Picking up poults in less than 48 hours and I need advice (newbie!)

[JRudi]

I've been living on a farm for the past 6 years, but we haven't owned any livestock until now. On Tuesday we're getting a few chickens and 15 poults! I'm very excited but very new, so I apologize if any of these questions are silly or too vague!

I have lots of information for the chickens but less so for the turkeys, so here are my questions:

1. I'm picking up 12 one day old mini-whites and 3 Orlopp Bronze from a hatchery. Is there anything I should know to make the drive home (1 hour away) and transition into the brooder as smooth as possible?

2. I have read that for the first 24 hours after getting them that only water should be provided, and that some have seen it improve their die off rate. Has anyone found this to be true?

3.When it comes to food, I have 26% protein starter crumbles, but I've ready that turkey feed should have higher protein, will this be sufficient for poults? Can I give them sprouted lentils or is this unnecessary?

4. Do I need to supplement their food with anything? Additional Niacin, oyster shells, egg shells, etc?

5. Do they need grit right away? Can I just get a shovel full of some sand/dirt from around my farm? Should I provide this right away or wait a week or two?

Is there anything else I should know, or advice (or really a 101 starter guide haha) you can provide?

In the end these birds are for meat, but I want them to have the happiest and healthiest life they can while they're with us.

Thank you so much in advance!!!

 

[Molpet]

Thread 'Turkeys - Sticky Topics Index' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/turkeys-sticky-topics-index.1174188/

Mine the hens hatch start eating and drinking right away.

I could only get 22% starter last year. They did fine but when I harvested jakes at 6 months they were a couple lbs lighter than usual.

I give sand as grit right away. R2ELK uses sand in the brooder instead of bedding. I have use pine pellets covered with paper towels or puppy pads the first week or so.

 

[R2elk]

1. I'm picking up 12 one day old mini-whites and 3 Orlopp Bronze from a hatchery. Is there anything I should know to make the drive home (1 hour away) and transition into the brooder as smooth as possible?

Keep the air conditioning off. Make sure they have good ventilation.

2. I have read that for the first 24 hours after getting them that only water should be provided, and that some have seen it improve their die off rate. Has anyone found this to be true?

Bad advice. I provide warm water. Have the brooder prepared and warmed up before you leave to pick them up.

I use sand for the bedding and sprinkle 30% protein game bird starter on the sand. My poults usually start eating within minutes of being in the brooder although they make take a couple of days to start eating from the feeder.

I personally do not have any die off .

3.When it comes to food, I have 26% protein starter crumbles, but I've ready that turkey feed should have higher protein, will this be sufficient for poults? Can I give them sprouted lentils or is this unnecessary?

What is more important than the protein level is that the starter feed have the higher amounts of lysine, methionine and niacin they need for proper growth and development.

Do not give anything other than a proper prepared feed unless you are also providing an appropriate sized grit. They cannot digest other foods without grit in their system.

4. Do I need to supplement their food with anything? Additional Niacin, oyster shells, egg shells, etc?

It is okay to use a supplement such as Nutri-Drench. There are others that are as good.

Absolutely do not give poults or chicks extra calcium. Supplemental calcium is for laying hens. Young poultry and male poultry can suffer harmful effects from excessive calcium. Excessive calcium is anything above the approximate 1% provided in proper starter feeds.

5. Do they need grit right away? Can I just get a shovel full of some sand/dirt from around my farm? Should I provide this right away or wait a week or two?

If you are using wood chips (bad idea) for bedding or are feeding anything other than a proper feed, they need grit right from the start. They cannot digest the wood chips (yes, some will eat the wood chips) or raw foods without having grit in their system.

If you have ant hills , they usually consist of a nice sized grit that you can collect. Be careful that you don't end up with too many ants.

Is there anything else I should know, or advice (or really a 101 starter guide haha) you can provide?

Use a bigger brooder than you think they need. The one I use is 4'x4'.

Have a heated zone and a cool zone. I keep the food and water in the cool zone.

I start my poults at 90°F measured at the bedding level. I reduce the temp by 5°F once a week until they are out of the brooder.

Mine are flying out of the brooder by the time they are two weeks old. At that time I move them to my grow out pen with a single heat lamp about 2 1/2' above ground level in one corner.

They are usually off of heat by the time they are a month old.

 

[R2elk]

In the end these birds are for meat,

Avoid spending a lot of time with the poults. They are extremely easy to imprint and become attached too.

The more you treat them as pets, the harder it will be to process them when it is time.