344 Breeding and Rearing of Turkeys, (august, 



Rearing. — The principle of the roost house should as far 

 as possible be applied to the coops, the doors of which should 

 be wire netted and covered with sacking in severe weather if 

 necessary. The birds should be cooped with their natural 

 or foster mothers upon short turf in a dry sheltered position 

 with a sunward aspect. The coops must be moved a short 

 distance daily to a fresh patch, and the hens allowed out with 

 the young birds when possible. 



A suitable food for the young birds is steamed rice and 

 biscuit meal, dried with fine sharps, or as an alternative some 

 rearers start their birds with curds and fine oatmeal. They 

 may, however, be reared from the shell upon Sussex ground 

 oats in the same manner as chickens are in the south-east, 

 and with equal success. With any soft food an admixture of 

 finely chopped dandelion leaves is especially beneficial — the 

 whole being sprinkled with fine sharp grit. The feeding must 

 be commenced early and continued until late in the day, not 

 much food is required at one time but it is necessary to give 

 it at frequent intervals, commencing with six meals daily. 



At about the third week the diet may be changed to include 

 most of the foodstuffs given to ordinary chickens, but during 

 the period between chickenhood and fattening some of the best 

 results are obtained from an almost entire use of Sussex 

 ground oats, using a sufficient proportion of sharps to facilitate 

 mixing. Boiled wheat is also a useful food during the early 

 days, although it is too expensive a diet for any but the grower 

 to adopt to any extent, and later on the new corn is helpful, 

 the birds being subsequently run upon the stubbles. Turkey 

 chicks must at all times be comfortably cooped or housed at 

 night, and it is important to keep them dry during their early 

 days. 



Fattening. — The selection and separation for stock purposes 

 should be made in the autumn, reserving for that purpose 

 birds of good frame and stout legs rather than purely heavy 

 specimens. Those carrying much flesh are generally possessed 

 of small bones and are consequently more suitable for fattening 

 than for stock ; they should not, however, be shut up until 

 some time in November, but allowed the run of the meadows, 

 being at the same time well fed on ground oats. The birds 

 that have been kept in good condition all along will be those 



