How to feed turkey poults in the first days of life and the following months

The most important part of caring for turkey poultry is a catering organization. By the age of 6 months, almost all broiler breeds stop gaining weight. Therefore, it is very important to properly feed the chicks from the first days of life. Let’s consider how to feed turkey poults in the first days of life, and how to change the diet as they grow up.

Feeding turkey poults in the first days of life and subsequent months

O feeding characteristics

A turkey is a rather capricious bird. If the food is not organized properly, the birds will not even gain average weight, not to mention the maximum weight. In no case should birds be given compound feeds of poor quality.

Wet mixers after feeding must not be left in the feeders . Sour food causes problems in the digestive tract. And in turkeys, due to the anatomical structure, food in the intestines lingers longer than other birds. And if in chickens, for example, dirty or sour food quickly leaves the intestines and, perhaps, does not harm the body, then turkey poults will certainly have problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Feeding turkeys in the first month of life does not imply diet of large amounts of fiber.This will lead to intestinal obstruction, the consequences of which can be most sad.

Feeding turkey poults in the first 10 days of life

Caring for newborn chicks is the hardest. Immediately after the turkey was born, do not rush to feed it. During the first day, he can spend those food supplies that he still has. But do not forget to put a container of water. At the same time, it is not necessary to water the chicks, it is enough to show them where the drinker is. In order for the birds to develop strong immunity, we add vitamin C to the water. And for the turkey to drink such a drink with pleasure, sweeten it.

During the first 10 days, the turkeys are fed at least 8 times a day. In this period of life, turkey poults are poorly seen. Accordingly, water containers should be in a conspicuous place.

Newborns ration

• Starting from the first days of life, the turkeys are given a dry mix, which consists of boiled eggs , corn and wheat groats. An alternative to wheat cereal is oatmeal. We put the same number of eggs and corn, and the groats should be only a quarter of the portion weight. But after 3-4 days we increase the amount of cereals. And by the 6th day all the ingredients are taken in equal amounts.
• Cottage cheese. We select high-quality low-fat cottage cheese. It should be crumbly.
• Millet. We add it to dry mixes in small quantities.
• Shredded carrots on a fine grater. As they grow older, carrots can be chopped.
• Yogurt. But it can not be added to the mess. During the first week of life, we pour it into a separate container, and put it next to the drinker. At the end of feeding, remove the container with yogurt so that it does not sour.
• Chalk. This is a mineral supplement that is needed to form a strong skeleton. An alternative to chalk is bone, fish and meat and bone meal. It is advisable to include all 3 supplements in the diet, but give them not together, but alternately. You can add these mineral additives to the mash, but experts recommend pouring them into separate containers and leaving them in the house throughout the day.
• Fish oil (no more than 2 grams per day).
• Salt (add to the mash). The daily norm is 0.1 g.
• Water.

In the diet of birds, solid feed must be present. This is necessary to stimulate the digestive tract, which is poorly developed after birth. Starting from the 3rd day, you can introduce wet mixes into the diet, for the preparation of which we use only the above products. the composition of the wet mash can be as follows: cottage cheese, hard-boiled eggs, wheat bran, wheat flour, corn, chalk. Corn together with wheat flour should make up 50% of the weight of the whole portion. Chalks add no more than 2 g. The remaining ingredients are taken in equal amounts.

In newborns, poultry is soft beak.So that the chicks do not get injured, they are fed from containers with a soft bottom. Silicone feeders are the most suitable option. An alternative is heavy paper or soft cloth.

Feeding turkey poults from day 10 to day 30

The needles

can be added to the diet of monthly chicks Starting from the 10th day of life, we gradually reduce the number of receptions food from 8-9 to 6. At this age, add wet mixes to the diet. We cook them on yogurt or medium-fat milk. In addition to the feed that was used during the first 10 days of life, we add oats, legumes and buckwheat, meal, meal, green feed, needles, straw and hay, nuts and acorns to the diet.

Each of the above components is important for the normal development of birds. Green foods contain carbohydrates, and hay and straw contain fiber, which improves digestion. The needles are rich in vitamin C, and nuts and acorns improve the palatability of meat . Feeding turkeys at the age of 1 month includes fish and meat and bone meal. These foods are not only rich in vitamin C, but also contain amino acids. They also have protein, which is necessary for many processes in the body.

As for the quantitative indicators, during this period we slightly increase the amount of wheat and barley groats. But the amount of green feed is increased by 6 times.The daily norm is 30 g. We remove millet and boiled eggs from the diet.

Feeding turkey poults after the 30th day

Feeding turkey poultry changes from 1 month. At this stage, the diet should be foods rich in proteins. It is important not only how to feed the turkeys in 1 month, but also how many times. We transfer the grown up chicks to 4 meals a day. If turkeys have a sedentary lifestyle, then we feed them 3 times a day. A sedentary lifestyle can be due to the lack of an aviary of the right size or the characteristics of the breed. In general, turkeys should be grazed. Otherwise, they may face a problem such as obesity.

So, what to feed the monthly poultry at home? The basis of the diet at this age is mishmash. But, we cook them not on yogurt, but on the water. At this age, yogurt and reverse are completely excluded from the diet. When preparing the mash, we use a large amount of green food. The last meal consists of grain.

If we talk about the daily norm of certain feeds, then the amount of fresh herbs in the diet is increased by 2 times. We introduce crushed oats and wheat grains (10 g per individual) into the diet, increase the amount of barley groats to 21 g. We also add wheat bran to the diet. Their daily norm is 20 g. We remove the cottage cheese from the diet.

Feeding turkeys from 1 month is simplified in the summer, which is rich in green fodder.It is advisable to release birds on pastures, where they themselves will find grass that they like.

In order not to rack their brains over the winter months after feeding turkey after 1 month, we harvest a large amount of hay and straw.

Feeding turkeys after 3 months

Qualitatively, the composition of the feed for turkeys at 3 months of age does not change. Only the daily feed rate changes. So, than feed turkeys in 3 months.

Meat and bone meal and wheat bran should be 20 g for each turkey. Crushed wheat grain is given at the rate of 50 g per individual. The rate of green fodder increases by 2.5 times, and is 150 g for each turkey. We give salt and chalk at the rate of 5 g per individual.

When compiling a diet, one should not sharply increase or decrease the amount of one or another component. So, for example, we increase the amount of green feed every week by 20-30 g. The figures that are given by month are control. We organize food in such a way as to simply reach these numbers at the end of each period.

Compound feed

Organizing meals is not an easy task. In order not to think about how to feed the turkey at 1 month, or at 3 or 5, you can purchase ready-made feed.A wide range of these products is presented on the market. When purchasing feed, carefully study its composition and manufacturer’s recommendations. Some formulations are intended for feeding the monthly poultry, others are used for feeding newborn chicks.

Using compound feeds it is much easier to organize a balanced diet. Feathered birds eat food with pleasure. But besides compound feeds, no matter how good quality they are, turkey poultry should be given complementary foods in the form of mineral additives (chalk and shell crushed to a powder state). and how much feed to give. Do not overfeed the birds. The instructions that apply to all feeds indicate the daily allowance for turkeys of different ages. So, for example, monthly turkeys need, on average, 150 grams of food per day. But adults should eat 350 grams of feed. Turkeys need 50-100 g less food.

DIY compound feed

If you wish, you can make compound feed at home. The basis of any compound feed is wheat, corn and oatmeal, sunflower meal, low-fat cottage cheese and bone meal. Use peeled tart. This compound feed is suitable for feeding weekly chicks. Adding greens to this composition, we get compound feed for turkey poults that have reached ten days of age. But you should choose only young greens.Nettle and white cabbage leaves are best suited.

When preparing compound feeds at home, you need to know how much each component should be in the composition. Since the weight of the daily norm changes as the birds grow older, we will consider the percentage of the main ingredients used to prepare the feed.

Corn grits and soybean meal, which should be the largest in the composition, account for 60%. These components are taken in equal quantities. About 10% falls on sunflower cake. About 8% falls on wheat, 5% on chalk and bone meal and ½% on salt. If soybean is present in the composition, in addition to sunflower meal, then they are taken in approximately equal amounts. Sunflower meal should be 3-5% more.

For mature individuals, the composition of the feed can be as follows: 40% corn grits, 30% – sunflower and soybean meal, 10% meat and bone meal, 5% fodder yeast and dry skim milk, 2% limestone and grass meal, 1% feed fat and 0.5% shell.

Food varies slightly depending on the breed of turkeys. When buying turkey or hatching eggs, ask the breeder about the breed.

How to feed turkeys

We figured out how to feed turkeys from the first month of life. But there are products that are banned. In the first 10 days of life, turkeys are not allowed to give fiber.It can not only cause problems with the digestive tract, but also cause the death of the livestock. You need to make all the mixtures for young animals from quality food. Newborn chicks are unstable to various diseases. Especially monitor the quality of animal products (eggs, back, cottage cheese, yogurt).

We prepare wet mixes immediately before feeding. When making wet mixes at home, make sure that the porridge is not too wet. It should remain crumbly. It’s difficult to digest wet birds. We give all the grain crops to the young in crushed form. So they are better absorbed.

Turkeys do not respond well to dietary changes. If you are replacing home blenders with factory-made feed, then do so gradually. Even if it’s about changing one compound feed to another, make the transition smooth.

Conclusion

We examined how to feed the monthly poultry and newborn chicks. The easiest way to organize a balanced diet using factory combi You can make an analogue at home. But, for feeding newborn chicks, experts recommend using factory feed. The most popular starter feeds are PK-1 and purine 10050. The first feed contains mineral supplements, vitamins and amino acids.