How to feed turkeys in the first days of life at home for beginners

Growing turkeys in private farms begins with rearing young animals from day-old chicks. By 4-5 months, they grow up so much that they can be sent for slaughter or selected from the livestock of breeding individuals. Consider how to feed small turkeys in the first days of life at home, as well as up to 5 months of age, drawing up the correct diet and feeding regimen.

Feeding turkeys from the first days of life at home

Turkey poults of any breed are demanding on feed, its composition, consistency, and feeding regimen. Mistakes in feeding often lead to poor he alth and death of chicks.

Diurnal Birds

In the first day after hatching, turkey poults may not show appetite, as they have not yet used up all the nutrients of the egg. If they are not in a hurry to eat, do not force-feed them. But it is necessary to drink water, so you need to put a drinking bowl with water in the brooder for the chicks. If there is an appetite, then the turkey menu consists of a mixture of boiled eggs, low-fat, non-acidic cottage cheese and fresh herbs. Feeding frequency - 5-6 times a day.

Care for daily poults - place them in a brooder, the floor of which is covered with paper. Hang a red lamp from above, under which the chicks will bask.

Week-old chicks

For the first week, small turkeys are fed with the same mixture as the first day, but on the 3rd-4th day, small chopped or millet, a little meat and bone meal, onion feather, and grass are added to it. Greens are a source of vitamins vital for the growth and development of chicks. Mixtures with onions should be given during the day, not in the evening.After eating it at night, the turkeys will be thirsty. This will make them anxious, crowded and pushing each other.

Grass should be taken young, soft, in which there is still little fiber. A large amount of fiber is a danger to the bird's still weak digestive tract. The ratio of components is 4 to 1. Newly hatched turkeys have soft beaks, so the food in the first days is not poured into the feeder, but on a sheet of paper.

Put warm water in a drinking bowl in the brooder, it can be sweetened. The drinking bowl should be shallow so that the chicks cannot climb into it with their feet and do not overflow the water. Wet turkeys can get sick and die. You can pour curdled milk into another drinker, turkey poults absorb it well. But you need to make sure that the dairy product does not sour.

Some poultry farmers feed small turkeys with compound feed for chicks from the very first days. Many enterprises produce starter feed for turkey poults. You need to choose only high-quality mixtures, even if they are not cheap. It is also important to pay attention to the freshness of the food. No more than a month must pass from the release date. Old compound feed, which has an expiration date, should not be taken.

What to give at 2 weeks of age

2-week-old turkey poults are recommended to be fed a mash of 50% ground grain, 20% peas, 25% sunflower meal and 5% chalk. They still give fresh cottage cheese, yogurt, buttermilk, reverse, but their volume is gradually reduced. At 2 weeks, you can give boiled potatoes in mixtures, 5-6 g per chick per day. From additives of mineral origin, s alt and crushed eggshells are used.

The consistency of the mash should be moderate, the mixture is prepared not dry, but not wet, so that it does not pour into the throat of turkeys. After each feeding, the feeders are cleaned and washed.

Monthly turkey poults

The composition of wet mash is changed, more protein feeds are introduced into them, both of plant and animal origin: waste from meat and fish production. The amount of boiled potatoes can be doubled. When the turkeys are already 1.5 months old, they can begin to feed whole grains. By 2 months, its share can be increased to 50% of the total amount of grain food. Green grass, nettle, tops, dandelion, onion feather are added to the mixture.

They feed turkeys and mixed fodder. It is important to note that only poultry feed can be given, pork is not suitable for cattle, they contain more s alt and dietary fiber.

Two-month-old birds

In 2 months, turkey poults receive food 4 times a day. Feed with a mash or ready-made feed. Bread and kitchen waste can be added to the mixture. By this time, they switch to full-fledged mixtures, which contain all the nutrients needed by the bird's body.To prevent diseases, once a week, you need to add a few crystals of potassium permanganate to drinking water, and crushed needles to food.

2-month-old turkeys can be grazed on the grass or paddled in summer to breathe fresh air and build up vitamin D.

What to give at 3 months

The composition of food for three-month-old chicks remains the same, but its volume increases. The amount of food that turkeys should receive is calculated based on the amount they ingest for half an hour. Any uneaten leftovers must be removed from the feeders.

What to feed at 4 months

The basis of the diet of 4-month-old turkeys is grain mash. Any suitable food is placed in them, at this age the bird's digestive tract digests whole grains, foods containing fiber and other heavy foods.In the pen, turkeys can find insects, earthworms, larvae. From spring to autumn, you can prepare brooms from branches of linden, birch, poplar, herbs. They are dried in the shade, stored in a dry, dark room. During the winter, leaf and grass crumbs are added to the mash as a vitamin supplement.

Specific feeding of broiler turkeys for beginners

Broilers fatten quickly and have a fast metabolism. It is recommended to feed them on industrial feed. You need to choose a quality product, even if it is expensive. The costs will pay off in the future. It is allowed to use only poultry feed, in no case pig or cow. They have a different composition that is not suitable for the bird's body.

Self-prepared food can consist of grains of different crops, ground or whole. Other Ingredients: meal, bran, yeast, meat and bone meal, chalk, s alt.Homemade feed is cheaper, but you need to cook it in small portions so as not to store. If it is damp, sour, covered with mold spots, you can not feed it.

Features of the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in the diet

On the market you can buy various preparations specially designed and produced for feeding poultry. The complexes strengthen and support the immune forces of the body, provide the daily need of turkey poults for the main vitamin and mineral components. Birds receiving complexes grow better, do not get sick, do not die.

The dosage is chosen according to the instructions, which indicate the rate for turkeys, depending on age and gender. It cannot be exceeded, an excess of vitamins and minerals is just as harmful as a deficiency.

What is forbidden to give?

Turkeys are not omnivorous, there are foods that will be harmful to them. Feeding such food will lead to disorders, diseases and complications. For example, you can not give birds compound feed for farm animals - pigs, cows. Due to the inappropriate composition, they can cause diseases and disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

You can not give fresh bread, white and bakery products. It is forbidden to feed spoiled products, raw, moldy, expired. Bad products can be recognized by smell, they must be disposed of. It is also not allowed to give raw meat and fish, they may contain larvae or eggs of helminths. In addition, the fish contains small bones that birds can choke on. Also, you can not feed too s alty foods, spicy, pickled. Harvesting grass, you need to make sure that poisonous plants do not come across.

Feeding thoroughbred turkeys and broilers must be organized according to the rules.Especially responsibly, it is necessary to approach the feeding of small turkeys up to a month of age, when death often occurs, including due to errors made in the preparation of the diet. If you approach the matter wisely, you will be able to feed the bird without loss and profit from the maintenance of a home turkey farm.

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