Avoid Kitchen Scraps

Rely on balanced commercial feed as the primary nutrition source and limit kitchen scraps. While plain vegetable trimmings like carrot peels or lettuce in small amounts are safe, most processed human foods contain salt, sugar, fats, and preservatives harmful to poultry. Never feed turkeys chocolate, avocado, raw dried beans, onions, or moldy food.

Why It Works

Commercial turkey feed delivers precise ratios of protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals at each growth stage. Kitchen scraps dilute this balanced nutrition, potentially causing deficiencies or excess sodium intake. Spoiled or moldy scraps can introduce aspergillosis and botulism, both often fatal in turkeys.

Tips

• Keep occasional vegetable scraps under 5% of total daily feed intake
• Never feed raw meat or fish to turkeys, as these carry salmonella and other pathogens
• Remove uneaten scraps within a few hours to prevent spoilage and pest attraction