Feeding Management Practices of Small holder Turkey Farmers in the Warm Wet Tropical Environment of Imo State, Nigeria

Primary data were generated from field surveys conducted with the aid of questionnaires, personal interviews, field measurements and conversation between May and August, 2005 on the feeding management practices of 90 smaller holder turkey farmers in Imo State. All of the farmers fed their turkeys with commercial chicken feeds. Fifty (50.00%) of the farmers used chicken layer rations for their breeder turkey, another 30(33.33%) used breeder ration and 15 (16.67%) fed any ration available in the market. Sixty (66.67%) farmers did not observe influence on feed consumption, while thirty (33.33%) observed seasonal influence on feed consumption. Thirty (33.33%) each of the farmers fed their turkeys twice and thrice, while 15(16.67%) each fed theirs ad libitum and once daily. Another 45 (50.00%) each of the farmers used broiler starter and chicks mash to raise their turkey from day old to 8 weeks, while 90(100.00%) used grower ration to feed their turkey to maturity. These results proved that the small holder turkey farmers do not fully understand the nutritional requirements and appropriate feeding management of turkeys at different stages of growth. [Report and Opinion. 2009;1(4):56-58]. (ISSN: 1553-9873).