38 w. cook's turkey, goose, and pheasant book. 



Young turkeys can be supplied with sharp material for 

 masticating their food at two da) s old. Turkeys are birds 

 which require a great deal of sharp grit, on account of 

 the gizzard being so small in proportion to the size of the 

 body; 



The best they can have is flint grit, broken up by 

 hand, that is by hammers, not that which passes through a 

 machine, as by that means many of the sharp edges are 

 broken off, and a great part of it does not do its work 

 properly. 



Young turkeys up to a month old have but little energy 

 to find grit for themselves, therefore fine grit should be 

 mixed with the soft meal, then they are bound to get it. 

 When it is put down for them the weaker ones seldom eat it, 

 but the stronger ones usually take sufficient. 



Old stock turkeys should always be provided with sharp 

 grit, though they are very active in searching for it when 

 there is any to find. In some cases they have been known 

 to walk a mile in search of grit, especially on a road. 



One teaspoonful of flint grit once a week is quite suffi- 

 cient for a turkey, as it lies in the gizzard from ten to six- 

 teen days, but when they pick up round material or anything 

 which has no sharp edges, the greater part of it will pass 

 through the gizzard in 24 hours. 



Some of my readers may perhaps think I am too particu- 

 lar over this question, but sharp material for masticating 

 the food is the mainspring of life and health to all domestic 

 varieties of the feathered tribes. 



