More than chicks, turkey poults (baby turkeys) can be tricky to brood. Even though they’re bigger than chicks, they’re much more delicate. They are extremely sensitive to temperature changes, dampness, and drafts. And they have a lesser instinct for danger. “Let’s face it,” says Jeff Smith of Cackle Hatchery®, “turkey poults are not the brightest.”
Brooder Setup
To get your poults off to a good start, have your brooder set up and ready to go a couple of days before the poults are due to arrive. Turn on the heat and place drinkers just outside the heat source, giving the water time to warm up to brooder temperature.
“For the first couple of weeks, have a brooder area that’s 95 to 100ºF under the heat source, and a cooler area of 70 to 85ºF away from the heat source,” advises Smith. A brooder temperature that’s too low can lead to piling and starve-out.
From there, adjust the temperature as needed. Observe poult behavior to determine that the brooder is a comfortable temperature.
Brood your poults as long as possible, at least until they are fully feathered at 6 to 8 weeks. You may need to brood them even longer, if the nights are cold. But be sure to provide enough space for the poults to get away from the heat source if they get too warm.
Need for Space
Brooding equipment for turkeys is similar to a brooder setup for chicks. The main difference when you brood turkey poults is that, being bigger than chicks, they need more brooder space. However, you don’t want to initially give them so much space that they can wander too far from feed, water, and heat.
Turkey poults grow fast. They reach full size at about 6 months. They therefore need ever more space as they grow to avoid overcrowding. Crowded conditions can lead to some poults getting trampled, or some may starve because they can’t get close enough to the feeders.
To start with, adequate brooder space provides about 1.25 square feet per poult. By the third or fourth week the poults will grow enough that their space need will double. By the time they are ready to move out of the brooder they will need at least 4 square feet per poult.
Feed and Water
Be sure the drinking water is at brooder temperature when the poults arrive. Gently dip each poult’s beak into the water to make sure it gets a drink and knows where to find water. “I recommend having marbles in the water to attract them to drink,” says Smith.
Feed your poults turkey starter ration, if you can find it. Where that’s not available, try to get gamebird starter. Turkey poults need a high protein feed, in the range of 28 to 30%, which is more protein than in chick starter.
Until you know the poults are eating the starter, cover the brooder bedding with paper towels to make sure they don’t fill their crops with bedding. Sprinkle feed on top of the paper towels while the poults learn to peck for feed.
Watch carefully to make sure the poults know where to find feed and water. Otherwise you could lose some or all of the baby turkeys due to dehydration or starve-out.
Poult Behavior
Poults sleep a lot. During their first 24 hours, according to a Canadian study, poults spend about 2.5% of the time drinking, 7% of the time eating, 12% of the time active, and 80% of the time resting or sleeping.
When they are cold or frightened, turkey poults will pile on top of each other. Also, says Smith, “Poults can pile up in 10 minutes for no reason.” Whatever the reason for piling, those on the bottom can be crushed or smothered.
And sometimes a poult dies without apparent cause. That is more likely to happen when poults endure stress during shipping, and even more so among broad breasted strains than among heritage turkeys. As Smith observes, with turkey poults, “You can’t predict what poults will do by their behavior, like you can with baby chicks.”
But by following these simple commonsense management tips, you can successfully brood turkey poults and enjoy watching them grow and thrive.
Helpful Links
Heritage Turkey Poults from Cackle Hatchery®
Broad Breasted Turkey Poults from Cackle Hatchery®
How to Choose the Best Turkey Breed
Successfully Transition Poultry from the Brooder to Outdoors
Books about Raising Turkeys from Cackle Hatchery®
And that’s today’s news from the Cackle Coop.
Gail Damerow has written several books about keeping poultry, many of them available from the Cackle Bookstore.
