Recipes for making your own turkey feed at home

In order for turkeys to fully develop, they need to be fed with high-quality food. To do this, you can use ready-made formulations or make them yourself. Compound feeds for turkeys differ in ingredients. It is recommended to choose them taking into account the weight and age of the birds. Compliance with feeding standards is of no small importance. This promotes the full development of birds and helps to avoid the development of various pathologies.

Classic classification of compound feeds

Compound feed is divided into several large categories:

1. Starter - this food should be given to birds from the beginning of life until the age of one month. Usually the food is produced in dry form in the form of granules or cereals. The cereal base of “Start” feed is corn and wheat. In addition, the food includes sunflower and soybean meal. This component serves as a source of fiber. This type of food has a balanced composition. It includes the optimal amount of enzymes, minerals, antioxidants. As a rule, about 20% proteins are present there. For 14 days of life, the consumption rate of such food is 600 grams.
2. Medium – required for older birds. It has approximately the same composition as the starter feed. However, the food contains fewer protein components. However, it includes a little more vitamins and carbohydrates. This feed is suitable for turkey poults aged 15-32 days. Within 14 days, 1 bird eats 2 kilograms of this food.
3. Finish – considered the main one. It can be used for birds that are in the final stage of fattening. Typically, this food is used from 2 months until slaughter. The finishing feed contains a larger volume of carbohydrates and fats when compared with the starting or average composition.

There are also certain types of food that contain vitamins and premixes. They are suitable for laying turkeys.

How to make feed for turkeys with your own hands

Ready-made food can be replaced with homemade food. When preparing them, it is important to follow the recommendations of specialists.

Compound

Specific feed recipes depend on the age category of the birds and breed. For turkey poults less than 2 months old, you need to prepare the following food:

• 32% soybean meal;
• 30% extruded soybeans;
• 9% sunflower cake;
• 3.5% chalk;
• 5.5% fishmeal;
• 1.5% calcium phosphate.

When creating a diet for birds up to 4 months old, you should focus on other proportions:

• 40% corn bran;
• 10.5% sunflower cake;
• 18% wheat bran;
• 9% soybean meal;
• 5% each of grass, meat and bone, fish meal, as well as feed yeast;
• 1.5% chalk.

When forming food for birds 4-6 months old, you should focus on the following proportions:

• 35% each of bran from barley and corn;
• 10% wheat bran;
• 7% grass meal;
• 3.5% feed yeast;
• 3% sunflower cake;
• 4% fishmeal;
• 1.5% chalk.

Broilers and heavy crosses require a higher calorie diet. When compiling a menu for adult birds, it is worth using 680 grams of cereals, 130 grams of soybean and sunflower meal, 40 grams of yeast, herbal and fish meal, 30 grams of chalk and limestone. It is also worth adding 10 grams of salt to the mixture.

Preparation

Making your own meals is quite easy. To do this, mix the components in a suitable container. To do this, it is permissible to use a trough or other container. It is important to strictly observe the ratios of the components and mix them thoroughly.

Consumption and rates of feeding birds with compound feed

During the egg-laying period, birds require large amounts of food. Therefore, farmers do not limit the diet of turkeys. But when feeding, excess food can provoke obesity. Therefore, when creating a menu for birds, it is important to be careful.

If turkeys are showing signs of obesity, it is important to make dietary changes by reducing the amount of grass meal and adding different types of bran.

For turkey poults

For normal nutrition of chicks at home, literally from the first day, they should be accustomed to systematically eating. It is recommended to feed young chicks 8 times a day. Moreover, this should be done at regular intervals. Month-old turkey poults should be adapted to eating 5-6 times a day. The amount of food in the first 2 months is given below:

Subsequently, until 25-30 weeks, the feed volume is increased to 300 grams. It is recommended to do this gradually.

For adults

Turkeys require 300-400 grams of food per day. In this case, the male eats up to 500 grams of feed. It is worth giving the birds food three times a day. At the same time, it is important to constantly monitor the weight gain and condition of the birds.

Is it possible to feed turkeys with feed for other animals?

If you were unable to buy a specialized composition for birds, you can make the mixture yourself. At the same time, some farmers use other compositions - for example, pork. Such food is dangerous for turkeys, since it is fraught with the development of liver pathologies. Processing roughage causes wear and tear on this organ. If it is not possible to use specialized feed, it is permissible to give the starter mixture for calves for several days. It is considered more gentle and is well accepted by birds.

Sometimes it is acceptable to use broiler mixture to feed turkeys. However, it is worth making certain adjustments to it. To stimulate the development of bone tissue and muscles, the following components should be added to the composition:

• 3 grams of cottage cheese per 1 bird;
• 3 grams of boiled egg per 1 bird;
• 1 kilogram of bone meal per 1 kilogram of mixture.

The older the birds, the greater the amount of additives required.Also, the diet should contain various greens. It is advisable for turkeys to have access to dandelions. They also need nettles and alfalfa.

What to look for when choosing feed?

When choosing the optimal composition, it is worth considering the age of the birds. The calorie content of the mixture is of no small importance. If you subsequently plan to send the bird to slaughter, you should choose food to quickly increase body weight. This food contains a lot of proteins and vitamins. The older the turkey, the more caloric the food for it should be.

Despite the differences in price, it is not recommended to choose food that is too cheap. In addition, it is important to pay attention to the expiration date. The use of expired bird food is strictly prohibited.

The feed should not contain components of animal origin. They negatively affect liver function. With the systematic use of such food, there is a risk of developing various pathologies. When feeding birds, it is worth using foods that are easily digestible. They will provide weight gain.

If the instructions require that the feed be given wet, it is recommended to cook it before giving it to the birds. If you make the composition in advance, it may spoil. Compound feed for turkeys differs in composition. It must be selected taking into account the age category of the birds. The purpose of raising birds is also important.