Pheasant Polts Feed

[Guest ChrisP]

Is it essential to have the polts on a game starter feed or will they be fine on plane wheat?

 

Cheers

 

Chris

[markm]

A pellet food gives a balanced diet, which they need in the pen, wild birds will roam and pick this up naturally, penned birds don't.

[EMcC]

Starter pellets will have nutrients and medication to help the poults adapt to the wild. When they are big enough to scavenge on the outside they are big enough for wheat.

They need to change from pellets to wheat gradually.

[Devon Fox]

Same as the chaps above.

 

Swap very gradually - they just sort through the food and waste the wheat (the ****)

[wy111]

Depending on the age of the poults, different pellets are used up to about 10 weeks but can also be used all year round(If your a millionaire). The main difference with each is size and protein level. NEVER try to put poults on wheat too early, pellets have all the nutrients, wheat doesn't! At 10 weeks, start mixing some wheat with the pellets and gradually increase the percentage over 2-3 weeks until they are fully onto corn. I actually start at about 12 weeks. When you first start, you will find wheat scattered around the feeder, as they flick it away to get at the pellets, but, eventually they start to take it.

Don't forget to provide growers grit as well, then onto normal grit and worm them.

If you can, get Flubinvet and Avatec already incorporated into the pellets(Puts price up tho, but worthwhile), but you will need a veterinary prescription, about £12. There are other, non prescriptive ways, quite legal, for worming and anti coxxi treatment but you have still to buy the stuff!