Raising turkeys can be a fun and rewarding experience for any homesteader. While turkeys require more care and attention than chickens in their early stages, the payoff of having a sustainable source of delicious homegrown turkey meat makes it worthwhile. Here is a comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about raising turkey poults (baby turkeys) from start to finish.
Setting Up the Brooder
A proper brooder setup is crucial for getting turkey poults off to a healthy start. Here are some key considerations:
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Size: The brooder should be large enough to accommodate the poults as they grow. Aim for at least 1 square foot per poult. Adjust up if raising a heritage breed.
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Bedding Pine shavings work well for absorbing moisture and keeping poults clean and dry Spot clean daily and add fresh bedding as needed.
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Heat Use a heat lamp or brooder plate to maintain 95-100°F for the first week Lower by 5°F each week until fully feathered (8-10 weeks)
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Feed and Water: Provide starter feed with 28% protein and clean, lukewarm water. Use chick feeders and hang waterers to minimize mess.
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Partitions: Use cardboard partitions to keep poults near heat, food and water while preventing pile-ups in corners. Adjust as they grow.
Maintaining dry, clean conditions and consistent warmth are essential to preventing disease and mortality in young poults. Check on them frequently and make adjustments as needed.
Feed and Nutrition
Proper nutrition is key to growing healthy, strong poults. Here are some feeding guidelines:
- 0-8 weeks: 28% protein turkey starter
- 8-12 weeks: 26% protein turkey grower
- 12+ weeks: 20% protein turkey finisher
Supplement with oats or treats for added nutrients. Provide insoluble grit starting at 4 weeks to aid digestion. Always keep feed and water fresh and clean.
Separate grain rations from protein feed to encourage balanced intake. Free-choice feeding lets poults self-regulate based on needs.
Health and Behavior
It’s normal for poults to sleep often, punctuated by brief bursts of energetic play. Lethargy, loss of appetite or labored breathing may indicate illness. Isolate sick birds immediately and consult a vet.
Poults are prone to dehydration. Teach them to drink by dipping beaks in water. Hang shiny objects to attract them to waterers. Avoid cold water which can be fatal.
Watch for signs of impactation from eating bedding. Use feeder mats and barriers. Monitor crops regularly. Signs include lethargy, swollen crop and loss of appetite. Impacted crops may require massage, warm water or surgery.
Transitioning Outdoors
Once fully feathered at 8-10 weeks, poults can transition to outdoor housing. Take precautions to prevent exposure, stress and disease:
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Move outdoors during warm, dry weather
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Provide shelter and extra heat/lighting as needed
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Allow access to grass for foraging but prevent exposure to wild birds
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Maintain clean coop and fresh food and water
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Watch for signs of stress like low energy, lack of appetite or feather picking
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Quarantine new birds or those returning from shows before introducing to flock
With proper precautions, poults can thrive outdoors and supplement their diet with greens, seeds and insects.
Butchering and Preservation
Turkeys are ready for processing at 5-6 months. Target finished weights are:
- Toms (males): 45-50 lbs
- Hens (females): 25-30 lbs
Schedule butchering in cooler fall weather if possible. Withholding feed for 12-24 hours helps empty crops. Stunning, bleeding out and scalding/plucking are key steps. Chilling carcasses quickly maximizes quality.
Popular preservation methods include freezing, canning, smoking and dehydrating. For whole birds, brining adds moisture and flavor. Optimal frozen storage is 6-12 months at 0°F.
Proper processing and preservation lets you enjoy delicious homegrown turkey year-round. If selling, follow regulations for licensed slaughter facilities.
Breed Selection
Popular turkey breeds include:
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Broad-Breasted Whites: Fast growing, excellent meat birds (up to 30 lbs). Prone to leg issues and low reproduction.
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Heritage: Slower growing but excellent foragers with more flavorful meat. Better suited for free-range and reproduction. Examples: Bourbon Red, Narragansett, Black.
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Wild: Requires permits. Not domesticated.
Choosing the right breeds for your goals is key. Heritage and wild turkeys may be better suited for homestead-scale production while Broad-Breasted Whites excel on a commercial scale.
Tips and Considerations
Here are some additional tips for beginners:
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Start with a quality breeder. Mail order poults if needed.
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Keep groups of the same age together. Introduce new birds gradually.
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Raise turkeys separately from chickens to prevent disease.
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Allow 5-10 square feet per bird in outdoor housing.
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Rotate pastures frequently to prevent disease buildup.
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Limit free-ranging until birds are too large for most predators.
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Turkeys are social and do best raised in groups.
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Try brooding a few extras to account for early poult mortality.
With the proper brooder setup, nutrition, and care, raising turkeys can be an extremely rewarding experience. Don’t be intimidated by their extra needs as poults – with good management, they mature into hardy, healthy birds providing sustainable meat. Do your research, follow sound practices, and enjoy the journey!
Keeping Turkeys is Rewarding, Especially When You Start with Poults
Reading Time: 4 minutes
There are many reasons raising turkey poults is rewarding — not the least of which is keeping turkeys to have a few pets.
Raising turkey poults is enjoyable and a wise decision for meat purposes. But keep in mind, raising poults is not the same as raising chicks or ducklings. They are much more delicate than other poultry species. Here are a few tips and tricks for successfully raising poults to maturity.
Raising Turkey Poults with Chicks
Add a chicken chick or two to your order when purchasing turkey poults. To protect your young flock’s health, choose chicks that have never touched the earth’s surface, such as from a hatchery or feed store, to minimize the potential of blackhead disease. Read on to learn more about blackhead disease and how it can affect a flock of turkeys.
I’ll be quite frank; turkey poults are not the smartest of the bunch. Chicken chicks have an instinct to survive and seek food, heat, and water without being guided. Poults need constant reminders where to find those. Without the incorporation of chicks, you become the caretaker and responsible for keeping the poults alive.
Within a few days, the poults will be more independent and can care for themselves. Chicks can then be removed from the brooder and raised separately or remain with the poults until ready to move into their separate coops.
To ensure poults remain close to heat, water, and food, restrict them to a smaller brooder space for a few days. A rafter of young turkeys can become confused in a large space. This can cause them to starve or catch a chill.
To minimize workload, construct a brooder that will accommodate the growth of the young flock. Poults often remain in a brooder until they are fully feathered, roughly six to eight weeks of life, potentially longer depending on the weather. During the time in the brooder, it is imperative to provide adequate space to ensure livability without hindering the growth of the birds. This requires a minimum of two square feet per bird; however, three to four square feet guarantee the birds will not be overcrowded and allows them to stretch their wings comfortably.
There are multiple options for brooder bedding, with pine shavings as the most common. Straw is also a favorite among poultry keepers and is available chopped (designed for brooders) or in bales. Other options include peanut hulls, chopped cardboard, and crushed corn cobs. Refrain from using shaved cedar in bedding; the oils are drying and can harm the young birds.
Add three to four inches of bedding and replace it each time you clean the brooder. This amount allows the birds to dust bathe without reaching the brooder floor and cushions their landing if roosting bars are added. Spot clean the brooder daily, especially where the feed, water, and heat source are located. Deep cleaning a brooder can be reserved weekly or as needed. Keep in mind, an extremely dirty brooder runs the risk of respiratory issues and is a breeding ground forcoccidiosis. A brooder should never have an ammonia smell permeating from the bedding.
Feel free to compost the bedding. How long it will take to decompose depends on material used.
Brooder heat is necessary for the first four to six weeks of life. This time will vary based on where you reside. A good rule of thumb is that, once a bird is fully feathered, a heat source is no longer needed. Two available heat sources include an infrared bulb or a heating plate designed for brooders. Both work well; however, a heating plate is a safer option, and it resembles a broody hen’s body temperature. A heating plate temperature never has to be regulated; simply adjust the legs’ height as the poults grow. This allows them to come and go from under the heat source comfortably.
When using an infrared bulb, the temperature under the bulb must maintain 95 degrees F for the first week. After that, raise the bulb, lowering the temperature by five degrees each week. Watch your daily to ensure the temperature within the brooder is right:
- Poults huddled tightly together indicate the brooder is not hot enough.
- Birds resting away from the heat beam indicate the temperature within the brooder is too hot.
- Poults resting comfortably under the lamp indicate the heat within the brooder is perfect.
For safety reasons, secure the lamp to prevent it from being knocked down. Infrared heat lamps are the main cause of coop fires.
Young turkeys need a high protein feed to thrive and grow efficiently. Turkey poults require the most protein during the first eight weeks of life, making a whole grain feed (28% protein) the best option. However, a broiler chicken feed consisting of 23-24% protein is efficient. Between nine and 24 weeks, you can decrease to 18-20% protein or offer a fermented feed.
Raising Turkeys From Hatching to Processing – Part 1 | @semojohomestead
FAQ
Are turkey poults hard to raise?
Baby turkeys are not difficult to raise. They are more susceptible to cold temperatures and respiratory diseases than baby chicks, so you’ll need to take extra precautions. Baby turkeys need to be kept warm with fresh bedding for the first eight weeks of life.
How to raise baby turkeys at home?
Brooders provide a draft-free, warm and protected place for young poultry to grow during the first month or so of life. The setup for poults is the same for chicks, some type of brooder with wood shavings, a heat lamp, a baby ‘chick’ feeder, and a ‘chick’ waterer, something very shallow so the poults won’t drown.
What to feed baby turkey poults?
Sprinkling chick grit on their feed also helps prevent pasting. Poults should be fed 28% protein turkey starter until 8 weeks of age.
Are turkeys harder to raise than chickens?
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Size:Turkeys are significantly larger, meaning they need more space to roam and larger coops and nesting boxes.
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Feed needs:Due to their size, turkeys consume more food and may require a higher protein feed.
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Poults are delicate:Baby turkeys (poults) are more sensitive to temperature changes and drafts, requiring extra care in the brooding stage.
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Disease susceptibility:Turkeys are more susceptible to certain diseases like blackhead, which can be transmitted by chickens.
Is raising turkey poults a good idea?
There are many reasons raising turkey poults is rewarding — not the least of which is keeping turkeys to have a few pets. Raising turkey poults is enjoyable and a wise decision for meat purposes. But keep in mind, raising poults is not the same as raising chicks or ducklings. They are much more delicate than other poultry species.
What are the health benefits of ground turkey?
Ground turkey has multiple benefits. It is a good source of minerals, and B vitamins, rich in proteins, low in fat and it is lower in calories than common turkey.
How do you raise turkey poults to maturity?
Here are a few tips and tricks for successfully raising poults to maturity. Add a chicken chick or two to your order when purchasing turkey poults. To protect your young flock’s health, choose chicks that have never touched the earth’s surface, such as from a hatchery or feed store, to minimize the potential of blackhead disease.
Why are turkey poults hard to raise?
Turkey poults are susceptible to weather and disease and need a lot of care. Turkeys are large birds and need a lot of space. Turkeys eat a lot of poultry feed because they grow so big. It can be hard raising turkeys for meat because they become loyal pets when given the chance.
How do you raise a turkey hen?
Ann Accetta-Scott raises turkeys on her homestead, Acorn Creek Farmstead. Ann recommends that you mimic things the turkey hen would do for her hatch. Keeping a small area for the first week helps the poults stay warm. You can also tap the water dish and the food to call the poults attention to them.
Should you raise turkeys with chickens?
As a side note, if you’re raising your turkeys alongside chickens, it’s important not to let them share food or water dispensers, even when they’re young. Chickens, despite their smaller size, will bully the turkeys out of their fair share of the goodies.