Can Turkeys Eat Watermelon? A Comprehensive Guide

Like any other baby, baby turkey poults require clean, warm surroundings, fresh food, and water. You can download our guide “Caring and Feeding of Baby Turkeys” or continue reading below.

Keeping poults warm entails a brooder. A good brooder will have a wire mesh floor to allow droppings to pass through or bedding to absorb wastes, as well as a heat source to keep the poults safe. A cardboard box filled with one to three inches of wood shavings for bedding can serve as a basic brooder, or it can be as sophisticated as a commercial metal box brooder. For a few poults, cardboard has the advantage of being cheap, disposable/recyclable, and sanitary. If you raise multiple batches of poults each season or a larger number of poults, a wooden or metal brooder is more suitable. It should be scrubbed and disinfected between uses. Three feet by four feet is a good size for a few poults and will allow plenty of room for the first couple of weeks. Brooders should be large enough to allow the poults to get away from the heat source. Turkey poults should never be overcrowded because they grow quickly and require a larger brooder after a few weeks. To help the chicks learn to eat food instead of litter, cover the litter for the first few days with paper towels or an old cloth towel. Keep the brooder clean – change litter at least once a week, more if you have many poults. Damp dirty litter and droppings can cause respiratory problems and infections. Poults should never be brooded on newspaper – its surface is too slick and can cause leg problems.

For a small number of poults, a 100-150 watt hanging clamp-style work lamp is sufficient heat. Clamp to the side of the box and have the bulb and hood hanging over the side. For a greater number of poults, a 250-watt infrared bulb can be used. Since infrared bulbs can get extremely hot, they should be kept at least eighteen inches away from anything that could catch fire (such as wood shavings and walls made of cardboard). If using an infrared bulb, be sure to use a porcelain socket – plastic will melt. A brooder should not be evenly heated. It should have a cooler area for chicks to find their level of comfort. For the first week of life, the brooder should be at about 95 degrees. Poults will let you know if the brooder is too hot or too cold. Too hot, and the birds will crowd as far from the heat as possible. Too cold, and they will stand huddled under the light and peep loudly. Raise or lower the heat source accordingly. If you cannot physically raise or lower the lamp, use a different wattage bulb. The temperature should be lowered by five degrees for each week until it is fully feathered out, which should happen in five to six weeks. If housed out of drafts, they should not need any additional heat beyond this age.

Fresh, clean water should be available to poults at all times. The water should be cool, not hot and not cold. Birds drink to stay cool; if they begin to drink excessive amounts of water, the brooder temperature needs to be lowered to prevent overheating. A quart-sized chick fount will last five or fewer poults for a few weeks; a gallon fount will be a better fit for larger or more experienced birds. You’ll know if you need a larger waterer if you need to fill more than once per day. Water should never be offered in an open dish because the droppings and spilled food will be tracked through it by the chicks, which will spread illness. For the first few days, the waterer can be placed directly on the toweling. After removing the toweling, set the waterer on an elevated, non-slip surface, such as a wire platform, to keep the poults from scuffing litter into their water. Increase height as they grow older – bricks or 2X4” wire-covered lumber boxes are equally useful.

Turkey/gamebird starter mash or crumbles, a concoction especially designed for their growth and development, are what baby turkeys must eat. Poults should never be fed layer or breeder mash, crumbles, or pellets—not even as a last resort. It is poisonous to poults due to its high calcium content, which can lead to fatal complications with the kidneys, liver, and bones. A nutritious emergency ration consists of a 50/50 mixture of rolled oats and cornmeal, blended in a food processor to a crumbly or mashy texture. They shouldn’t stay on this emergency ration longer than a day or two because it doesn’t make for a healthy diet. Starter feeds should contain no greater than 28% protein – too much protein causes growth problems. For the first few days, sprinkle feed on a paper towel so that poults can learn to eat. Although poultry feeders come in a variety of designs, they should guard against litter or dropping contamination as well as feed spillage and waste. Elevating the feeder after the first few days helps.

Raising turkeys with chick starter is possible, but use caution—it lacks essential proteins and vitamins for healthy growth. Make sure to add brewer’s yeast as a supplement if you use chick starter—2 cups for every 10 pounds of starter.

Turkeys have no teeth – they need grit in the form of small rocks to grind their food. Baby poultry grit consists of very small stones, like coarse sand, similar to parakeet grit. It should never include oyster shell or any other type of calcium because poults suffer greatly from too much calcium. Most store-bought small grit preparations already have oyster shell in them. You can buy a bag of broken granite from a building supply store and “make” your own chick grit. Wash the granite in a large tub, rinsing out fine sand and mud, and letting it dry. As you would when salting food, use a small amount of the smaller grains on the turkey starter and reserve the larger pieces for adult poultry. Grit is not necessary for poults if their only meal is turkey starter, but it can be beneficial in some circumstances (see below).

Turkeys are excellent foragers, and at a few weeks of age, poults can go outside on grass or the range if the lawn is left untreated and grit is given with their food. To avoid bacterial or parasitic infestations, chicks should only be permitted to roam on clean ground, ideally one where no adult chicken has been for six to twelve months. If you are using wood shavings as litter, grit might also be a good idea because it will help prevent crop impaction in the event that litter is inadvertently consumed.

Diarrhea and vent pasting (droppings sticking to their behinds) is a common problem in young poults. This is caused by a variety of problems, such as a brooder that is too cold. If pasting does happen, carefully remove the dried droppings to prevent the vent from becoming clogged (warm water helps). If pasting persists, consider raising the brooder’s temperature or feeding a mixture of turkey starter and plain rolled oats that have been blended together 50/50. Sprinkling chick grit on their feed also helps prevent pasting.

Poults should be fed 28% protein turkey starter until 8 weeks of age. Twenty-four to twenty-six percent of the protein in turkey farmer’s crumbles should be fed after the first eight weeks, until the animal is about six months old. At that time, they can be switched to 16% – 18% lay pellets, crumbles, or mash. Crushed oyster shell is a good source of extra calcium (for adults only), especially if the turkeys are allowed to roam free or are fed leftover table scraps.

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Like any other baby, baby turkey poults require clean, warm surroundings, fresh food, and water. You can download our guide “Caring and Feeding of Baby Turkeys” or continue reading below.

Keeping poults warm entails a brooder. A good brooder will have a wire mesh floor to allow droppings to pass through or bedding to absorb wastes, as well as a heat source to keep the poults safe. A cardboard box filled with one to three inches of wood shavings for bedding can serve as a basic brooder, or it can be as sophisticated as a commercial metal box brooder. For a few poults, cardboard has the advantage of being cheap, disposable/recyclable, and sanitary. If you raise multiple batches of poults each season or a larger number of poults, a wooden or metal brooder is more suitable. It should be scrubbed and disinfected between uses. Three feet by four feet is a good size for a few poults and will allow plenty of room for the first couple of weeks. Brooders should be large enough to allow the poults to get away from the heat source. Turkey poults should never be overcrowded because they grow quickly and require a larger brooder after a few weeks. To help the chicks learn to eat food instead of litter, cover the litter for the first few days with paper towels or an old cloth towel. Keep the brooder clean – change litter at least once a week, more if you have many poults. Damp dirty litter and droppings can cause respiratory problems and infections. Poults should never be brooded on newspaper – its surface is too slick and can cause leg problems.

For a small number of poults, a 100-150 watt hanging clamp-style work lamp is sufficient heat. Clamp to the side of the box and have the bulb and hood hanging over the side. For a greater number of poults, a 250-watt infrared bulb can be used. Since infrared bulbs can get extremely hot, they should be kept at least eighteen inches away from anything that could catch fire (such as wood shavings and walls made of cardboard). If using an infrared bulb, be sure to use a porcelain socket – plastic will melt. A brooder should not be evenly heated. It should have a cooler area for chicks to find their level of comfort. For the first week of life, the brooder should be at about 95 degrees. Poults will let you know if the brooder is too hot or too cold. Too hot, and the birds will crowd as far from the heat as possible. Too cold, and they will stand huddled under the light and peep loudly. Raise or lower the heat source accordingly. If you cannot physically raise or lower the lamp, use a different wattage bulb. The temperature should be lowered by five degrees for each week until it is fully feathered out, which should happen in five to six weeks. If housed out of drafts, they should not need any additional heat beyond this age.

Fresh, clean water should be available to poults at all times. The water should be cool, not hot and not cold. Birds drink to stay cool; if they begin to drink excessive amounts of water, the brooder temperature needs to be lowered to prevent overheating. A quart-sized chick fount will last five or fewer poults for a few weeks; a gallon fount will be a better fit for larger or more experienced birds. You’ll know if you need a larger waterer if you need to fill more than once per day. Water should never be offered in an open dish because the droppings and spilled food will be tracked through it by the chicks, which will spread illness. For the first few days, the waterer can be placed directly on the toweling. After removing the toweling, set the waterer on an elevated, non-slip surface, such as a wire platform, to keep the poults from scuffing litter into their water. Increase height as they grow older – bricks or 2X4” wire-covered lumber boxes are equally useful.

Turkey/gamebird starter mash or crumbles, a concoction especially designed for their growth and development, are what baby turkeys must eat. Poults should never be fed layer or breeder mash, crumbles, or pellets—not even as a last resort. It is poisonous to poults due to its high calcium content, which can lead to fatal complications with the kidneys, liver, and bones. A nutritious emergency ration consists of a 50/50 mixture of rolled oats and cornmeal, blended in a food processor to a crumbly or mashy texture. They shouldn’t stay on this emergency ration longer than a day or two because it doesn’t make for a healthy diet. Starter feeds should contain no greater than 28% protein – too much protein causes growth problems. For the first few days, sprinkle feed on a paper towel so that poults can learn to eat. Although poultry feeders come in a variety of designs, they should guard against litter or dropping contamination as well as feed spillage and waste. Elevating the feeder after the first few days helps.

Raising turkeys with chick starter is possible, but use caution—it lacks essential proteins and vitamins for healthy growth. Make sure to add brewer’s yeast as a supplement if you use chick starter—2 cups for every 10 pounds of starter.

Turkeys have no teeth – they need grit in the form of small rocks to grind their food. Baby poultry grit consists of very small stones, like coarse sand, similar to parakeet grit. It should never include oyster shell or any other type of calcium because poults suffer greatly from too much calcium. Most store-bought small grit preparations already have oyster shell in them. You can buy a bag of broken granite from a building supply store and “make” your own chick grit. Wash the granite in a large tub, rinsing out fine sand and mud, and letting it dry. As you would when salting food, use a small amount of the smaller grains on the turkey starter and reserve the larger pieces for adult poultry. Grit is not necessary for poults if their only meal is turkey starter, but it can be beneficial in some circumstances (see below).

Turkeys are excellent foragers, and at a few weeks of age, poults can go outside on grass or the range if the lawn is left untreated and grit is given with their food. To avoid bacterial or parasitic infestations, chicks should only be permitted to roam on clean ground, ideally one where no adult chicken has been for six to twelve months. If you are using wood shavings as litter, grit might also be a good idea because it will help prevent crop impaction in the event that litter is inadvertently consumed.

Diarrhea and vent pasting (droppings sticking to their behinds) is a common problem in young poults. This is caused by a variety of problems, such as a brooder that is too cold. If pasting does happen, carefully remove the dried droppings to prevent the vent from becoming clogged (warm water helps). If pasting persists, consider raising the brooder’s temperature or feeding a mixture of turkey starter and plain rolled oats that have been blended together 50/50. Sprinkling chick grit on their feed also helps prevent pasting.

Poults should be fed 28% protein turkey starter until 8 weeks of age. Twenty-four to twenty-six percent of the protein in turkey farmer’s crumbles should be fed after the first eight weeks, until the animal is about six months old. At that time, they can be switched to 16% – 18% lay pellets, crumbles, or mash. Crushed oyster shell is a good source of extra calcium (for adults only), especially if the turkeys are allowed to roam free or are fed leftover table scraps.

Turkeys Come Running for Watermelon || ViralHog