The content of the article:
Turkeys in Russian household plots are the largest poultry, appreciated for their rapid growth and the excellent quality of dietary meat. But for a bird to reach 10-30 kg in six months, it will take a lot of work and, above all, to start feeding the turkeys from the first day of their life.
Like any newborn body, a tiny turkey requires increased attention and almost constant care. At the beginning of life, the bird not only develops rapidly, but at the same time acclimatizes itself in an unfamiliar environment.
To accelerate the addictive, from the moment of birth for the chicks create comfortable conditions and, of course, offer fast-food, providing all the needs of the turkey.
What to feed the turkey in the first days of life? How to organize a little bit of grown-up and strengthened poultry?
The first turkey feed
The hatched turkeys have a supply of nutrients, with which the embryo was supplied inside the egg. Such residual support is valid for about two days, but a careful and attentive poultry farmer will not wait!
The faster the chick gets the first food, the more growth will be in the future. And as soon as the turkeys get to their permanent place of residence, they are offered:
- a diet adapted to the peculiarities of digestion at this age;
- benign fresh food, which is quickly digested, without lingering in the intestines and without causing any negative consequences for the development of the chick;
- a balanced menu with a high, up to 25-30%, protein content.
If from the first day the feeding of turkeys does not meet the needs of a rapidly developing poultry, one can not avoid a backlog in growth, diseases and even the death of young animals. This is especially noticeable in the absence of proteins. With good appetite, the bird does not gain weight, may suffer from digestive disorders, exhausting and further weakening the body.
How to feed daily diets at home? How to calculate the need for food in a day?
Composition and norms of feed intake for turkeys
The table below shows the approximate daily intake of feed, included in the diet of turkeys at different ages. Volumes are given in grams.
As a food for turkeys, only those who have come into the world are offered wet mash, except for 3-4 types of grain, including:
- cottage cheese;
- skim yogurt or otherwise;
- wheat bran;
- boiled millet;
- chopped, and for very young chicks, grinded, boiled eggs;
- meat-and-bone or fish meal.
In addition, the food is added chopped carrots and a juicy feather of green onions. These ingredients will become a source of vitamins and will support the digestion of daily chicks. With the same purpose, the turkeys of the first day of life are advised to give a mixture of juice of nettle, alfalfa and carrots.
From the first day, when feeding a turkey, one should not lack food, but at the same time all food should be as fresh as possible.
Wet mixtures are prepared in such a way that they are eaten no more than half an hour. At elevated air temperature, the pathogenic microflora in the nutrient medium develops most quickly, so the remnants of food in the places where the young are kept - this is a serious threat to health and life turkeys. Therefore, in the care of turkeys at home, except for feeding, include mandatory cleaning of the places assigned to the bird.
To simplify access to food, feed for very young chicks is served on flat pallets. Thus it is necessary to watch constantly, that all bird was full.
This can be done by probing the goiter after feeding. At a hungry turkey it is empty. If you do not take urgent measures, for example, to lay down for the feeding of the weak, by the week of age, there will be visible differences in the weight and size of the chicks.
Feeding turkeys from 10 days of age
If in the early days of the feeding of turkeys is carried out every two hours, then from the age of 10 days the frequency of meals is gradually reduced. At the same time, the diet for young animals is significantly increased. In addition to wet mixtures, in separate feeding troughs the chicks are offered dry food, half consisting of cereal derti, and an equal amount of sunflower meal and crushed peas. As a mineral additive, a small amount of chalk is added to the mixture.
In the menu of 10-day birds introduce boiled potatoes. At the beginning of such feeding on the head should account for about 5-7 grams, two months old turkeys consume already 50-60 grams of root crops.
Do not stop giving turkey food rich in protein:
- Meat-and-bone and fish flour or minced meat;
- baker's yeast;
- dairy products.
Begin a gradual transition to feeding not crushed, and whole grains can be no sooner than 40 days after the appearance of chicks to the light. In this case, it is desirable to give a large grain of corn in the ground form.
Mineral and vitamin fodders for turkeys
Mineral additives are needed for the bird to meet the requirements for microelements, mainly in calcium. This element, which is the basis of bones and a bird's feather, is vitally important for actively growing turkeys. Therefore, already from the age of 10 days in the feeding of turkeys include foods rich in calcium and other minerals.
Crushed shell and digestive stimulating gravel do not mix with dry food and are poured into separate containers.
Particular attention when growing turkey should be given to vitamins. Than at home to feed the turkeys, so they do not lack vitamins?
If from the first day of life birds are already introduced into the feeding of the spring onions, a few days later the "vitamin salad" is replenished with greens of forage grasses, for example, clover, alfalfa. The turkeys are given crushed foliage of cabbage, the tops of garden crops: turnips, beets, carrots. Since the green onions so beloved by turkeys cause thirst, it is better to give it in the morning.
The consumption of such a useful feed by turkeys should gradually increase. If at a month's age one egg is prepared for 50 grams of greens, then by the half-year the bird eats three times more.
Use of mixed fodder for turkeys
The use of mixed fodders gives excellent results. Ready-made specialized mixtures not only simplify the feeding and care of turkeys at home, but also allow to more accurately calculate the need of young animals in nutrition, to prevent the development of dangerous infections. Fodder is used as a dry grain mixture, and also wet food is prepared on it.
After 14 days of age, a special feed for turkey can be the basis for the ration of poultry. At 4 months of age, the livestock that has been accustomed to dry feed is transferred to mixed feed for adults.
In this case, do not forget about the needs of birds in the water. Clean moisture must be available at all times. The smaller the chick, the sharper he feels thirst. The most dangerous with lack of water is feeding with dry mixtures. Correctly organized from the first days of feeding turkeys and attentive care of young animals - a pledge of rapid growth and health of the bird.
