From baby chicks to broilers.
Raising them on pasture, organically, naturally.
Tips and advice.
Turkeys start out as poults. Chicks and broilers are chicken terms that are not used when referring to turkeys.
Make sure that you are raising them in an area that does not have blackhead.
Be sure to start them on a quality turkey or gamebird starter. The starter should be 28% to 30% protein and will contain higher concentrations of lysine, methionine and niacin which are required for proper growth and development. Feeding an inappropriate chick starter that does not contain the concentrations of lysine, methionine and niacin will cause leg issues. It is recommended that the turkey or gamebird starter be fed for 6 to 8 weeks. Follow the turkey or gamebird starter with turkey or gamebird grower which is usually about 24% protein. It will have higher concentrations of lysine, methionine and niacin than chick starter but the concentrations will be lower than in turkey or gamebird starter. The recommendation is to feed the turkey or gamebird grower for 6 weeks. After that you can switch them to whatever type of feed you wish to finish them with. It can be a quality all flock feed, a turkey finisher and can be supplemented with corn to produce a beautiful yellow fat.
Fresh clean water should always be available. I keep feed available at all times.
I start my turkey poults in a brooder that is large enough to have different heat zones. The heated zone is set to maintain a temperature of 90°F at the bedding level. The feed and water are set up outside of the heated zone. The poults move freely through the heated and non heated zones to find the comfort level they desire. I reduce the temperature by 5°F once a week until they are acclimated to the ambient temperature.
Young poults are at severe risk to predators and should not be pastured without supervision until they are big enough to not be attractive to all the predators around.
Raising them on pasture should not happen until they are fully feathered and acclimated to the ambient temperature. Raising them on pasture even with feed constantly available to them will slow down their growth rate.
Make sure the pasture fencing does not have a top rail which the turkeys will view as a desirable perch site. When perching on a top rail, they will nearly always get down on the wrong side of the fence.
