed. This way their bellies are not full during ideal foraging and grazing times.

Everyone has their own methods that they think work for them.

When I raised BB turkeys the feed was available all the time. They got to free range at a very early age. They did fine. They did not try to stuff themselves as poultry are wont to do when feed is only available at certain times.

I would not worry about the sugar levels in leaves at different times of the day. The free ranging turkeys are eating far more other things than just leaves. They prefer to do their bug hunting in the early and late cooler hours and rest during the heat of the day.

 

[jmurno]

No idea about crop problems. For the farmer it was about margins -- if the birds overeat then that is a waste of money. He I think he said he has been raising turkeys for 5 years, so it must be working ok.

From my own observations the BB will stop eating feed after a few minutes and seek out some grass or clover or something like that to eat. Perhaps that helps with potential crop issues -- access to forage.

Yep, the best forage -- both bugs and plants -- is morning and evening. The amount of snails around here at those times is unreal!

 

[jmurno]

Ahh another interesting bit was that he lowers the protein content of the feed if the turkeys are growing too fast. He tries to time it perfectly so they hit around 15-20 pounds by thanksgiving.

 

[R2elk]

Ahh another interesting bit was that he lowers the protein content of the feed if the turkeys are growing too fast. He tries to time it perfectly so they hit around 15-20 pounds by thanksgiving.

It is okay to do that with BB turkeys. It is not good to do with heritage turkeys. Most people raising BBs for their own use want a bigger bird than 15 to 20 lbs. dressed weight at processing time. I liked low to mid 30 lbs. for dressed weight for toms and mid 20 lbs. for processed hens..

 

[jmurno]

It is okay to do that with BB turkeys. It is not good to do with heritage turkeys. Most people raising BBs for their own use want a bigger bird than 15 to 20 lbs. dressed weight at processing time. I liked low to mid 30 lbs. for dressed weight for toms and mid 20 lbs. for processed hens..

Oops yah meant 15-20 pound carcass weight.