Meat bird as pet

[coryspacecowboy]

My broad breasted white turkey is between a year and a half and two years old, he's a pet. At what point does keeping a meat bird as a pet cruel.. I hate that these birds are genetically doomed from the start, I got me another one because I loved the one and then I found out they should not be kept as pets when trying to find a good diet for him. But Yeh, at what point is it cruel? I mean he's starting to get slower and hes a real wobbly walker, he doesn't seem like hes in pain.. I just need all the advice I can get, should I be feeding him something in particular and how much.. he's always hungry seems like

Sorry I made a similar post in meat bird section and then seen turkey section so posting here too.

 

[Hybridchucks]

What are you feeding him? How are you housing him? How old is he?

 

[coryspacecowboy]

Hes free range, got a shed thing for him to go into, but he just stays on the porch most of the time and never really wonders off, just walks around the house a little. I feed him gamebird feed. Like a cereal bowl, skip a day here and there because I thought I was over feeding him, just found out it's his genetics. He's a year and a half roughly

 

[Hybridchucks]

Hes free range, got a shed thing for him to go into, but he just stays on the porch most of the time and never really wonders off, just walks around the house a little. I feed him gamebird feed. Like a cereal bowl, skip a day here and there because I thought I was over feeding him, just found out it's his genetics. He's a year and a half roughly

I think maybe he comes on the porch to socialise. Ah. I think that is ok to feed him. I think he needs a mate and is lonely. Also he is pretty old.

 

[R2elk]

Hes free range, got a shed thing for him to go into, but he just stays on the porch most of the time and never really wonders off, just walks around the house a little. I feed him gamebird feed. Like a cereal bowl, skip a day here and there because I thought I was over feeding him, just found out it's his genetics. He's a year and a half roughly

At 1 1/2 years old, your turkey is an adult. Some companies do make a turkey/gamebird maintenance feed which is about 16% protein. If you are feeding him a high protein gamebird feed, it is not the appropriate feed for an adult broad breasted turkey.

One of the most important things to do for the health of a broad breasted turkey is to make sure that it gets plenty of exercise. It sounds like he will follow you so take him for walks. You may also want to put him on a diet by limiting the amount of processed feeds that he has access to. If you give him treats, make sure that you keep them to a minimum especially sunflower seeds, corn and scratch as these are feeds that have a high fat content. Mealworms should also be limited since they are 50% protein and too much protein can cause kidney disease.

Good luck

 

[coryspacecowboy]

I think maybe he comes on the porch to socialise. Ah. I think that is ok to feed him. I think he needs a mate and is lonely. Also he is pretty old.

I just got him another turkey a few months ago I figured I'd wait until she's bigger tho because he would crush her if he tried to mate with her, he doesn't seem interested in her at all tho.. I think he thinks hes a person and not a turkey a lot of the time. Would it be okay to let her stay out with him u think?

I have chickens, dogs and rabbits too he's with, but Yeh he spends most of his time on the porch waiting for someone to come out and give him attention or food lol

At 1 1/2 years old, your turkey is an adult. Some companies do make a turkey/gamebird maintenance feed which is about 16% protein. If you are feeding him a high protein gamebird feed, it is not the appropriate feed for an adult broad breasted turkey.

One of the most important things to do for the health of a broad breasted turkey is to make sure that it gets plenty of exercise. It sounds like he will follow you so take him for walks. You may also want to put him on a diet by limiting the amount of processed feeds that he has access to. If you give him treats, make sure that you keep them to a minimum especially sunflower seeds, corn and scratch as these are feeds that have a high fat content. Mealworms should also be limited since they are 50% protein and too much protein can cause kidney disease.

Good luck

Thank you! I'm very concerned about his weight so I'll just avoid treats all together. I used to give him some pot pies left over from work though...I've looked around the feed stores here often, I don't recall seeing such a product.. I will double check.. would something like 18% layer feed or something else work better, I think I got him on 22% protein. And how much should I feed him a day? Should I skip days? I want him to have as good of life as possible.

 

[R2elk]

I just got him another turkey a few months ago I figured I'd wait until she's bigger tho because he would crush her if he tried to mate with her, he doesn't seem interested in her at all tho.. I think he thinks hes a person and not a turkey a lot of the time. Would it be okay to let her stay out with him u think?



Thank you! I'm very concerned about his weight so I'll just avoid treats all together. I used to give him some pot pies left over from work though...I've looked around the feed stores here often, I don't recall seeing such a product.. I will double check.. would something like 18% layer feed or something else work better, I think I got him on 22% protein. And how much should I feed him a day? Should I skip days? I want him to have as good of life as possible.

Toms don't usually try to mate with hens unless the hen lies down for them. An immature hen is not likely to lie down for a non-aggressive tom. Once she has been through her quarantine it should be okay to allow the 2 turkeys together.

Layer feed does not have enough calcium in it to be harmful to an adult tom. I would recommend trying a 16% layer feed.

Good luck.

 

[Otis-Gussy]

Toms don't usually try to mate with hens unless the hen lies down for them. An immature hen is not likely to lie down for a non-aggressive tom. Once she has been through her quarantine it should be okay to allow the 2 turkeys together.

Layer feed does not have enough calcium in it to be harmful to an adult tom. I would recommend trying a 16% layer feed.

Good luck.

You always seem so knowledgeable, and I'm not.. so I have a feeding question. I've had my turkeys and chickens on a high protein game bird ( like 28% protein ) feed since getting them as week old chicks and poults. They've all done really well on it so I've just kept feeding them the same food. They are all close to 5 months old.
They are all pets, not planning to process them. Do I have them on the wrong food?
What protein percentage should I feed pet heritage turkeys?

 

[Hybridchucks]

You always seem so knowledgeable, and I'm not.. so I have a feeding question. I've had my turkeys and chickens on a high protein game bird ( like 28% protein ) feed since getting them as week old chicks and poults. They've all done really well on it so I've just kept feeding them the same food. They are all close to 5 months old.
They are all pets, not planning to process them. Do I have them on the wrong food?
What protein percentage should I feed pet heritage turkeys?

me too....mainly on turkeys though...i don't have turkeys :/ so I'm not knowledgeable on them

 

[R2elk]

You always seem so knowledgeable, and I'm not.. so I have a feeding question. I've had my turkeys and chickens on a high protein game bird ( like 28% protein ) feed since getting them as week old chicks and poults. They've all done really well on it so I've just kept feeding them the same food. They are all close to 5 months old.
They are all pets, not planning to process them. Do I have them on the wrong food?
What protein percentage should I feed pet heritage turkeys?

That was good to start them on but they could and should have been switched over to a 20-24% protein grower food at 6 weeks old. At nearly 5 months they can be switched to as low as 16% protein as long as it is a quality feed. Since you have a mixed flock another option is to switch them to an all flock feed.