Raising Healthy Turkey Poults 101

Raising turkey poults can be a challenge, but the resulting adult birds are a great reward.

Adult turkeys are far more robust birds than chickens, but in their first few weeks of life, they are actually more fragile than the average chick and require more care.

Turkey farming is a challenging but rewarding adventure, and we’re here to help your turkeys grow up healthy. The turkey is a strong and beautiful game bird, but baby turkeys (poults) are surprisingly fragile.

For the most part, raising turkey poults is quite similar to raising chicks, so we suggest you start by reading our article Raising Baby Chicks 101. If you’ve already raised chickens, then you’ll want to keep reading on to learn the key differences when it comes to raising turkey poults. 

The Fragile Poult

Poults, are delicate and very sensitive to their external environment, nutrition, and hydration. Dehydration is the #1 killer of poults. The best way to prevent dehydration is to dip their beaks in water to teach them how to drink right after you receive them. Another risk for poults is “starving out”. This is when certain poults are essentially pushed out of the feeder by the other poults. To avoid this you should use several feeders placed apart from each other to prevent overcrowding. Pay close attention to the food and water situation of your poults, and how much they eat and drink. 

Poult Pile Ups

We mostly think of pile ups as occurring between cars on a busy freeway, but they can also occur in a turkey brooder. When the poults are frightened or feel too hot or cold, they will all rush to a corner of the brooder, get stuck and ultimately stampede each other. To avoid this, use a rounded brooder with an extra heat lamp to keep things at 95 degrees fahrenheit. 

Brooders for Turkeys

The bedding used in a poult brooder is similar to that for baby chicks and ducks where cleanliness is extremely important. Poults grow quickly and need ample room to avoid pile ups, bullying, and overall stress. Roosts can be added to a turkey brooder when they are as young as one week old. Doing so will provide them a comfortable place to sleep and will help avoid overcrowding. You should also plan on expanding your brooder as your poults grow. Pay close attention to the amount of brooder space you’re giving your turkey poults, as they will need plenty!

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). For their first 12 weeks, poults should be given a 28% protein feed. After 12 weeks, they can be fed a 20% protein feed and you can begin to add grains such as corn and oats to their feed as oats are a great bone strengthening supplement for poults. We recommend working with your local veterinarian to come up with a complete dietary plan for your turkey poults.

Turkey Poults with Baby Chicks – Not a Happy Union

Turkey Poults can not be housed with baby chicks for several reasons. First, the baby chicks mature faster than the poults and will pick on the poults. Second, the turkey poults might mature more slowly, but they have sudden growth spurts making them a lot bigger and more aggressive than the chicks, causing the “picking” to go the other way. Thirdly, baby chicks carry diseases which a poult’s immune system cannot fight.

Poults are Worth the Effort!

Whether you are looking to raise turkeys for their meat or to keep as pets, we recommend you spend some time getting to know these birds first hand. Turkeys are smart birds with unique and even humorous personalities. As long as you are prepared, turkeys can certainly make great additions to your farm. You’ll have a big, boisterous, fully feathered turkey flock before you know it!

For more tips and information on raising birds and other barnyard tasks, check out Blain’s Farm & Fleet’s Hobby Farming blog.