On the twenty-fourth episode of The Turkey Talk Show, we cover everything you need to know about setting up your brooder barn to ensure your poults get the best possible start. The first 24 to 48 hours are critical in a young turkey’s life, so it's essential that your brooder barn is properly prepared. Joining us is William Alexander, Technical Sales Representative for Hybrid Turkeys, John Menges with Menges Consulting, and Andria Volkmann, an Iowa turkey farmer, who all bring decades of experience and valuable knowledge of the turkey industry.
On the twenty-fourth episode of The Turkey Talk Show, we cover everything you need to know about setting up your brooder barn to ensure your poults get the best possible start. The first 24 to 48 hours are critical in a young turkey’s life, so it's essential that your brooder barn is properly prepared. Joining us is William Alexander, Technical Sales Representative for Hybrid Turkeys, John Menges with Menges Consulting, and Andria Volkmann, an Iowa turkey farmer, who all bring decades of experience and valuable knowledge of the turkey industry.
We discuss the importance of inviting legislators and other consumers into your farm or business to show them exactly what you are doing, so they can learn more.
Joining us is William Alexander, a Technical Sales Representative for Hybrid Turkeys with extensive experience in turkey breeding all over North America, South America, and Europe; John Menges from Menges Consulting, who brings 37 years of industry expertise; and Andria Volkmann, a turkey farmer with 22 years of hands-on experience, particularly in brooder barn management, to discuss setting up your Brooder House for new poults and everything you need to know.
To start off, we discuss the importance of testing your ventilation system to make sure it is working correctly. It is good to do the 'tight test' at least once a year to find issues, such as draft problems. It is also good to always check your static pressure meter, and doing these things combined will make sure the oxygen levels are high enough and carbon dioxide levels are low enough for the poults. If there are problems in your ventilation, you can add stir-fans in your barn to push around and blend the hot and cold air together so the air temperature is cohesive across the whole barn.
Your floor temperature should be around 92-95 degrees Fahrenheit, especially to prevent flip-overs and tip-overs. We discuss the differences in practices when getting your barn ready in the winter vs. the summer to get the floor to the correct temperature.
Waterers should be as low as possible to the ground. There should be plenty of feed and water out, easily accessible to the birds. It is beneficial to have very bright lighting in the barn when poults first come in. This helps them find the feed and water easily, because the first 24-48 hrs are crucial to a poult' success when it comes to feed and water intake. Some farmers also use Hydrate products to help birds find water and have extra hydration.
At the end of the day, if you have done everything you can with your barn and set-up systems and still have poult issues you should talk to your poult supplier if you feel you have have issues related to poult quality. They want to know if these issues arise and find a way to fix them for future flocks.
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