Litter: The best bedding for turkeys is 2-3 inches of clean sand covering the floor. You may also use large wood shavings, straw or hay. Make sure the bedding is very dry before placing it in the brooder. Turn the bedding every few days to eliminate poult contact with their feces and add extra bedding when necessary.
What type of bedding is used in turkey barns?
Like all poultry, turkeys require a bedding material that is absorbent, comfortable, and of appropriate size. Wood shavings work best, but other acceptable materials include peanut hulls, corn cobs, and peat moss. However, wood shavings need to be larger than sawdust to prevent accidental ingestion.
How long do turkeys need heat lamps?
They will be happiest if you keep their brooder temperature at 95-100 degrees for the first week, then lower the temperature by about 5 degrees per week until they are fully feathered, approximately 6-8 weeks old. They will still appreciate a heat lamp at night for a few weeks after this period if the nights are cool.
What does a turkey coop need?
You’ll need a minimum of 25 square feet of outdoor space per bird for them to exercise, with predator-proof fencing on all sides, as well as overhead. You’ll also need a small shed for a turkey coop; an 8-by-10-foot structure is big enough to house a few birds.
When can I move my turkey outside?
Most often poults will be fully feathered and will be ready to move into their outdoor housing around 6-7 weeks of age. But until they are fully feathered they need to be kept in a draft-free, temperature-controlled brooder space protected from predators and supplied with fresh food and water.
Do turkeys need Gravel?
Grit and Gravel: Turkeys will swallow grit to help them digest their food. Offer grit by placing a shallow bowl filled with sand, fine gravel, sterlized ground eggshells or ground oyster shells. Or just keep a patch of sandy soil free of plants.
What is the best housing for turkeys?
Turkeys require elevated roosting spots to spend the overnight hours, ideally with a sheltering roof to protect them from the elements. It is possible to build a single roost pen with space for several birds (a five-by-eight-foot roost will house about 20 turkeys) or you can build a set of roosts.
How cold is too cold for turkeys?
Turkeys are overall hardy animals, meaning they are able to withstand low temperatures (below 20°F) for periods of time.
Do you tent turkey while resting?
3. The turkey needs to rest before carving. About 45 minutes or so gives it time to reabsorb the juices; otherwise they’ll dribble out when you slice, and the meat will be dry. Don’t tent the turkey with foil to keep it warm while it’s resting; it’s unnecessary and will make the skin soggy.
Do turkeys need water at night?
Feeder-A basic, large poultry feeder will do to contain the turkey’s feed. Waterer-Turkeys need access to fresh water at all times.
Will turkeys go back to their coop at night?
Once the poults outgrow their brooder, they will need a secure coop at night, just like any other type of poultry. If you raise your turkeys among chickens, then the turkeys may learn to go into the coop at night by following the example set by the chickens.
Does a turkey need a nesting box?
Turkeys are fairly easy animals to raise, requiring nothing more than food, water and simple shelter to thrive. Nest boxes are an essential feature for laying turkey hens, and can be simply built with just a little time and effort.
How do you make a turkey nesting habitat?
Turkeys prefer an open forest floor covered in leaf litter for easy forage. Creating openings: Turkeys like open, brushy space and grasslands rich in forage. Grass-rich areas also provide safer nesting sites. These can be created by clear-cutting one- to five-acre patches through the forest.
What should you not feed turkeys?
Foods You Should Never Feed to Turkeys
- Low-quality chicken feed. Turkeys require more protein than chickens do, therefore, a simple chicken feed will not contain the nutrition that a turkey needs.
- Other Livestock Feeds.
- Dried/Raw Beans.
- Avocados.
- Fruit Pits and Seeds.
- Tomato and Eggplant Leaves.
- Raw Meat.
- Onions.
Can I leave my turkey in the garage?
Also, never thaw a turkey in a garage, basement, car, on the kitchen counter, outdoors or on the porch. Turkey, as any perishable food, must be kept at a safe temperature during “the big thaw.” If not, once the turkey begins to thaw and becomes warmer than 40 °F, bacteria present before freezing can begin to multiply.
Do turkeys take the same path everyday?
Turkeys tend to travel the same routes or circuits to the same areas every day, as long as those areas provide what turkeys need and want. Hunters can use this information to place themselves right in the path of the birds, or at least pretty close to where those birds typically travel on any given day.
Do turkeys prefer woods or fields?
Cover – Although turkeys use forests for cover and roosting in the tall hardwood trees at night, they also like open and brushy areas for feeding, mating, nesting and rearing their young. Turkeys actually depend on a mix of open fields, pasture and forested for their survival.
Do turkeys need sand?
Once they’re on pasture, you will need to make sure the turkeys have access to coarse sand or fine gravel—the grit that they need to digest their food. 3 Most likely they can find this right on the ground mixed with soil, but it doesn’t hurt to provide it along with their feed.
Do turkeys like dirt baths?
It might look like a messy business, but bathing in dust and dirt actually helps turkeys get cleaner. Dusting removes pests and parasites and keeps the birds’ skin healthy and feathers from getting matted, which could impede flight.
What do you house turkeys in?
They need a lot of space
The run, the coop, the nesting boxes…they’re bigger birds, so they need more space. Unlike chickens, which can easily be housed in recycled dog houses, etc., turkeys need more room; a large shed or small barn work well. The more space you give them, the better they do.
Do turkeys need grit?
Turkeys need grit! Turkeys will eat their carcass weight in grit by the time you process them. Starting Day 2 in the brooder, your turkey poults need access to grit. Grit comes in multiple sizes so make sure you’re feeding the appropriate size for your birds.