What to feed a baby turkey?

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Yes even as a pet they need the extra because they grow so fast.

Steve

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have mine on 30% protein. They look great!

 

[curtismom]

Our turkey is a Tom Bronze Breasted from Ideal - they say he should reach 25lbs. Does anyone know about how tall he should get? I am trying to figure out the best type of coop for him - he will be allowed to free range during the day when he is older.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
If he is a broad breasted he will at least double the 25 pounds Ideal says. BBB's get huge.

Steve

 

[10ducks]

Uh oh. If you have a Broad Breasted Bronze, you should not plan on keeping him as a pet. I looked at Ideal's website, and I see they have both Standard Bronze and the Broad Breasted. I don't know where in the world they got 25 pounds as a mature weight on the Broad Breasted toms; they are more like 45 pounds! Anyway, the reason that you can't really keep a Broad Breasted Bronze (or White) as a pet is that they grow so fast and get so big that they often have leg problems or die of heart problems before they are a year old. They have been bred to get huge fast, and to be butchered young, usually before they reach 6 months of age. I have heard of a few people on here who have kept BBs alive for a few years by restricting their feed so they don't get so big so fast.

edited to add:
I see Steve replied while I was typing. I wanted to add that I am not positive about the BBB not living long; I know it is true of the BBWs. Steve?

 

[medan]

if you want him or her to thrive yes

 

[curtismom]

I spent a good deal of time on here reading about BBB and agree that he probably isn't suited to be a pet - and we would not eat him. So, I guess I am going to cancel the order for him. I searched briefly for hatcherys that would ship just 1 turkey and didn't find any; we have no need for 10-15 and are already at the limit of chickens that we need (I think).

It seems from what I have read on here that one of the favorites is the BR - does anyone know where I can get just one Tom from? All I am able to find are SR............

 

[farm lady]

I once read that you should keep gatorade on hand when raising chicks, turkeys, and ducks. So last year I was raising two young turkeys and one became sickly so I started giving it gatorade soaked on a cottom swab and would give droplets into the corner of his mouth and it worked he lived. I have also done this before for chicks that hatch and seem to be weak and or may die and they lived. So heads up try it , you may save them from dying.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I once read that you should keep gatorade on hand when raising chicks, turkeys, and ducks. So last year I was raising two young turkeys and one became sickly so I started giving it gatorade soaked on a cottom swab and would give droplets into the corner of his mouth and it worked he lived. I have also done this before for chicks that hatch and seem to be weak and or may die and they lived. So heads up try it , you may save them from dying.

It's always great to have emergency supplies on hand. I keep tons of baby food in the event I have to force feed any birds.

 

[Gercarson]

How does one transition from the high protein to "something" else? I remember we always just fed our turkeys what the chickens ate.
I have four midget whites now and they are about 2 months old - still feeding them the expensive high protein game bird.
What to do?