The process of breeding turkeys and chickens has much in common.

However, chickens are more demanding on the diet. The composition of which changes throughout their lives. It changes not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively. Let’s look at how turkey feeds differ at different stages of its development. But it is worth mentioning the fact that experienced poultry farmers advise using compound feed for turkeys at all periods of her life, just in different quantities. This ensures that the bird’s need for nutrients is fully covered. Since quite a few breeders are able to independently create a balanced diet that would take into account all the important factors of influence at once: growth rate, stage of development, nutritional value of products and others.

Процесс разведения индеек и кур имеет много общего. Однако, первые более требовательны к рациону. Состав которого меняется на протяжении всей их жизни. Меняется не только количественно, но и качественно. Давайте рассмотрим, чем отличаются корма для индеек на разных этапах ее развития. Но стоит упомянуть тот факт, что опытные птицеводы советуют использовать комбикорм для индеек во все периоды ее жизни, просто в разных количествах. Это позволяет гарантированно полностью покрыть потребность птицы в питательных элементах. Так как достаточно мало заводчиков способны самостоятельно составить сбалансированный рацион, который бы учитывал сразу все важные факторы влияния: скорость роста, этап развития, пищевую ценность продуктов и другие.

0 to 10 days

It makes no sense to talk about diet without talking about water. It is very important for both small chickens and adult birds. Water should always be clean, fresh and easily accessible. Food. Proper feeding from the first days is the key to rapid weight gain and overall health of the livestock. The first meal should occur within 8 hours. The earlier the better.

On the first day, the diet should consist exclusively of dairy products: yogurt, sour milk.
On the second day, it is allowed to add a boiled egg as an addition. Corn and wheat flour can be added to it, but not more than 30% of the total amount of feed.
From the third day, it is customary to include crushed corn in the composition. This is the main source of carbohydrate at this stage. It will provide the body of chickens with the energy necessary for the life and growth of the body. You can also start giving finely ground grass. But you need to monitor the well-being of the chicks so that there is no diarrhea. Important! During the first five days of a chick’s life, probiotics are added to the drinker. They are given for 1, 3 and 5 days of life, to maintain the digestion of babies.
On the sixth day, boiled eggs can be replaced with fresh low-fat cottage cheese.
From the seventh day of life, the chick should have free access to gravel. From the first days until reaching the age of one month, an accelerated feeding regimen is used – up to 8 times a day. If the nutrition system is built correctly, the chicken should gain up to 70 grams per day.

During the period of active growth, it is extremely important for the bird’s body to receive the necessary amount of protein. Therefore, from the moment of hatching to two and a half months, eggs and dairy products (yogurt and cottage cheese) should be present in the diet of young animals.

Recipe for turkey mash for five to 10 days:

30% ground wheat groats;
10% ground corn;
30% crushed corn;
7% wheat bran;
11% finely chopped boiled eggs;
10% fresh low-fat cottage cheese;
2% shell rock and chalk.

10 to 30 days

This stage of life of turkeys is characterized as an active period of growth and formation. For the proper development and strengthening of bone and muscle structures, the body becomes necessary for calcium and other minerals. Therefore, in the third week of life, fish and meat and bone meal appear in the feed of turkey poults. Which is not only a source of minerals, but also protein of animal origin. The composition of the mash during this period changes. Now the ratio of products consists of:

Corn 30%,
wheat groats 30%,
tear oatmeal finely ground 18%,
cottage cheese 19%,
chalk 2%,
meat and bone meal 1%.

You can add chopped greens to porridge: nettle, dandelion, clover. The basis for a wet mash can be either water or sour milk.

1 to 4 months

When the chickens reach 30 days of age, their body is considered to be strengthened. And this makes it possible to expand the diet.

The new components of which are:

crushed grain,
green flour,
table salt (a source of sodium),
vitamins.

Upon reaching the age of 60 days, the frequency of feeding decreases from 8 to 6 times a day. They add to the feed:

bran (earlier than 60 days it is totally forbidden!),
grated vegetables.

After the chicks reach the age of 90 days, they enter the stage of weight gain. During this period, it is important to restrain the growth rate so that early puberty does not occur. This is fraught with both a deterioration in the overall productivity of poultry and the quality of its meat. Therefore, the number of feedings is reduced to 4 times a day.

The composition of the feed can include: flour products, plant leaves.

4 months to 1 year

Starting from 4 months, minerals should be present in the diet of the bird in full. However, cereals remain the basis of the diet: corn and wheat.

Thanks for reading!