POULTRY FEEDS AND FEEDING 



FEEDING TURKEY POULTS 



Feeding the poults properly is very important as turkey 

 poults are more difficult to raise than chickens and there 

 is no question but what the feeding of poults has much 

 to do with their success. If poults are fed freely and 

 especially where they are kept confined they will not do 

 well. Over-feeding with lack of exercise will bring on 

 digestive troubles and result in heavy mortality in the 

 flock of poults. They should be fed lightly and made to 

 range for a considerable part of their feed. Where a 

 good range is available they can secure all of the feed 

 necessary except for one good feed of grain at night. It 

 is advisable to give one good feed every evening in order 

 that the poults will come back to the house and learn to 

 roost there at night. 



Turkey poults do not need any feed until after 48 hours, 

 the yolk of the egg being sufficient sustenance for them 

 during that period. They should be given water and sup- 

 plied with fine grit or coarse sand and green feed. After 

 48 hours they should be given feed, the amount depending 

 on the quality of feed on the range. It is essential that 

 they be kept hungry to make them exercise and range a 

 considerable distance from their house. Turkey poults 

 should not be fed over two or three times a day if they 

 have a reasonable range but would need to be fed very 

 lightly four or five times daily if they are kept confined 

 to a small place. 



Many different kinds of feeds are used for turkey 

 poults with good results, the amount and kind of feeds 



204 



