Thursday, July 16, 2009

Feeding Turkeys

Turkeys can be quite picky eaters. Whole yellow corn is the best grain to use for fattening turkeys. It is common for turkeys to eat mostly mash in very large quantities from about 12 to 16 weeks.

After they are about 16 weeks old, the turkeys often drop their consumption of mash and eat more grain. Oats and whole corn are good but they also will eat wheat, and sunflower seeds. Turkeys will eat up to 25% of their diet in green feeds such as Swiss Chard and Cabbage leaves. There is a drawback in that some green feeds can be stringy and block the intestines or cause them to become crop bound. Swiss Chard, Lettuce, and Spinach are considered safe.

Turkeys do not fatten well until cooler weather. Corn is very important to get the often desired yellow skin. Another way to fatten them if it isn't too expensive is to mix dry mash with skim milk. Never feed so much of the mash with milk that it isn't cleaned up in just a few minutes. You don't want the mash to ferment
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