53* 



Rearing of Turkeys. 



rice is a useful addition to the diet and prevents diarrhoea. 

 The young turkeys must be fed very frequently during this 

 period. 



At the end of a fortnight grain may gradually be introduced 

 into the diet. Small wheat is very suitable, but should be given 

 in limited quantities. Mixed mash, consisting of ground oats, 

 barley meal, wheat meal, and pollards, should, however, be the 

 chief food until the birds are three or four months old. 

 Skimmed or separated milk is better than water for mixing 

 the meals. No food, especially during the first few weeks, 

 should be given in a very wet or sloppy condition, as this 

 causes diarrhoea in young birds. 



Turkeys require more flesh as food than do chickens. Boiled 

 fresh meat or liver, finely chopped, is most suitable. From the 

 first week turkeys should receive an abundance of green food, 

 such as cabbage, boile'd onions, or boiled young nettles, chopped 

 up fine and mixed with the meals. 



There is great danger in allowing the birds to run about 

 amongst long wet grass or in heavy rains until they are five 

 or six weeks old. It is best to keep them confined in a limited 

 grass run for the first four weeks, the grass being kept short, 

 and if the run becomes foul, to move the birds on to fresh grass. 

 Large roomy coops are suitable for housing, but these should 

 have wooden floors ; the coops also give shelter on wet days. 

 In addition to the coops one or two extra shelters should be 

 provided. When the young turkeys are given their liberty, the 

 mother, if a turkey hen, will take them away to the fields, and 

 they then thrive remarkably well, chiefly because of the new 

 ground and the abundance of insect food obtained. All through 

 the summer and until fattening commences, the turkeys should 

 be fed in the fields and encouraged to stay there. Any airy, 

 well-ventilated house should be provided for them. They 

 should be fed liberally with soft foods, consisting of a mixture 

 of meals and boiled vegetables or roots in the morning and a 

 feed of hard corn at night. 



A constant supply of grit is even more necessary for turkeys 

 than for fowls. It should be given during all periods of 

 growth, commencing with fine chicken grit, and later supplied 

 in some coarser form. The importance of this item cannot be 

 over-estimated . 



