Starter Question

[gallopingfrog]

Hi y'all! I haven't been on BYC in SO long. Mostly because I couldn't convince my Dad to help me build a chicken coop and because I'm a girl, he wouldn't allow me to do it on my own.

I officially have 6 hens now (2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 White Leghorns, and 2 Black Australorps), that I just went and bought a small coop and the hens, and surprised dear ol' Dad. Interestingly enough, I found out that he is afraid of chickens! But when I made him pet one of the RI girls, he seemed to be doing better. Then when I asked if I could get turkeys, he agreed pretty quickly. He might've just been afraid that I would get them without asking.

So that brings me to my question. I've got poults being shipped next week, and I have yet to find any starter above 20% protein. I've check both the local feed stores and neither one has anything. I'm pretty efficient at mixing my own feeds (along with ratios and formulas for figuring out protein percentages, etc.) but I was hoping to find something premixed for me. Would anyone be willing to share their recipe for turkey starter? Or give me some advice about finding 28% starter (at least 26%)?

Thank you!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good for you. I'm proud of you.
Ask the feed stores if they would special order some for you.
Tractor Supply carries a 24% flock raiser if you have one close. That would get you close to what you want.
They should have more protein because they eat a lot of bugs so you could supplement with animal protein.
That could be crickets or mealworms, both of which you could raise yourself to save money. The big pet store chains sell them by the thousands.
Also scrambled eggs, meat scraps, fish, canned tuna and the like. Undesirable cuts of meat like kidney, liver and squid are fairly cheap.
Sunflower seeds are high in protein.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Good for you. I'm proud of you.
Ask the feed stores if they would special order some for you.
Tractor Supply carries a 24% flock raiser if you have one close. That would get you close to what you want.
They should have more protein because they eat a lot of bugs so you could supplement with animal protein.
That could be crickets or mealworms, both of which you could raise yourself to save money. The big pet store chains sell them by the thousands.
Also scrambled eggs, meat scraps, fish, canned tuna and the like. Undesirable cuts of meat like kidney, liver and squid are fairly cheap.
Sunflower seeds are high in protein.

If you are referring to this Flockraiser (in the green bag) at TSC, it's only 20%.

Flock Raiser SunFresh 20%-protein nutrient-rich ration that provides top starting, growing and finishing nutrition for a mixed flock of chickens, ducks and geese from hatch until laying age (18-20 weeks) and for turkeys from 8-10 weeks until laying age of 18-20 weeks. This SunFresh Recipe diet takes "natural" to a whole new level by using only the freshest, highest quality sun-grown grains and plant proteins to give birds the wholesome, healthy goodness and fresh taste they deserve. Made from natural plant-based ingredients FREE of all animal proteins and fats, it contains all the quality nutrients necessary to raise strong, healthy, beautifully colored chickens, ducks and geese from hatch, through growth and to laying age - all in one bag.
FREE of all animal proteins and fats for healthy, happy birds
Consistent nutrition for starting and growing chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese (turkeys after 8-10 weeks) - all with the same bag of feed
Top nutrition for a fast start, consistent growth and healthy activity
Enhanced with lysine and methionine to give birds the healthy nutrients they need to look great and build lean muscle
Strong Vitamin A fortification helps birds grow into healthy breeders
A superior level of Vitamin E helps birds ward off disease
Our guarantee that this is the very best feed providing safe, natural nutrition for poultry

 

[ChickenCanoe]

No, I'm referring to the TSC brand which is Dumor. It's made by Great Lakes which also makes Purina but a different formula.
It's also much less expensive than the Purina.

 

[kuntrygirl]

No, I'm referring to the TSC brand which is Dumor. It's made by Great Lakes which also makes Purina but a different formula.
It's also much less expensive than the Purina.

Ok. I didn't realize the Dumor made a "Flockraiser". I never saw that brand. I'll have to look for it.

 

[chiqita]

Hi y'all! I haven't been on BYC in SO long. Mostly because I couldn't convince my Dad to help me build a chicken coop and because I'm a girl, he wouldn't allow me to do it on my own.

I officially have 6 hens now (2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 White Leghorns, and 2 Black Australorps), that I just went and bought a small coop and the hens, and surprised dear ol' Dad. Interestingly enough, I found out that he is afraid of chickens! But when I made him pet one of the RI girls, he seemed to be doing better. Then when I asked if I could get turkeys, he agreed pretty quickly. He might've just been afraid that I would get them without asking.

So that brings me to my question. I've got poults being shipped next week, and I have yet to find any starter above 20% protein. I've check both the local feed stores and neither one has anything. I'm pretty efficient at mixing my own feeds (along with ratios and formulas for figuring out protein percentages, etc.) but I was hoping to find something premixed for me. Would anyone be willing to share their recipe for turkey starter? Or give me some advice about finding 28% starter (at least 26%)?

Thank you!

What we have around here is Pheasent feed. Its 28%. You can also ferment the feed for some extra protien.

 

[Lagerdogger]

I'm leaning with Chiqita. You may be asking the wrong question? Look for gamebird starter, which is often as high as 30%. As they get older, you can dilute it sown with meat maker or some other feed in the 20% range. You may have to special order it?

 

[ivan3]

Check here (finder feature): http://wildlife.purinamills.com/products/ECMD2-0017382.aspx

For a couple of years? Land O' Lakes handled Game Bird feed (talked to their `corporate formulator', summer before last). Seems the Gamebird feed is now under Purina Wildlife umbrella (again). Don't know which entity handles the `Show Chow' and if it is even available for turkeys.

 

[gallopingfrog]

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, I asked for game bird feed as well. No luck. The people at our feed store (I despise this particular feed store, but its the only one for 80 miles) kept giving me this dumbfounded look when I was trying to explain that I needed 28% protein. They tried to sell me turkey grower at 20%! I was reading on BYC that for BB varieties can be started on 20%, and that's all this feed store sells is BB Whites.

I ended up just going through their feed myself and looking but they had nothing above 20%. I asked if they could special order it and they told me it would be over a month before any special orders came in. SO frustrating.

So new question. If I got the 20% grower and mixed with other things to create a 28% protein, would that be acceptable? I know how to do it....I just don't know if the grower has something that the poults can't handle. Thanks again for the help and advice!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That will work just fine.
When foraging on their own they get a variety of things like bugs, nuts, seeds, acorns etc.
There's nothing in the feed that will hurt them.