Turkey Poults eating poo?

[debir1966]

Hello! I have 5 BBW turkey poults that are 9.5 weeks old in with same-age chicks. The turkey poults eating the chicks poo. No blood in the poo, they have all been raised together and on the same high-protien feed that our local mill has always fed their turkey poults and chicks (meat builder).

Any ideas of why the turkey poults would be eating the poo? I think they are all doing it, but especially the smaller ones. They get free-feed and veggie treats.

Thank you.

 

[ivan3]

What is the protein content % of the feed? They will eat feathers/poop/etc. for protein. BB's are insatiable, as a rule.

 

[debir1966]

20% for the meat builder and 22% for the other (can't remember the name). It was what was recommended by the feed mill we get our feed at and is what they feed their own turkeys they said.

 

[ivan3]

If the feed is available at all times, and the poop eating is not so much a sport as an obsession, try augmenting their diet with a little Game bird Starter (28-30%) or crushed, hard boiled eggs/meal worms, just to see if the increased protein level decreases this behavior (probably get better `feed' conversion, as well).

Good luck!

 

[debir1966]

Thanks ivan3! I was wondering about the protein being too low, but I asked the feed mill if their turkeys ever did that or if they would have an idea as to why and they said they had never seen the turkeys doing it.

Since the turkeys are in with my laying hen chicks, can I feed the game bird to the laying chicks also or do I need to seperate them out? They do have access to feed 24 hour, but we do not run a light at night, so they are on a regular day/night schedule, we just keep the feeder full

I have lots of eggs so I can (and have occassionally) give them some boiled eggs - they all go crazy for it!


The evidence is on his beak - yuck!



These show the size differences between the poults! We have 2 very large poults,
1 medium and 2 small.


Turkey nap time!

 

[ivan3]

Thanks for posting shots (nice setup). Sorry I wasn't clear on the lighting (just asking if food was available from dawn to dusk). Do you have a run to turn them out into? From the looks of turks and digs could simply be a bad habit borne of normal foraging behavior. Try the eggs and maybe some handfuls of scratch (sunflowers seeds, etc) spread on boards.

From our experience, there can be considerable difference in size/wt. even within members of same sex, from same hatch, in heritage variety.

 

[debir1966]

Thanks again ivan3! We just built the new chicken coop and are working on the run, hoping to have it partially up by this weekend. I will be picking up some BOSS next trip to the feed store, as I knew I would need some for winter anyway (which seems to be not too far off anymore!). We keep scratch for the laying hens, I hadn't thought of giving it to the littles yet, but will start adding it into their goodies ration.

I am actually pleased the turkeys are of differing sizes - I didn't want to have to butcher them all at the same time. Hoping the biggest is big enough for turkey day (20#+ would be great!) in another 10 weeks. We have a small batch of meat chickens to butcher this weekend, and another in about 2-3 weeks (we got Cornish Cross and Black Broilers and the cornish are twice as big as the blacks of the same age - 10 weeks today).

 

[Oregon Blues]

Baby mammals get immunity from drinking their mother's milk. Birds do not produce milk, so baby birds get immunity from eating their mother's poop.

It is natural for young birds to eat poop.

 

[ivan3]

debir1966 wrote: I will be picking up some BOSS next trip to the feed store, as I knew I would need some for winter anyway (which seems to be not too far off anymore!). We keep scratch for the laying hens, I hadn't thought of giving it to the littles yet, but will start adding it into their goodies ration.

Pick up some poultry vitamin supplements as well. Could be that they're looking for some other `concentrated' nutirient/mineral (phosphorus/etc) through their coprophagic consumption.
A good reference on breeder diets (chickens, but just a nice compilation of specifics that apply to turks as well): http://www.poultryscience.org/ps/paperpdfs/97/ps97134.pdf

Oregon Blues wrote: Baby mammals get immunity from drinking their mother's milk. Birds do not produce milk, so baby birds get immunity from eating their mother's poop.

?

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/focus/contents/ceva/OnlineBulletins/ob_2008/Article-No18-May08.pdf