Then feed wheat until they are big enough to eat corn.
Give plenty of fresh water in a shallow vessel. Keep the mother in
the pen until they are large enough to fly over the top of the boards.
Let them out awhile about the middle of the day. Shut them in at
night. A turkey hen does not like to be shut up, but have a good big
coop for her and she will go in. Don't let the little turkeys get
their backs wet until they are feathered. The turkey hen will sit down
when night comes just where she happens to be, but if you drive her
home a few times she will come herself after that. Always feed them
when they come home, no matter if they are full of "hoppers." Have
your No. 2 pen in the orchard under an apple tree where it is shady.
Have the turkey hen's pen close to the chicken hen's pen, so that when
the chicken hen weans her turkeys, they will soon learn to go with the
turkey hen. Give them a dose of black pepper in their feed every cold
rain. And never, no never, get excited and in a hurry while working
with turkeys if you don't want them to get wild and fly all over the
plantation. Three or four weeks before selling, feed all the corn they
will eat.
FOOD HINTS.
Restrain your desire to count your young turkeys, and let them alone
for twenty-four hours after they get into this world. Remove them to a
clean, airy, roomy coop, and give them boiled eggs, stale wheat bread
crumbs just moistened with milk or water, "Dutch" cheese, or a mixture
of all these.
Pages:
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148