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Show Turkey Growers Should Prepare I Birds For Market, Says Expert Higher Price and Better Market Waiting Wait-ing for the Well Devoloped Turkeys-Advice Turkeys-Advice Given for Feed and Care By Byron Alder Extension Poultryman The centers of heavy turkey production produc-tion seem to be constantly shifting. At tho present time the western part of the Um.ed States is showing the greatest great-est activity. In this district during the past two years the tendency has been to produce larger flocks. The poults are hatched in incubators and brooded in well heated, dry, well ventilated ven-tilated brooder houses. This plan, as a rule has given wonderful results, especially es-pecially where good brooding equipment equip-ment was used along with strict sanitation sani-tation and careful feeding. There are still many turkeys produced pro-duced in small flocks on the farms using the natural methods of hatching hatch-ing and rearing. Because of the cold, wet, rather late spring this year, hatching was late and the poults were slow in getting started. Feeding with many of these flocks meant only turning the birds loose to forage . as best they could over the farm and adjacent foothills. This practice results re-sults in good, well developed birds for Thanksgiving or Christmas only when the range food is abundant and is supplemented with morning and evening feeding to supply that part o1 a good growing ration not round on the range or pasture. It is too late now in some flocks to begin heavy feeding to get large, fat, well fleshed birds for Thanksgiving While in other flocks that have been well fed from the start 80 to 90 per cent of the birds will be marketed at Thanksgiving with practically all birds large and fat enough to grade number 1. It is a very poor and uneconomical practice to keep turkeys during the summer on a maintenance ration or one that produces very slow growth and then try to push them hard and fast during the last few weeks Fall Fattening If the birds have been keps on a good growing ration, keep the birds on this same feed; they will mature and fatten perfectly. A good growing grow-ing or fattening feed should, provide picteins, carbohydrates, fats, ash or minerals and vitamins. The proteins may be provided on range by insects, especially grasshoppers. grasshop-pers. Where this feed is inadequate, skim milk or meet should be fed to make up the deficiency. Carbohydrates Carbohy-drates and fats are best supplied by grains especially wheat, barley and corn. Where the range supplies an abundance of grain the morning and evening feed should be largely skim milk or a growing mash containing considerable meat meal or both mash and milk. Alfalfa leaves or fresh chopped alfalfa or carrots supply the vitamins necessary and should be fed night and morning when the birds do not have an alfalfa patch for range. Birds foraging most of the day on wheat stubble should, therefore, be fed an abundance of alfalfa, milk and a good protein mash night and morning, morn-ing, also, grain at night if they seem to be craving it. Birds foraging most of tlw day on an alfalfa patch should receivj a growing grow-ing mash and grain night and morning. morn-ing. Birds in yards or on limited range should have grains, mash and alfalfa alf-alfa fed daily with the mash and alfalfa alf-alfa kept in feed troughs always before be-fore the birds. Growing and fattening masn for turkeys: Bran, 300 lbs; ground barley, 200 lbs; ground wheat, 200 lbs: meat meal, 100 lbs.; alfalfa meal, 80 lbs.; bone meal, 40 lbs.; fine calcite, 20 lbs. Ground corn may be used to replace all or- part of the wheat or barley when the price of the grains would justify this change. A good grain mixture considering present prices would be: wheat, 300 lbs., barley, 200 lbs, corn, 100 lbs. Under no conditions should small, poorly fleshed birds be killed, for Thanksgiving. These birds if put on good feed may develop up to prime quality for Christmas. At killing time young toms should weigh from 14 to 16 pounds or more live weight and the hens from 10 to 12 pounds. Each bird should also show considerable consider-able yellow fat under the skin on tne sides of the body under the wings. Toms weighing under 13 pounds and hens under 9 pounds, live weight, if killed for market will not be in prime condition and will therefore, be put in the lower grades when marketed which grades bring from 6 to 10 cents per pound less than the grades including in-cluding larger and better fleshed birds. Birds in poor flesh or underdeveloped underdevel-oped at this time of the year will gain in weight quite fast with good feeding. It will take only five to six pounds of feed to produce a pound of gain in turkeys at this season. With feeds at 2 cents to 2l,'s cents per pound, this would bring the feed cost for each pound of grain in weight from 12 to 15 cents. At the killing time the birds should bee starved from 18 tc 03 hours before killing. They should be well bled. They should be picked clean with all pin feathers removed. |