Keys to Successful Turkey brooding

Just like chicken and pheasant farming, I encourage farmers to think of basic turkey brooding management rather than focusing on medicines and diseases. Put more emphasis on the following:

1. Shed preparation, not just in cleanliness but also in providing adequate spaces per bird in brooding, feeding, drinking and shed space. Shed prep is not just disinfection but more importantly, it is ensuring that the basic supplies like feed, water, good litter, gas, etc. are available.
2. Poult quality - watch this closely because just like you, the hatchery is a live operation which can also have problems of their own. You should be expecting poults that are of good sizes, active and minimal DOA's. Abnormal signs to be wary about are : huddling, small sizes, high DOA's, squirts, splay legs, and unhealed navels. Inform the hatchery within the 1st hour if you see these signs prevalent in your poults.
3. Feed quality esp texture and smell. - this is basic, the feed should not smell rancid and moldy and should be of the right size.
4. Correct brooding environment, esp temperature and air circulation. This is very important because this can easily give you a major spike in mortality caused by trampling and stampede. Provide an optimum temperature under the brooder and around its vicinity in order for the poults to scatter evenly within the surrounds. If your temperature is too low in the outskirts of the surround, you will have problems esp when the ambient temperature falls down during the wee hours of the morning. Also, during summer, a lot of farmers make the mistake of fully enclosing the brooding area without providing any entry and for fresh air. As important as temperature, providing simple air inlet and outlet near the roof area, can prevent bird suffocation and promote good mixture of natural gases in the brooder. Allocate a lot of time and effort in correcting this aspect of brooding because this could spell doom within minutes.

For me, the above 4 factors rank higher than anything else. That is just my opinion.

Thanks and good luck.

PD