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Baby turkeys, referred to as turkey poults are raised in a similar way to chicks, in the beginning they even look very similar. However you may have heard that baby turkeys are a little on the dumb side, the big difference being baby turkeys may need to be taught what food and water is, if not they won’t know how to eat and may starve. But don’t fear, raising turkey poults can be relatively easy if you follow these four guidelines:
#1 Heating
For the first few weeks of their life baby turkey hide under their mothers wings to keep warm. If you are raising turkey poults on your own it is important to have a good heat source for them. For the first week it is best to keep the temperature around 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit, then lower the temperature slowly by 5 degrees Fahrenheit per week until they are fully feathered. This should take around 6-8 weeks.
#2 Bedding
Turkey poults need a certain amount of attention to keep them healthy, so make sure you keep them warm, dry and clean. This should also include keeping their bedding clean and dry. You should never use newspaper or other slick surfaces for bedding because this can cause problems to the turkey’s legs. The best bedding to use is ground corncobs or pine shavings. You might read that rice hulls are a good bedding source too, the poults will eat the hulls and get compacted crops. If you want, sunflower seed hulls will work in place of rice hulls.
#3 Feeding
As mentioned earlier turkey poults may have a hard time learning how to eat. There are a couple of things you do to help them along. First off, if you are also raising chicks, add a few to the bunch so the turkeys will learn from watching the chicks eat. Or you can put shiny marbles in their feed and water dishes to attract the turkey poults. And finally just by dipping their beaks in the water and food you have a better chance of the turkey poults learning what it is. You must keep in mind however that baby turkeys and chicks have different feed requirements, so if you are opting to use the chicks as teachers, don’t keep them in too long. Turkey poults require feed with a higher protein level, around 28%-30% protein. You should budget for two 50-pound bags for every 25 poults. When it comes to water you want to make sure that fresh water is available and that it is lukewarm, as the poults will get chilled if the water is too cold. It is also a good idea to add vitamin supplements to their water.
#4 Roosting
Roosting at night is natural for birds; it is their preferred way to sleep. Unfortunately without anyone to teach them turkey poults may not know how to do it. To introduce your poults to roosting you can place a narrow piece of wood a few inches off the ground under their heat source and the majority of them will get used to sitting on this makeshift roost. This way once they are older and it is time to move them away from the brooding area they will be more inclined to roost on their own.
By following these four simple guidelines you will have an easier time raising your turkeys. Overall the best way to care for these little guys is to keep an eye on them. Looking in on them frequently will help you to identify any problems that occur, which will in turn enable you to fix them before they get too bad.
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