turkey poults not eating/drinking

Hey,
I heard poults aren't the smartest. They have been here for the day and they aren't active, or eating/drinking. Will they make it? I heard it is good to put a few chicks with them but they can't have the same food? I have turkey starter for the poults and medicated feed for the chicks.
These are Royal Palm poults. I hope they make it!!

Chickadee

I'm really new to this too so hopefully someone with a lot more experience can reply...
MY understanding is that chicks 'can' eat turkey starter but as turkeys need higher protein they need turkey starter, so feed the turkey starter to both.
My turkey starter (only one I can find locally - UFA) is medicated as fsr as i know (will double check) so main differance is richness?!?! Double check your bag/label - the turkey starter you have could very well be medicated.
If you don't have or can't get chicks quick enough - try tapping (aka pecking) food & water with your finger. I'm raising my first ever turkeys here. (Ridley Bronze) & they're smart! Know "step up", have figured out to fly/jump to cord so they can fly/jump rest of way out of brooder etc. Was kind of surprised considering the rep turkeys have!
Anyway - hope this helps - if someone with more experience can confirm/correct the above that would be great!
Oh & make sure they are warm enough!!! Need more & more constant heat in brooder then chicks/ducks! If cold I've noticed they slow right down...
Edited for fat fingers on iPhone!

In my experience, its mostly commercial turkeys that are so ridiculously dumb.

If you're worried, brood them on a towel for the first few days and scatter some feed on the floor. They'll peck around and find the food. Best jump start for any chick though is hard boiled eggs, they'll gobble it down! No experience with palms though, so don't know their smarts myself.

Did you dip each poults beak in the water? Thats what I do when I put them in the brooder. I use paper towel on the bottom and scatter feed on it like CTF does with the towel.

Good Luck with you poults, they are so darn cute!

Prairie Chick wrote:Did you dip each poults beak in the water? Thats what I do when I put them in the brooder. I use paper towel on the bottom and scatter feed on it like CTF does with the towel.

Good Luck with you poults, they are so darn cute!

Prairie Chick makes a good suggestion with the paper towel. Last time the towel got so gunky I had to compost it!

i put feed in a shallow container, like a yogurt lid or similar.... and i put marbles in the water... they pick at the shiny colors of the marbles, and I find all my turkeys pick at spots and things so should go to the food on their own....The turkeys should go to eating and drinking on their own without the help of chicks if you don't have them... so long as your brooder is warm enough that they wander around and check things out... Just my experience. Hope this helps

Thanks for all the VERY VALUABLE input!!

I do have 38 chicks brooding right beside them. I just wouldn't know who to put with them. The chicks are so lively and busy! Perhaps I could put a couple Ameracauna with them? They hatched May 8 so they are getting a little bigger. And, I hate to say it, but....if they don't make it I wont be as heart broken as I would be if my orp's didn't make it. I have lots so maybe risking a couple chicks that were a few bucks each would be wiser than the poults that were a lot more?

I will try the paper towel trick and take the straw out. As long as they are eating I will be happy!! I did put their beaks in the water when I put them in the brooder and only one took a drink.

So if chicks can eat the turkey food that would be why the breeder had them all in the same brooder? I was wondering about that. I have my chicks on medicated feed though.

I have an order of 30 bronze turkeys coming from Rochester on the the 31. We'll see the difference soon

They made it through the night so I'll be keeping an eye on them

I do have my poults on medicated food. Chicks can eat it too. I feel turkeys need all the help they can get when they are young......

Yay!

All 41 birdies are alive!!

Now to learn the differences on feed, to medicate or not? To vaccinate or not?

I've just been thrown off because I had a neighbor give me some of her medicated feed to get me started because the non-medicated feed had bigger pieces and she didn't know if the little chicks could manage that. (non-medicated is all GP Peavey Mart had and I didn't know any different otherwise I would have gone to UFA)

So, since the first feed I bought was non-medicated (& I wanted to use it rather than waste my money) I had my 32 chicks vaccinated from Rochester. But when I brought them home they went on medicated feed from my neighbor Then I ran out(they eat a lot!! lol) and had them on the non-medicated until I could get more medicated.
Unfortunately they have been switched back and forth but they are all living. They will only be on medicated now until 4-6 weeks, right?

I will be buying turkey starter from UFA today. Do I buy medicated starter? Rochester said not to vaccinate the poults.

Now I have a whole bag of non-medicated chick starter? What do I do with that?

Chickadee if you are in GP go to Keddies for your feed. I actually find them cheaper and they make it. I find my chicks and turkeys use less then the chick or turkey starter you get from other places. Just a suggestion. Good luck with them. Hugs

The non medicated chick starter can be used for any of the birds just mix with your medicated if you want!

That is excellent I will find any excuse to go to Keddie's!! Great to know I can still use that feed too!

You've unfortunately cancelled out the vaccination by using any medicated feed, so any benefit from the vaccination is now lost...

Yeah, I was aware of that. $10 down the drain.