Turkey snacks?

[Heather J]

Or should I say snacks for turkeys? I don't want to eat the turkey as snacks, not this year, anyway.

I admit, we've been bad and haven't handled the turkeys or guineas much at all, so they are all really skittish around me. We moved them into a new pen last month and will be allowing them to free range in a couple of weeks when the six-week rule is up for the guineas. In the meantime, I wanted to try giving them a snack in the evening to train them to like me, and so they will learn that they get a snack in the evening if they come back to the coop (I never did get the fence around the coop so it's shut in or free range. Unfortunately my schedule int he next two weeks does not look promising for fixing that little problem. I really do have to let them range some once the six-week period is up for the guineas because they are starting to pick on the one. The pen is oodles big enough for the birds if they have a run, just a bit snug for 24/7.


So, sorry about the ramble. What snacks do your birds like best?

 

[Brian999]

Mine love apples, mulberry leaves, and there crumble when its moistened. Thats all I've tried, so far, but they go crazy for all those things.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Whatever your chicken likes, so will your turkeys. Just keep in mind though, they can get a bit aggressive as they get bigger. If they are heritage, I wouldn't feed them from your hand. Just toss it in front of them. Mine follow me EVERYWHERE I go and it can be annoying at times. I believe you shouldn't get too friendly with them. JMO Now the table turkeys are a different story. My son would feed them from his hand and cuddled with them. They were too big and heavy to get aggressive. We butchered them 3 weeks ago and we really miss them.

We butchered 4 BS last week and we don't miss them at all. As a matter of fact, my DH is smoking one for dinner tonight. It will be our first one cooked up so I hope it turns out good. Sorry to stray off your question a bit.

 

[oldmossinger]

I found one of the "Bestest" things for mine was dandelion leaves. Even when their crop was stuffed, they would get up and get a fresh dandelion leaf.

 

[chickenannie]

black oil sunflower seeds.
apples.