clemsonfan4life

please answer. i found one turkey poult and i have him in a cage and i put some bread crumbs on the towel floor and a water dish. how do i get him to eat before i can get some starter tomoro. i really want him to live

JoeA

Where was the mom? How'd you come to get a hold ot it?

2 Lunger

Man I don't know. How old is the poult? Most of them are just starting to hatch, so I'm guessing it's not very old.

Lx lungbuster7

What state do live in, here in Pa you have to have a license to own wild turkeys. Our family has wild turkeys but birds not born in captivity normaly just cant adjust and are usually very stressed out and wont eat or drink. If the bird is starting to get its feathers try giving it some tender grass like clover and then put it some were secluded and leave him alone for awile so he wont be so stressed out.

WisconsinBowHunter

I would call the DNR, maybe not, they just kill it.

DougB.

Or count it as a deer!

WisconsinBowHunter

ahh yes. if the come over hide your lawn deer ordaments. apparently they thought of these as deer.

turkeygirl2

Well I know in NY it's illegal to possess live wildlife. Do a search for a wildlife rehabilitator....We have thosei n NY and they will come and pick up sick/injured/abandoned wildlife, no charge, and they try to nurse em back to health, etc...

The mother hen will show the chicks how to get food and water typically...

Pygmy

The poult's three needs right now are high protien feed, water and warmth..

Go to the feed store and get some game starter mash... Place a shallow water dish and he'll learn how to drink..Nothing too deep or he may drown in it.. Keep him in a box with a light bulb for warmth...His natural "thermostat will tell him how close to the light bulb to sleep.. Be careful that the bulb does not rest against anything, or you may start a fire.. Good luck..

Screamin Steel

I would follow pygmy's advice, but keeping the chick was not advisable. When I was a youth I ran into a hen with young poults probably a week or two old and I caught one and took it to an old friend of mine that was an avid turkey hnter and a poultry farmer. he gave me hell and told me to let it go where I found it. I said I was afraid it would die now, and he told me that if it did it was my own dumb fault and to leave alone in the future. I learned a hard lesson, but i did as he said and turned it loose where i had caught it although the hen and the other poults were long gone. Its never a good idea to intervene in mother nature. She really does know best. If you desire wild turkeys for raising you can buy very close strains nearly anywhere that look just like the wild ones. In PA, possessing wild turkeys, or their eggs is a violation of the law, just like any other wildlife.