More 4-H meat bird questions???

[riftnreef]

OK...birds are about a month old, and have been in a 18" high 6' cardboard brooder ring in the basement. Well, the brooder ring has become all but obsolete as the birds just plow it over and wander around my basement. Their feathers are in, but sparse in a place or two, but I assume it will be ok to take them off the light for now.

Now here is the tricky part...it's still pretty cool here in the Buckeye state, and they are needing moved from my once pristine basement to more permanant housing. I assume with the colder nights I will need to continue using heat bulbs at least to some degree, but I need to build the pen this weekend and get them moved in...for 5 broad breasted white toms, about how much room should I allow, and what is there tollerance to temperature shifts? i.e. it was 85 the other day, and in the lower 50's today, not to mention night lows in the lower 40's. Suggestions?

We have had a great number of folks complain about the birds we got this year being unthrifty and dying off...mine are well over industry standards at the moment and doing great, but I'm afraid if I don't keep them near the water and food they won't stay that way for long...any advise is appreciated.


Thanks!

 

[silkiechicken]

I miss my turkeys. I brooded my two bronze toms outside from day 5 or so. They had two 100W bulbs on a dimmer and took it out at about 6 weeks old. Temps were in the mid 40's at night, low 50's in the day.

 

[riftnreef]

So if I take the lamp off them now in the cool basement, then the transition may allow me not to use any brooder lamps at all if I can get another week or so out of them....hhhmmmm.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, you can try that. Slowly wean them from heat lamps and being meat birds, if their new digs is cozy, they won't need them.

I had 2 100W lights out in case one died, but they were turned down to about 1/4 of their full brightness before I took them away, and they were already hanging out in the grass for a good portion of the day by 6 weeks. I have some 3 week old pics of the gobblers standing in wet grass with a few clumps of snow left in the background, just don't know where they are at the moment. LOL They just went in to get warm in their tiny 4x4 brooder coop.

I'd try to stretch their garage stay for another two weeks, with day time outside to get used to stuff like wind and rain... if they need to get used to those things so they learn to take shelter.

 

[riftnreef]

well the garage will be their permanant home...with them being my kids' project birds, I want to be able to control what they are eating, and how much lighting they are getting. Not to mention I let my chickens range in the yard, and I dare not risk cross contamination with black head or who knows what by letting the turkeys out. Not much of a life I know, but it's a big garage, and currently is pretty much empty...lol

 

[Olive Hill]

Just don't forget you're testing their temperature tolerance when you start weaning them down and fail to check on them. No need to ask me how I know what happens when you do that...