Chicken and turkeys are kept together by many farm owners in their local farms. They are considered to be similarly more alike, but their aspect ratio is quite different. Turkeys are more significant in size than chickens. Feeding them with food that has the required nutritional significance is a challenging task.
Suppose the farm owner is planning to have them together on his farm. He might have many questions to ask, like what do both (turkeys and chickens) eat? How do they live together? And most importantly, Can turkeys eat chicken feed?
Both turkeys and chickens are great consumers of protein portions. Especially in the growing age, they require more than the average protein to build up properly. The chicken feed contains almost 18-19% of protein content.
But still, the turkeys and chickens are different species, and their diets, their nutrient requirements, their behaviors, and most of all, their living habits are different. In this different scenario, Can turkeys eat chicken feed? If yes, then what are the drawbacks and feeding actions of turkeys.
We will cover all these aspects in detail in the content given next. The article holds exceptionally comprehensive information about the queries of chicken feed for the turkeys;
Just give a read to this, and make up your mind, if you are planning to have both chickens and turkeys together;
Contents
Can Turkeys Eat Chicken Feed?
Turkeys are more powerful and large organisms than chickens, which require more protein, trace minerals, and other nutrients. But this nutrient requirement can not be fulfilled by the chicken feed, which contains the elements in a significantly smaller amount. Thus turkeys should not contain chicken feed.
The chicken feed contains the nutritional element in smaller amounts, and according to the chickens’ metabolism, they can bear appropriately. But the turkeys require some booster option of feed to deal with the body’s needs in the growing period.
So if you forcefully feed them with the chicken, they will start losing weight, being lazy, and short in energy as they will not get a proper diet. As chicken feed will not properly nourish them and ultimately, the optimal health of turkeys will be retarded gradually.
If you want to feed them domestically, try to bring turkey’s starter feed or any other commercial feed made for them and according to their body demands.
Chickens and turkeys share a lot of features, but they do not make for the same feed. If you keep on feeding the turkeys with the chicken feed, it does not create any immediate harming response, but gradually with time, when the body of turkeys will not get proper potential nutrients, they might not grow and starve for the food all the time.
Dietary Requirements of Turkeys:
Both turkeys and chickens share their living space without jarring each other, but they have different dietary requirement ratios. Chickens, being smaller birds, have lower dietary requirements than turkeys.
From the time of birth till the week 18th, they require the same chicken feed and one layer feed that is significant at laying eggs. But this is not true for turkeys; turkeys’ nutrient requirements vary from day one to birth.
The chicken feed does not accompany this variation. Thus the chicken feed is not reliable for the turkeys.
During the first 8-weeks after birth for turkeys, the need for protein is almost 20%, but the chicken feed only holds 18% of protein. After the 8-week activity or feeding, the protein and other nutrient requirements start getting down in percentage because they have fully developed now and can bear starvation for a little more time.
Apart from the protein needs of the first 8-weeks, you have to maintain the body’s calories. After lowering the protein ratio from 20%, the calories supplements are raised to have optimal growth.
Moreover, the calcium requirements also need to be maintained well. It is impossible to maintain these nutrient ratios in the body of turkeys separately, so the experts formulate a unique formula of starter feed for turkeys that have covered almost all the requirements of turkeys’ inaccurate ratios.
No other feed can compete, the starter feed of turkeys in nutrient aspects. So about to treat them with any other option available, including chicken feed.
You can surely keep them in one place, but never try to make them similar in the diet aspects because it must prove very unusual and not acceptable for the turkeys. To make them grow, properly present both of them, their relevant feed, to get more significant growth results.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1.Can chicken feed on turkeys?
Turkeys do not feed on the chicken feed, but chickens are allowed to feed on the turkeys feed. For chickens, both feeds are equally compatible with their body requirements.
Q2.What is the primary nutrient source for wild turkeys?
Turkeys mainly depend upon foraging activities. They forage around and search for many food options like berries, crab apples, walnuts, hickory nuts, all types of plant portions, reptiles and small insects, etc.
Q3.Can baby turkeys feed on chicken feed?
Baby turkeys are small, but they require many nutrients to get optimal growth and proper nourishment. Chicken feed can not match even with the nutritional requirements of babies. So they are treated with a unique, high percentage of gamebird starter mash or crumbles.
The Final Verdict
Feeding supplement is only the thing that made the turkeys strong bird species. They maintain their daily life habits and lifestyle in the most appropriate way just after getting the proper and well-maintained nutritional diet.
If they lack the right diet portion, they might get lazy and start showing strange behaviors. To avoid all the slow and harmful results, try not to treat turkeys with the chicken feed.
Can turkeys eat chicken feed? It is comprehensively answered and justified why it is not right to feed the turkeys with chicken feed. Now read it thoroughly to end up with honest thoughts.
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