Baby turkeys

[Dmcgee]

• New Member Introductions

Getting a couple baby turkeys​

Ive had chickens for over 4 years now. Ill be getting a couple baby 1 week old turkeys tomorrow. I don't know much about turkeys. Do they use the same temperature system as baby chickens do? Reduce 5 degrees every week? Can some one lead me to the right place to read about baby turkeys? Thank you.

 

[nuthatched]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-basic-q-a-turkey-primer.72266/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/brooding-and-raising-turkey-poults.67484/

 

[R2elk]

• New Member Introductions

Getting a couple baby turkeys​

Ive had chickens for over 4 years now. Ill be getting a couple baby 1 week old turkeys tomorrow. I don't know much about turkeys. Do they use the same temperature system as baby chickens do? Reduce 5 degrees every week? Can some one lead me to the right place to read about baby turkeys? Thank you.

Baby turkeys are poults.

I start mine at 90°F measured at the bedding level and reduce the temperature by 5°F once a week.

Poults need a high protein turkey or game bird starter for their first 6 to 8 weeks.

Only use warm water while they are in the brooder.

It is not recommended to keep newly hatched poults on wood chip bedding as they can eat the bedding, become impacted and die. If you keep them on wood chips be sure to provide them with appropriate sized grit.

I do not recommend brooding poults with chicks. Poults imprint very easily. The imprinting causes them to not be able to understand that chickens aren't turkeys. As adults the size difference between turkeys and chickens can be harmful to the chickens when the turkeys start treating them the same as they would other turkeys.

I do not advise human imprinting poults either. All of the human aggressive turkeys that I have had to deal with were human imprinted when they were poults.

You can find a wealth of information about heritage turkeys at Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys.