Feed is up to 70% of the cost of raising a turkey. Yet birds are often kept “a couple more weeks, let them grow” without anyone counting what each extra kilogram costs. And it gets more expensive with age.
How much feed one bird needs
Guidelines for heavy strains under normal management:
| Hen, slaughtered at 16 weeks | Tom, slaughtered at 20 weeks | |
|---|---|---|
| Live weight | about 10 kg | about 19 kg |
| Total feed | 25–28 kg | 50–55 kg |
| Feed conversion | 2.5–2.7 | 2.6–2.9 |
Medium strains and free-range breeds do worse: they grow slower and burn more energy moving around. For your own flock, work from actual numbers, not the table.
Feed conversion rises with age
Feed conversion is how many kilograms of feed go into one kilogram of gain. In the first weeks a poult needs about 1.5 kg of feed per kilogram of gain; by the end of finishing it’s 3.5–4 kg. The average for the whole cycle looks fine, but the last weeks are the expensive ones.
FCR = feed used in the period, kg ÷ (weight at end of period − weight at start), kg
Calculate it not only for the whole cycle but for every two weeks. That shows where expensive gain begins. How it’s done with broilers is covered in feed conversion ratio.
Which week to slaughter
Keeping birds longer pays as long as the feed for a kilogram of gain costs less than what you’ll get for that kilogram. An example for a tom:
| Week | Weekly gain | Weekly feed | Feed per 1 kg gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1.1 kg | 3.4 kg | 3.1 kg |
| 18 | 0.95 kg | 3.5 kg | 3.7 kg |
| 20 | 0.8 kg | 3.6 kg | 4.5 kg |
If feed costs 0.45 per kilogram, a kilogram of gain in week 20 costs 4.5 × 0.45 ≈ 2.03 in feed alone. If you sell live weight for less than that plus your other costs, week 20 loses money. Plug in your own prices — every farm’s line is different.
Where feed is lost
- Feeders at the wrong height. The lip should be level with the bird’s back, or feed gets raked onto the litter.
- Overfilled feeders. Fill a third, not to the brim.
- Rodents and wild birds. In an open store they eat a noticeable share.
- Cold. In a cold house turkeys burn feed to keep warm instead of growing.
Feed and weight in one table
Log feed use and weighings for the flock in EggPulse, and feed conversion is calculated for you — for the whole cycle and by period. Feed also goes into your finances, so you see the cost per kilogram too.
