Turkey Treats

[Crayon Rock]

What do you use for turkey treats? I'm going to try to teach my turkeys to come out of the pasture with a clicker and want something to make them want to come in so I don't have to herd them.

 

[KrisH]

We use wheat berries. Just a bag of wheat from the feed store. A 50 pound bag was about $18. They seem to like it better than scratch. Although we also use regular white bread. The nice thing with the bread is that they can see the slice from a far ways off. Break off pieces and hand it to them. Or hand them a big piece and watch the Turkey equivalent of keep away.

They like Fresh soft bread best

RobertH

 

[ANMwoodducks]

Peachs, tomatoes, and they love worms, they go crazy over thoose Have a handful of worms and they will be all over you!

 

[KrisH]

Peachs, tomatoes, and they love worms, they go crazy over thoose Have a handful of worms and they will be all over you!

at the NPIP class they told us that worms were carriers for MANY bad things. I don't remember what, (and I don't feel like getting my book out right now) just that it's a no-no. Ours do find them and eat them, but we don't give them earthworms.

RobertH

 

[Haida]

Mine are nuts about white bread, too.

Mostly my hen, I'm pretty sure she would break into my house for some, lol!

The also really like hardboiled eggs, mushrooms, garlic cloves, tomatoes, regular bird seed (white/red millet w/ sunflower seeds), cucumbers (in moderation) and zucchini. Oh, and my adults go CRAZY for egg shells for some reason, but I don't give them too many too often (I know their feed already has a bit of calcium in it, so I don't want to mess them up).

My teenagers go after anything shiney and anything that moves (including those annoying house sparrows) so maybe a sparkly cat toy would get them to follow you? I'll have to try that, too, sounds like it might work... hmm!

Let me know if the clicker technique works, I would love to "graze" my flock without trying to herd them back home! Ughhh!!

 

[Celie]

at the NPIP class they told us that worms were carriers for MANY bad things. I don't remember what, (and I don't feel like getting my book out right now) just that it's a no-no. Ours do find them and eat them, but we don't give them earthworms.

RobertH

I think they are crriers of the dreaded BLACKHEAD !

 

[Celie]

Mine are nuts about white bread, too.

Mostly my hen, I'm pretty sure she would break into my house for some, lol!

The also really like hardboiled eggs, mushrooms, garlic cloves, tomatoes, regular bird seed (white/red millet w/ sunflower seeds), cucumbers (in moderation) and zucchini. Oh, and my adults go CRAZY for egg shells for some reason, but I don't give them too many too often (I know their feed already has a bit of calcium in it, so I don't want to mess them up).

My teenagers go after anything shiney and anything that moves (including those annoying house sparrows) so maybe a sparkly cat toy would get them to follow you? I'll have to try that, too, sounds like it might work... hmm!

Let me know if the clicker technique works, I would love to "graze" my flock without trying to herd them back home! Ughhh!!

White bread has little to no nutritional value, but Whole grain or Oatmeal bread, also regular horse oats and better yet to put a real shine to their feathers and very healthy would be Black Oil sunflower seeds, from the feed store. It is a bit pricey, but a 50# bag lasts a long time fed as a snack. They are good for almost any bird and very healthy. My turkeys were all hand raised, so wherever I go, they follow ! As soon as they see me or Hubby, they come running from anywhere they are on the property. If you want them to put themselves to roost in a certain place at dark, feed them there and only there. I encourage mine to forage and had trouble getting them to go get their bugs and not rely on me for all their food, so I stopped feeding them in the morning, when I let them out of the barn at sun-up. They are hungry when the wake up, so they free range more, if they are not fed early. We have 2 pastures that we grow Bermuda and bahaya on and keep it well cut and very lush, for the birds. I let 20 to 40 foot patches go to seed, indifferent parts of the pasture, to encourage free ranging and foraging. When seeds form, they run to these patches first and strip the seeds, eating bugs and grass while they are there. After they have devoured the seed in one patch, it is cut and then left to grow again, encouraging it to seed again. About mid day, they are fed in the barn all they care to eat, they forage in the afternoon and are fed again in the barn, about an hour before dark, so when they go to roost at dark, they sleep with full crops and by dark-thirty they have all tucked themselves in, turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese, so we just have to close the barn doors till morning and then the cycle starts over again. I feed back to my birds all eggshells from the kitchen and the incubator any boil and feed back any eggs that go past 2 weeks without being used, shells and all. Very good source of calcium and protein. You can't give birds too much calcium, they need all they can get, but the more they get, the harder their egg shells will be.

 

[Haida]

White bread has little to no nutritional value, but Whole grain or Oatmeal bread, also regular horse oats and better yet to put a real shine to their feathers and very healthy would be Black Oil sunflower seeds, from the feed store. It is a bit pricey, but a 50# bag lasts a long time fed as a snack. They are good for almost any bird and very healthy. My turkeys were all hand raised, so wherever I go, they follow ! As soon as they see me or Hubby, they come running from anywhere they are on the property. If you want them to put themselves to roost in a certain place at dark, feed them there and only there. I encourage mine to forage and had trouble getting them to go get their bugs and not rely on me for all their food, so I stopped feeding them in the morning, when I let them out of the barn at sun-up. They are hungry when the wake up, so they free range more, if they are not fed early. We have 2 pastures that we grow Bermuda and bahaya on and keep it well cut and very lush, for the birds. I let 20 to 40 foot patches go to seed, indifferent parts of the pasture, to encourage free ranging and foraging. When seeds form, they run to these patches first and strip the seeds, eating bugs and grass while they are there. After they have devoured the seed in one patch, it is cut and then left to grow again, encouraging it to seed again. About mid day, they are fed in the barn all they care to eat, they forage in the afternoon and are fed again in the barn, about an hour before dark, so when they go to roost at dark, they sleep with full crops and by dark-thirty they have all tucked themselves in, turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese, so we just have to close the barn doors till morning and then the cycle starts over again. I feed back to my birds all eggshells from the kitchen and the incubator any boil and feed back any eggs that go past 2 weeks without being used, shells and all. Very good source of calcium and protein. You can't give birds too much calcium, they need all they can get, but the more they get, the harder their egg shells will be.

I've heard about oats, but I wasn't sure about them. I'll be sure to give them a try! I also just bought a whole bag of black oil sunflower seeds from the store, I heard they were good and wanted to give them a try (and they were on sale!). Are there any ill-effects from them eating too much black oil sunflower seed? How much do you think is an ok amount for a treat?

I really like what you're doing with the grass there. I'm worried about letting them run free... everyone around us hunts... ugh.. I would really hate for someone to shoot one of my guys on accident!

Last year, they would wander and wander (I'm surrounded by corn fields and there's woods with wild turks in the back) and they would go like two fields down! They would come back, though, I'd call them with my little turkey call (I think the neighbors think I'm nuts, I just scream "TURKEEYY TURRRKSSS!!") and they would come running and flapping! Neighbors also have dogs that roam... so... I would have to be out there with them. I would love to let them go like you do, though. Maybe some day! I think I might try to let them out to see how it goes this weekend. Its supposed to be nice.
That's wonderful news that I can't overdo the calcium (except for the hard eggshells)!! Thanks so much for letting me know! Actually, no, thank you for that entire post!

Woo!