Excellent topic.
I have never lost any poults but at the same time, I did and continue to do extensive research and read other's experiences and I gain more knowledge as well that empowers me to provide excellent care to my poults.
Here is what I do that I feel that keeps all of my poults alive.
1. After hatching in incubator, leave the poults in the incubator for 2 days so that they can fully dry off. Transfer to brooder after 2 days.
2. Have brooder ready to include making sure that the heat lamp has been plugged, turned on and the thermometer that you must have in the brooder is reading at least 99 degrees.
3. Have high protein feed ALREADY purchased and available. We all know that it takes 28 days for turkey eggs to hatch, so there should be no excuse as to why food has not been purchased in advance and waiting on the poults.
4. If you choose to raise poults and not allow the hen to raise them, you should be FULLY prepared and knowledgeable on how to teach the poults how to eat and drink.
5. I always have colorful marbles on hand to place in the shallow water dish so that they see the reflection in the water to prompt them to drink. I always place food on aluminum foil so that they peck on the foil to come up with food in their beaks. This will help them to eat. Do not have deep water dishes or else they may fall in and die. And DO NOT let your poult ever get wet. A wet poult is a DEAD poult.
6. Monitor the temps and their behavior. If they are huddled on top of each other, they are cold. You must increase the heat. Huddling will cause death because they are cold and they will suffocate and kill one another. If they are sleeping far away from the lamp, they are too hot and they can die as well. If they are under the lamp and spaced out, they are warm and happy.
7. DO NOT assume that your poults are eating. YOU MUST see them eating and drinking. Failure to see them eat and drink will cause assumptions and you will wonder why they are weak and moving slow. It is because they are starving and thirsty and they WILL DIE!
8. You can also place a couple of baby chicks in with your poults so that the chicks will teach them how to eat. Be careful when placing someone else's chicks with yours because their chicks may be sick which will cause your poults to get sick and die.
9. Keep your poults inside until it is warm enough to bring them outside. Being too excited to bring them out will KILL them because of the cool temps and harsh elements.
10. Keep your poults off of the ground for as long as you can, so their immune system and body can get strong enough to be able to handle what is in the ground and what is in their environment.
11. I like to place towels or sheets or old t-shirts on the floor of the brooder. I do this so they have a firm area to walk in with no slipping or sliding which can cause toe, foot and leg problems.
These tips are what I do. This works best for me and my poults. Everyone's situation will be different. I hope that this helps a little.
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ETA:
#10 Explanation about keeping them off of the ground.
Here is an excellent article about hatching and raising poults, (to help explain keeping them off of the ground).
http://www.motherearthnews.com/The-Happy-Homesteader/Raising-Turkey-Poults.aspx#axzz2PPXfAIrB
Natural Hatching Tips
It’s best to have your hen sit in a secure area. Many times the hens will seek a quiet place to make a nest, such as a bush or brush pile, which makes them easy targets for predators, especially at night. After the hen hatches her brood, we move them all to a “maternity” pen for at least the first two months. The maternity area is covered to keep out the rain, plus it keeps the hen and her poults in a smaller area and closer together. We always put a fresh layer of sand down for each group to help prevent soil-borne diseases. Coccidiosis can be a major problem for poults raised on the ground if other poultry has occupied the area before.
I use this same method. When I place my poults outside, they are placed on sand. They NEVER touch the soil. (SEE PICS BELOW).
When my hens hatch their babies, I move the hen and babies to a breeding pen with sand. (SEE PICS BELOW)
And like I always say, everyone will have a different view on putting them on soil as opposed to putting them on sand and that is ok. I can only speak about my experiences and what I have been VERY successful doing with ALL of my poults and not losing 1 single poult. Some people may put their poults on the ground early after hatching with no problem. I am too afraid to do that, so I take every precaution that I know about. It may be "over kill" on my part but I would rather be safe than sorry.
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ETA on 4-23-2013
I wanted to add this to make sure that you have a few items on hand when your poults arrive or have hatched so you won't panic and won't have to run out in the event you have a little one that is "not quite themselves" and they need a little "pick me up" or if one of your poults falls sick, you will have a few things on hand.
1. Yogurt (make sure your expiration date is a ways away ).
2. Baby food (greens, carrots, etc.)
3. Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother in it.
4. Syringe with NO needle
For those of you that remember about a month ago when I found one of my poults with a curly fry twisted neck, well he was able to stay alive with these 3 food items. Because he COULD not eat or drink, I fed him TONS of baby food and a yogurt/ACV mixture and squirted this down his throat with a syringe. This is what kept him alive. I thought to post this when I scored a big bag full of baby food from Craigslist today. Someone was giving away 25 jars of baby food, 26 containers of pureed fruit, baby formula and baby oatmeal and I was all over that food for my
Emergency Care Kit for my birds. It's always good to be prepared. Baby food is not expensive, so having at least a couple jars on hand would be a good start. You can always pick up more later but at least you would have that.
Syringe that I use.
Free Baby Food that I received.
