Interactive lesson

Feeding turkeys and guinea fowl, step by step

Interactive lesson: the poult wants protein, the turkey wants grass and the guinea fowl wants bugs — starter, the feed label, weighing, your own mix, grazing, water and growing on for the holidays.

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The whole lesson as text

1. The poult and the starter

A poult grows faster than a chick and needs almost a third more protein.

Starter 26–28 % — Poults and keets need 26–28 % protein for the first 4–6 weeks. That means turkey starter or game bird starter.
Not chick starter — Chick starter has 18–22 % protein, too little. On it a poult falls behind and goes lame.
Crumbs, not mash — For the first weeks choose crumbs (pellets). Mash sticks in the beak, and poults scatter it.
When there's no starter — Broiler starter with 22–23 % is a weaker substitute. If it's all you can get, give finely chopped hard-boiled egg alongside it for the first two weeks.

Why: Most mistakes with turkeys happen in the first eight weeks and in the feed bin. Fed ordinary chick starter, a poult falls behind, goes lame and dies easily.

In the first year buy starter. A home mix with 28 % protein is hard to make without a lot of soya meal and a good premix.
If you can't find turkey starter, ask at the farm supply store or agricultural merchant for game bird (pheasant) or quail starter, or order a mix from a feed mill.

2. The label and dangerous feeds

Some chicken feeds contain additives that are poison to turkeys.

No salinomycin — Never give turkeys broiler grower feed unless you know which coccidiostat it contains. Look for the name of the substance: no salinomycin and no narasin.
Calcium for the young — About 1–1.4 % calcium for the young. Layers' feed has 3.5–4 % and damages young kidneys.
Fresh and clean — Check the date and smell it: fresh, no lumps or mould. Turkeys are very sensitive to aflatoxin.
Change gradually — Bring in a new feed over 5–7 days: for the first two days a quarter new feed, then half, then three quarters.

Why: Salinomycin and narasin are coccidiostats in some broiler feeds. For turkeys they are poisonous even at normal inclusion rates: leg weakness, paralysis, deaths.

For guinea fowl ask the manufacturer or a vet which coccidiostat is safe.
Feeds with a coccidiostat usually also carry a withdrawal period before slaughter, printed on the label.