Feeding turkeys

Feeding very heavy turkey hens and especially turkey cocks at home has been very popular with breeders over the last several decades. Breeders tend to purchase approx. six-week-old broad-breasted turkey chicks. Not many people are involved in hatching and caring for small turkey chicks, with the exception of breeding purebred turkeys. These are capable of hatching and caring for their own chicks. Their weight and musculature is no match to those of broad-breasted hybrid turkeys.Feeding turkeys required special knowledge and the use of feeding mixtures is beneficial, as this helps to achieve high final weights even more than 20 kg especially in broad-breasted turkeys. Traditional fodder can be used to some extent (approximately 30%) at smaller farms to improve the culinary properties of meat.

Health problems

The state of health of chicks is a major problem – most frequent issue being blackhead, which poses permanent threat especially to younger turkeys up to 12 weeks old and is associated with a high death rate. The disease is caused by a protozoan called Histomonas meleargridis, which damages the intestines and liver of young turkeys (and other types of poultry). It is transferred via eggs of the Hetarakis gallinarum worms (paddocks can be infested with these worms). Separating young turkeys from other poultry and contaminated paddocks is the best prevention. Deworming animals and decontamination of poultry paddocks is suitable and giving animals higher doses of vitamins is helpful.

Unsuitable drugs

Unsuitability of the available drugs for meat poultry is currently a problem. Metronidazole, which proved to be effective in past (often in entizole tablets), or its veterinary alternatives are not intended for treatment or prevention in animals bred for human consumption. Metronidazole may be used to treat serious infections in humans, such as borreliosis, infection with clostridium or gastric ulcers and there are concerns that uncontrolled used for animals may reduce the efficacy of this drug in humans.

Take care not to exchange fodder

The necessity of using specific feeding mixtures for the specified species or categories of animals – certain components (such as coccidiostats) may even be poisonous or unsuitable for other species – this applies to exchanging feeding mixtures for chickens and turkey chicks. Feeding mixtures are now so specific, it is worth reading the enclosed information carefully and observing them.