Turkey poults can go outside at 6-7 weeks of age
| Age of turkey poults | Brooder temperature |
| First week, poults 1-7 days old | 95 |
| Second week | 90 |
| Third week | 85 |
| Fourth week | 80 |
When can I put my baby turkeys outside?
Make sure they are fully feathered and at least eight weeks old before moving poults to their new outdoor housing. You can give them access to outdoors but still provide the lamp at night for a week or two, and then finally move them to their new, grown-up turkey roosts and pen.
What temperature should a baby turkey brooder be set at?
For the first week of your baby turkey’s life, their brooder temperature should be kept at 95-100 degrees. In the weeks that follow, you should decrease the temperature by approximately 5 degrees were week until your baby turkeys are fully feathered. Your baby turkey should be fully feathered by the time they are eight weeks old.
When can I put my baby chicks outside?
With temperatures that warm, you can start turning the heat lamp off during the day. I put my chicks outside for good around 3 weeks old, with no issues, but most people prefer to wait a while before putting their birds out. Your turkey poults are so cute!
How do you keep Turkey poults warm in the brooder?
Once the poults have arrived, it's important they are kept warm. Turkey poults are very sensitive to cold. Check the brooder at least 24 hours before the poults arrive and adjust to 95 to 98 degrees F at two to three inches above the litter surface for the first two weeks.
How long do baby turkeys need heat lamp?
One heat lamp can handle about 35- 50 turkeys. Normally brooder temperature can be dropped about 5 degrees a week and can be turned off during the day by 4 weeks of age unless you live in cooler weather areas then by 5-6 weeks of age eventually weaning them off the extra heat completely.
How old do baby turkeys have to be to go outside?
Most often poults will be fully feathered and will be ready to move into their outdoor housing around 6-7 weeks of age. But until they are fully feathered they need to be kept in a draft-free, temperature-controlled brooder space protected from predators and supplied with fresh food and water.
What temperature can turkeys go outside?
75 degrees orMake sure there is always water available to your turkeys. Adult Housing: Indoor housing should provide 10 square feet per bird. By six weeks, your turkeys can begin going outside for parts of the day if temperatures are 75 degrees or higher. At eight weeks, they will be ready to go to pasture.
How long should turkeys be in brooder?
roughly six to eight weeksPoults often remain in a brooder until they are fully feathered, roughly six to eight weeks of life, potentially longer depending on the weather. During the time in the brooder, it is imperative to provide adequate space to ensure livability without hindering the growth of the birds.
What temperature do 2 week old turkeys need?
They will be happiest if you keep their brooder temperature at 95-100 degrees for the first week, then lower the temperature by about 5 degrees per week until they are fully feathered, approximately 6-8 weeks old. They will still appreciate a heat lamp at night for a few weeks after this period if the nights are cool.
Can turkeys tolerate cold weather?
Northern-range turkeys have been resilient through frigid winters, although they aren't invincible. If food is available during winter, turkeys can often survive extended periods of extreme cold and snow. However, deep snow and limited amounts of food can greatly decrease the turkeys' chance of survival.
Can turkeys sleep outside?
It's common for broad-breasted turkeys to be perfectly content sleeping in a coop. Heritage turkeys, however, have a huge independent streak, and they may not appreciate your efforts to keep them safely housed at night. Heritage turkeys prefer to sleep outdoors rather than in a confined space.
Do turkeys like to be petted?
Turkeys love to be stroked, petted and cuddled. They will remember your face and if they like you, they will come up to you to greet you. Turkeys also love music and will cluck along with the songs.
Do turkeys need light at night?
Once your Young turkeys have feathers be sure to keep a light on them at night just in case. This will ensure that they will not get cold, they may not need the light but let them decide. As above always make sure that they have enough room to move away from the heat if it is too much.
What do baby turkeys do at night?
During their first weeks of life, young turkeys sleep in their ground nest, snuggled in the soft feathers of their mother. After a month or so, they fly at dusk onto a low tree branch where, in the words of John J.
Can you feed turkey poults chick starter?
Feed for Turkey Poults Turkey poults require higher levels of protein than chicks. It is recommended that they are fed unmedicated chick starter with a supplement of brewer's yeast (2 cups per 10lbs of feed).
How do you tell male from female turkey poults?
The genital papillae, which are the basis of determining the sex of the poult, are located in the ventral wall of the vent. In the male poult there are two firm hemi- ellipsoidal papillae, one on either side of the midline of the ventral surface of the everted vent.
Baby turkeys feathers
When baby turkeys are three weeks old, they will not be fully feathered and therefore cannot spend extended periods outside. You can allow your baby turkeys to have access to an enclosed outdoor, sunny space to expose them to the outdoors once they are three weeks old.
Temperature outside
Baby turkeys need to be gradually exposed to outside temperatures. You can gradually expose your baby turkeys by allowing them to go outside on warm days but keeping them inside on cold days and at night.
Protection from predators
While you may be eager to take your baby turkey outside, the outdoors can be particularly risky as baby turkeys are vulnerable to predators and need to be adequately protected when going outdoors.
Brooder conditions
Baby turkeys love heat. For the first week of your baby turkey’s life, their brooder temperature should be kept at 95-100 degrees.
Brooder size
Baby turkeys require adequate space to grow to full birds. The size of the brooder should be at least two square feet per bird.
Water
Baby turkeys need a constant supply of fresh, clean water. The water served to baby turkeys should ideally be lukewarm, not too hot or too cold.
Living environment
Baby turkeys require a draft-free living environment that offers proper ventilation as drafts and poor ventilation can result in unwanted health issues. Avoid placing your baby turkeys in cages with wire bottoms, as this could result in foot injuries.
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Set Up a Turkey Brooder
Just like for baby chicks, you'll need to set up a brooder for your turkey poults. A turkey poult brooder is just the same as one for baby chickens—a place to keep them warm, dry, and contained 1 —so you can use these resources to design your brooder. Use pine shavings—never cedar—for the bottom of the brooder.
As Soon as They Get Home
There are a few things you can do once your poults arrive home to make sure you are starting on the right foot. First, inspect each one as you remove it from the transport box. Then dip its beak in water as soon as you put them into the brooder so they learn where the water is and how to drink.
Preventing Problems
Turkey poults are particularly prone to "starving out," 4 which means that some poults will get pushed away from the feeder or hang back, and will starve to death despite the food being available. Keep a close eye on poults while they're feeding to make sure this doesn't happen.
Add a Roost
By three weeks of age, you can add a roost to your brooder. 6 Teaching turkeys to roost early helps when they're eventually moved to roosts later. Plus, they will sleep warmer and more comfortably. Make sure you have their roosts and pen ready for them to move to after they outgrow the need for the heat lamp and are ready to move to pasture.
Feed Them Properly
There are many different feeds for poultry—medicated, unmedicated, starter, grower—it may be challenging knowing what to choose. Turkeys need high protein, more so than chickens. A game bird or poultry starter that has around 28 percent protein works for the first 12 weeks.
Move Them Outside
Much like vegetables, you will need to "harden off" your turkey poults by gradually exposing them to outside temperatures. 6 By three weeks, they can have access to an enclosed "sun porch" on nice days but keep them inside on rainy or cold days.
